Barbara Taylor Bradford

“Edwina always enjoyed a morning ride. Some mornings she rode the horse, and some mornings she rode the groom.”

“I'm not ancient, darling. I'm only fifty. And when it comes to sex a woman of fifty can often outlast a man half her age.”

“Mary never made it to the board meeting. Cunning Elizabeth simply arranged for her cousin's tennis instructor to "delay" her for an hour or two. The man was evidently a superb athlete, though it was entirely Mary's fault that she fell asleep afterwards. Elizabeth took control of the company that very afternoon, by a vote of six to one, while a sated Mary slept. And the silly girl never knew what hit her.”

“It's different when the person you love dies. There's an awful finality to death. But it is final. The end. And there's the funeral, family gatherings, grieving, all of those necessary rituals. And they help, believe me. When the object of your love just disappears, there's no way to deal with the grief and pain.”

“Elizabeth was counting on Marco to keep cousin Mary occupied until after the board meeting was over. A piece of cheese might catch a mouse, but an afternoon alone with a muscular masseur would ensnare her cousin far more effectively. And afterwards, while Mary lay sated and sleeping upon a massage table, wiser heads could determine the company's future. There were times, Elizabeth thought, when success in business demanded utter ruthlessness.”

“You can be with a man for twenty years and never really know who he truly is. Then again, you can meet a man and know everything about him in an instant.”

“You know what they say, darling. When an older man seeks out younger women, he's virile. When an older woman seeks out younger men, she's desperate. Well, color me desperate, then. Because I want you, Harris Clayton. And I'm a woman who's very good at getting what she wants! Now come back to bed, darling, and let's forget all about everything except the way we feel.”

“It's all right, darling. I'll finish the financial report on my own. I can think clearly before sex and stay awake afterwards. That's one of the nice things about being a woman.”

“A person with taste is merely one who can recognize the greatest beauty in the simplest things.”

“Priceless things matter not for their value, but because they offer us an enduring reminder of stability and permanence.”

“Elizabeth lay face-down on the massage table, and allowed Marco to relieve the stress of the business day with firm and knowing fingers. Success, she decided, was often a matter of knowing when to relax.”

“Always present yourself as a woman who expects to succeed.”

“Never let stress shape your strategy. Most women think better after a brisk walk, a light meal, a massage and a nap.”

“Even the most powerful woman needs a place to unwind.”

“What is done can never be undone.”

“My dear girl, you must cultivate a taste for the finer things. Civilized pleasures give meaning to life.”

“Yes, damn it, I love you! But the bedroom is not the boardroom, Robert. In the boardroom only one person can be in charge.”

“Love is a handful of seeds, marriage the garden, and like your gardens, Paula, marriage requires total commitment, hard work, and a great deal of love and care. Be ruthless with the weeds. Pull them out before they take hold. Bring the same dedication to your marriage that you do to your gardens and everything will be all right. Remember that a marriage has to be constantly replenished too, if you want it to flourish...”

“Elizabeth studied the blurry tabloid photo, which showed her cousin Mary Stuart leaving a Paris disco at dawn, drunkenly clinging to the arm of a French tennis pro. The message was very clear. Put passion first and you end up neither loved nor respected.”

“Successful women don't sleep until noon.”

“We are each the authors of our own lives, Emma. We live in what we have created. There is no way to shift the blame and no one else to accept the accolades.”

“In my opinion, moderation is a vastly overrated virtue, particularly when applied to work”

“Life always gets harder towards the summit - the cold increases, responsibility increases”

“This parting cannot be for long; for those who love as we do cannot be parted. We shall always be united in thought, and thought is a great magnet. I have often spoken to thee of reason, now i speak to thee of faith”

“He who ascends to mountaintops, shall find The loftiest peaks most wrapt in clouds and snow; He who surpasses or subdues mankind Must look down on the hate of those below”

“The past was always there, lived inside of you, and it helped to make you who you were. But it had to be placed in perspective. The past could not dominate the future.”

“Life was life. It happened. You never knew what was going to come at you. Or how you could defend yourself.”

“The whole enchilada, kid.”

“She put her hand in his, and he clasped it firmly, knowing he had been waiting for her all his life.”