“I'm in love with you, Rosemary Rose. Madly and irrevocably in love. What do you propose to do about it?”

“Worry less about what other people think about you, and more about what you think about them.”

“I do use husbands a bit (in books). It's what writers of this kind do, actually. I am quite careful to try to keep the family out of my writing. You find, on the whole, that men will forgive you everything if you say they are good in bed and the women if you say they are beautiful. It's the way to turn away wrath.”

“To do good to one is to do bad to another. But you don't need to hear my excuses. They are the same that everyone makes to themselves when faced with the misery of others; though they would like to do the right thing, they simply fail to do so and look after themselves instead.”

“There's a million what-ifs in life. You just have to keep yourself from thinking about the bad ones.”

“Too many people surrender to a place of safety. That place where all they do is long to sleep so they can dream about living.”

“Absolutely,' she said. 'The more you pay attention to the body, the less attention you've got left to pay the soul. I really do understand that.”