“To understand Alexander well, it is necessary to follow his heart more closely than his policies, so I investigate the king's character through the mirror of the lives of his lovers.”

“Alexander emerges as an almost Hamlet-like figure, more sinned against than sinning. In a sense Alexander, too, was haunted and motivated by his father’s ghost... He may well have saved more lives than he destroyed and was rarely gratuitous in the use of violence... his legacy is enormous. He was the founder of the Hellenistic Age, which in turn has bequeathed us the foundations of our modern art, science and culture.”

“Judge not, lest ye be judged; or if thou wilt, then judge by the Splendor of his Character and the Munificence of his Deeds, rather than the Gender of his Lover.”

“A man far oftener appears to have a decided character from persistently following his temperament than from persistently following his principles.”

“She felt the loss of Willoughby's character yet more heavily than she had felt the loss of his heart.”

“Richard began to understand darkness: darkness as something solid and real, so much more than a simple absence of light. He felt it touch his skin, questing, moving, exploring: gliding through his mind. It slipped into his lungs, behind his eyes, into his mouth...”