“That's what sailing is, a dance, and your partner is the sea. And with the sea you never take liberties. You ask her, you don't tell her. You have to remember always that she's the leader, not you. You and your boat are dancing to her tune.”

“One of the great failings of our education system is that we tend to focus on those who are succeeding in exams, and there are plenty of them. But what we should also be looking at, and a lot more urgently, is those who fail.”

“Animals are sentient, intelligent, perceptive, funny and entertaining. We owe them a duty of care as we do to children.”

“It's the teacher that makes the difference, not the classroom.”

“Don't worry about writing a book or getting famous or making money. Just lead an interesting life.”

“Admitting failure is quite cleansing, but never - pleasurable.”

“Marry someone who flatters you. Because I've written 80 books since 'War Horse' but when my wife reads one, all she says is, 'It's quite good, but it's not as good as 'War Horse,' is it?'”

“Wherever my story takes me, however dark and difficult the theme, there is always some hope and redemption, not because readers like happy endings, but because I am an optimist at heart. I know the sun will rise in the morning, that there is a light at the end of every tunnel.”

“There's a nobility in his eye, a regal serenity about him. Does he not personify all that men try to be and never can be?”

“Secrets are lies by another name.”

“Being his real brother I could feel I live in his shadows, but I never have and I do not now. I live in his glow.”