“Miss Sumner, may I inquire as to why you're lounging on the floor?" Mrs. Watson asked.
Miss Sumner uttered something which sounded very much like "it should be obvious" before she lifted her head. "You really must compliment your staff, Mrs. Watson. This floor is remarkably clean.”
“... That's why you're going directly back to the house. The last thing we need is for you to end up in jail again, and I'm quite certain disassembling another lady's hair falls under the category of assault.”
“- You are exceedingly annoying.
- Thank you.
- It was not a compliment.”
“The only explanation that came to her was that gentlemen were obviously odd beings, and she should not even attempt to understand them.”
“Hamilton found it difficult to concentrate on what Eliza was saying. Her lips were moving rapidly, but he couldn't actually decipher what the words coming out of her mouth were. It was such a lovely mouth, and he found it quite quirky, given the fact that it could assume different positions with alarming frequency. Like now, it was pursed in a most attractive manner, and now... it was moving again as if the lady could not get the words out fast enough. His gaze traveled upward, past the eyes that were flashing and settled on her hair. He couldn't help but appreciate the efforts of Mabel. The curls she'd been able to produce on Eliza's head, well, they were tantalizing. He had the strangest urge to reach out and touch them, to feel with his own hand if they were as soft as they appeared, something he'd been contemplating ever since he got a good look at her in the dining room. He pulled abruptly back to reality when Eliza poked him in the chest.”
“Piper- I didn't like Mr. Wilder.
Eliza- He's not so bad, Piper, if you overlook his tendency to be condescending.
Agatha- And narrow-minded and chauvinistic.
Gloria- I think a nice cup of tea is in order before we continue our discussion of Mr. Wilder and his many faults. May I suggest we make ourselves comfortable in the parlor?”
“You were most entertaining,” Zayne replied. “That was unintentional,” Eliza muttered.”
“I have yet to be reunited with my fortune, and I’m now missing a chunk of hair from my spat with the nanny.”
“He sent Eliza a small smile before turning to Lawrence. "What say you and I return to the hotel for a bit? I need to check on my daughter, and you need some time away from my sister." Not giving Lawrence an opportunity to reply, Grayson took him by the arm and hurried him out of the room.
It was lovely to have a big brother again.”
“I could not fill those expectations. I’ve never been presented to the queen,” Hamilton said. “Because we live in America and don’t have a queen.”
“Scoot over.” “Where would you suggest I ‘scoot’?” Eliza asked. “You can sit on Hamilton’s lap,” Agatha said. Eliza didn’t have a chance to protest. Hamilton sent her a grin, and the next thing she knew, she was snuggled on his lap, his hand resting on her waist. She felt her cheeks flame and looked around for a distraction. “Why do you have that coat tied around you?” Agatha plopped down on the seat and rolled her eyes. “My pants split all the way down the back when I tried to tackle Eugene.” “They were quite delightful pants while they were still intact,” Zayne remarked cheerfully as he squeezed his lanky frame into the carriage and nodded to Agatha. “Scoot over.” “There’s no room,” Agatha said, “and you shouldn’t have been noticing my pants.” Zayne took Agatha’s hand, pulled her to her feet, took her spot on the seat, and pulled her into his lap. “This is cozy,” he remarked to no one in particular.”
“Lady Eliza.” As the voice washed over her, recognition set in and fury descended. “Who is that man?” Ben asked as he peered around her leg. “Why is he smiling at you?” “He’s an arrogant gentleman who is mistaken to think I welcome his smiles,” Eliza managed to get out. Ben suddenly tugged free from her hand and ran toward the man as fast as his short legs could carry him. Before Eliza had the presence of mind to react, Ben opened his mouth and clamped his teeth firmly onto the leg of Lawrence Moore, the Earl of Wrathshire. A howl of outrage escaped Lawrence’s lips. “Umm, Eliza, don’t you think it might be prudent to fetch Benjamin from that gentleman’s leg?” Agatha asked in alarm. “Give him another moment,” Eliza said even as she strode forward, her temper burning hot when she realized Lawrence was trying to shake Ben off his leg. “Don’t hurt him,” she snarled as she reached them and carefully pried Ben away from Lawrence. “He’s only a baby.” “With teeth like a shark,” Lawrence grouched, leaning down to rub his leg.”
“Hamilton reminded himself it was not acceptable to enjoy another’s physical discomfort.”
“Eliza’s laughter died abruptly when Hamilton dropped down by her side and, for some unknown reason, began to play with the fabric of her skirt that was billowed out around her even as he continued bantering with his brother. She shot a look to Gloria and groaned. Of course the woman would have noticed her son’s actions. She scrambled to her feet, made a circle around the blanket, and dropped back down on the other side of Agatha, far from Hamilton’s reach. “Didn’t like where you were sitting?” Agatha muttered. “I thought I’d get closer to you so we could chat,” Eliza said.”
“Have you been having fun, Eliza?” Gloria asked. “She’s danced every dance,” Hamilton said before Eliza could respond. “How wonderful,” Gloria exclaimed. “See, I told you there was no reason for your earlier distress.” “You were distressed?” Mr. Murdock inquired as he leaned forward over Agatha. “It was only a little case of nerves,” Eliza returned, her eyes widening when Hamilton absently traced a finger down her arm. The action was not lost on Mr. Murdock. He sat back in his seat and turned his head to address the guest on his left. “What are you doing?” Eliza hissed. “If you’re not careful, everyone will believe there’s soon to be an announcement.” “That would bother you?” And just what did he mean by that? She took a deep breath and slowly released it. “You’ve obviously lost your mind.” Hamilton sent her a wicked smile and refused to say another word, although he did remove his finger from her skin.”
“I would love nothing more than to marry you and live with you here in New York.” “You will not miss England?” “There is nothing for me there,” she said. “You have stolen my heart completely, Mr. Beckett, and I believe it is now yours forever.”
“Miss Sumner, are you all right?” Hamilton asked, pulling her from her thoughts. “Perfectly fine.” Hamilton sent a pointed look to the crushed dinner roll in Eliza’s hand. “Oh,” Eliza said, relaxing her fingers and dropping the roll to her plate before she realized Mrs. Amherst was speaking to her once again.”
“Eliza grabbed on to a branch and began to climb, a grin stealing over her face when she heard Agatha muttering behind her. “What’s the matter?” “Split a seam.” Eliza’s grin widened as she continued to climb, realizing that this was certainly an unusual moment to be amused. She reached the window and pushed on it, releasing a sigh of relief when it opened. She swung from the branch and pulled herself through the window, Agatha following a few seconds behind. “Did you hear that?” Agatha whispered. “Hear what?” Eliza whispered back. “My pants ripped again.” Eliza stifled a laugh and cautiously edged her way through the room, using her hands to guide her way.”
“It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide—plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions.”
“But who is more ignorant? The man who cannot define lightning, or the man who does not respect its awesome power?”
“And I know I’ve lost.
Everything is lost.
Everything is over.
“As the newly appointed President of this fair planet of ours,” the Mayor says, holding out his hands as if to show me the world for the first time,” let me be the very first to welcome you to its new capital city.”
“Todd?” Viola whispers, her eyes closed.
I hold her tightly to me.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper to her. “I’m so sorry.”
We’ve run right into a trap.
We’ve run right off the end of the world.
“Welcome,” says the Mayor,” to the New Prentisstown.”
“The way I see it, living in New Jersey is a challenge, what with the toxic waste and the eighteen wheelers and the armed schizophrenics."
Connie Rosolli”
“If you knew what was going to happen, if you knew everything that was going to happen next—if you knew in advance the consequences of your own actions—you'd be doomed. You'd be ruined as God. You'd be a stone. You'd never eat or drink or laugh or get out of bed in the morning. You'd never love anyone, ever again. You'd never dare to.”
BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.
We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.
Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.