“A is for Amy who fell down the stairs.B is for Basil assaulted by bears.C is for Clara who wasted away.D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh.E is for Ernest who choked on a peach. F is for Fanny sucked dry by a leech.G is for George smothered under a rug.H is for Hector done in by a thug.I is for Ida who drowned in a lake.J is for James who took lye by mistake.K is for Kate who was struck with an axe.L is for Leo who choked on some tacks.M is for Maud who was swept out to sea.N is for Neville who died of ennui.O is for Olive run through with an awl.P is for Prue trampled flat in a brawl.Q is for Quentin who sank on a mire.R is for Rhoda consumed by a fire.S is for Susan who perished of fits.T is for Titus who flew into bits.U is for Una who slipped down a drain.V is for Victor squashed under a train.W is for Winnie embedded in ice.X is for Xerxes devoured by mice.Y is for Yorick whose head was bashed in.Z is for Zillah who drank too much gin.”

“Z is for Zillah who drank too much gin.”

“Mr Earbrass escaped from Messrs Scuffle and Dustcough, who were most anxious to go into all the ramifications of a scheme for having his novels translated into Urdu, and went to call on a distant cousin.”

“I am a person before I am anything else. I never say I am a writer. I never say I am an artist...I am a person who does those things.”

“George, who is out somewhere there in the dark, who is good to me - whom I revile, who can keep learning the games we play as quickly as I can change them. Who can make me happy and I do not wish to be happy. And yes, I do wish to be happy. George and Martha: Sad, sad, sad. Whom I will not forgive for having come to rest; for having seen me and having said: “Yes, this will do”. Who has made the hideous, the hurting, the insulting mistake of loving… me, and must be punished for it. George and Martha… Sad, sad, sad.”

“You?' is all I can manage to choke out.'Always me,' she replies softly, bashfully. 'Who else?”

“In essence, we’re their servants who help them and who guard them from the public. (Leo)Oh gee, golly, goodie, Mr. Leo! Can I have my eyes gouged out, too? (Susan)”