“But please remember: this is only a work of fiction. The truth, as always, will be far stranger.”

— Arthur C. Clarke

Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "But please remember: this is only a work of fiction. The truth, as always, will be far stranger." by Arthur C. Clarke?

Arthur C. Clarke photo

Arthur C. Clarke 207

British science fiction writer, science writer, inventor, u… 1917–2008

Related quotes

“Tis strange - but true; for Truth is always strange,
Stranger than Fiction”

George Gordon Byron (1788–1824) English poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement

Variant: For truth is always strange; stranger than fiction.

“Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't.”

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American author and humorist

Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar, Ch. XV
Misquoted as "Why shouldn’t truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense." by Laurence J. Peter in "Peter’s Quotations: Ideas for Our Time", among many others.
Following the Equator (1897)
Source: Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World

“The history of most fictions would be far stranger than the fictions themselves; but it would be a dark and sad chronicle.”

Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–1838) English poet and novelist

The Monthly Magazine

“Truth must of necessity be stranger than fiction … for fiction is the creation of the human mind, and therefore is congenial to it.”

G. K. Chesterton book The Club of Queer Trades

The Club of Queer Trades (1905) Ch. 4 "Speculation of the House Agent"

“Truth might be stranger than fiction, but it needs a better editor.”

David Benioff book City of Thieves

Source: City of Thieves

“Truth is stranger than fiction — to some people, but I am measurably familiar with it.”

Mark Twain book Following the Equator

Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar, Ch. XV
Following the Equator (1897)

“Truth may be stranger than fiction, goes the old saw, but it is never as strange as lies.”

John Hodgman book The Areas of My Expertise

Or, for that matter, as true.
Source: The Areas of My Expertise (2005), p. 18

“Truth would quickly cease to be stranger than fiction, once we got used to it.”

H.L. Mencken (1880–1956) American journalist and writer

1910s
Source: A Little Book in C Major (1916)

“Truth is the most powerful thing in the world, since even fiction itself must be governed by it, and can only please by its resemblance.”

Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (1671–1713) English politician and Earl

Vol. 1, p. 8; "A Letter Concerning Enthusiasm".
Characteristicks of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times (1711)

“Tis strange,-but true; for truth is always strange;
Stranger than fiction: if it could be told,
How much would novels gain by the exchange!
How differently the world would men behold!”

George Gordon Byron Don Juan

Source: Don Juan

Related topics