top of page

The History Boys

Alan Bennett

Top 10 Best Quotes

“The best moments in reading are when you come across something – a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things – which you had thought special and particular to you. Now here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out and taken yours.”

“How do I define history? It's just one fucking thing after another”

“History is a commentary on the various and continuing incapabilities of men. What is history? History is women following behind with the bucket.”

“One of the hardest things for boys to learn is that a teacher is human. One of the hardest things for a teacher to learn is not to try and tell them.”

“Why do we not care to acknowledge them? The cattle, the body count. We still don't like to admit the war was even partly our fault because so many of our people died. A photograph on every mantlepiece. And all this mourning has veiled the truth. It's not so much lest we forget, as lest we remember. Because you should realise the Cenotaph and the Last Post and all that stuff is concerned, there's no better way of forgetting something than by commemorating it.”

“I'm not "happy" but I'm not unhappy about it.”

“It's subjunctive history. You know, the subjunctive? The mood used when something may or may not have happened. When it is imagined.”

“History is just one fucking thing after another.”

“Clichés can be quite fun. That's how they got to be clichés.”

“Cloisters, ancient libraries ... I was confusing learning with the smell of cold stone.”

Except where otherwise noted, all rights reserved to the author(s) of this book (mentioned above). The content of this page serves as promotional material only. If you enjoyed these quotes, you can support the author(s) by acquiring the full book from Amazon.

Book Keywords:

humanity, humor, reading, teaching, happiness, wisdom, history, subjunctive, cliches, writing, imagination, books, contentment

bottom of page