Quotes from Cotillion

Georgette Heyer ·  416 pages

Rating: (11.2K votes)


“No one could have called Mr. Standen quick-witted, but the possession of three sisters had considerably sharpened his instinct of self-preservation.”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“What I mean is, like you to have everything you want. Wished it was me, that's all”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“I daresay Freddy might not be a great hand at slaying dragons- but one has not the smallest need of a man who can kill dragons!”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“She succumbed to the eternal feminine passion for bargains.”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“You don't feel you could marry me instead? Got no brains, of course, and I ain't a handsome fellow, like Jack, but I love you. Don't think I could ever love anyone else.”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion



“Queer creatures, females," mused Mr. Standen, shaking his head. "Fellow's only got to be a rake to have 'em all dangling after him. Silly, really, because it stands to reason---- Well never mind that!”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“That Fish of yours is queer in her attic.'
'Freddy, she is not!'
"Must be. Dash it, wouldn't write to you about Henry VIII if she wasn't! Stands to reason.”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“Well aware that to bring the voice of sober reason to bear upon the exaggerations of agitated females was both fruitless and perilous, Freddy wisely let this pass...”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“You don’t feel you could marry me instead? Got no brains, of course, and I ain’t a handsome fellow, like Jack, but I love you. Don’t think I could ever love anyone else. Daresay it ain’t any use telling you, but—well, there it is!”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“No, no, Kit, don’t cry!’ begged Freddy, putting his arm round her. ‘Can’t bear you not to be happy! I won’t say another word. Never thought there was any hope for me. Just wanted to tell you.”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion



“How the deuce would you know the right way to go on if you was never taught anything but the wrong way?”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“I daresay Freddy might not be a great hand at slaying dragons, but you may depend upon it none of those knight-errants would be able to rescue one from a social fix, and you must own, Meg, that one has not the smallest need of a man who can kill dragons!”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“I know it, and I wanted so much not to drag you into it!’ said Kitty remorsefully. ‘I thought, if only you knew nothing about it, it would serve as a reason for you to put an end to our engagement!’
‘Yes, I know you did. Told me so, in that letter you wrote me. Dashed cork-brained notion! Stands to reason if you’re in it I must be too.”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“You think I’ve got brains?’ he said, awed. ‘Not confusing me with Charlie?’

‘Charlie?’ uttered Miss Charing contemptuously. ‘I daresay he has book-learning, but you have—you have address, Freddy!’

‘Well, by Jove!’ said Mr Standen, dazzled by this new vision of himself.”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“What brings you here, Kit? No wish to offend you, but not quite the thing, you know!’

Her lip trembled. She replied with a catch in her voice: ‘I am running away!’

‘Oh, running away!’ said Mr Standen, satisfied.”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion



“No one could have called Mr Standen quick-witted, but the possession of three sisters had considerably sharpened his instinct of self-preservation.”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“It might have been supposed that Freddy, whose intellect was not of the first order, would have found it impossible to grasp the gist of an extremely tangled and discursive story, but once more the possession of three volatile and excitable sisters stood him in good stead.”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“Upon Mrs Scorton's reappearance, she found herself confronted, not by the fool of his family, but by the Honourable Frederick Standen, a Pink of the Pinks, who knew to a nicety how to blend courtesy with hauteur, and who informed her, with exquisite politeness, that he rather fancied his cousin was tired, and would like to be taken home. One of the uninvited guests, entering the box in Eliza's wake, ventured on a warm sally, found himself being inspected from head to foot through a quizzing-glass, and stammered an apology.”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“Meg, as good-natured as her mother and brother, would have been amiable to anyone for whom her kindness had been solicited. Had she found herself confronted by a dazzling blonde she would not have spurned Kitty; but it could not be denied that the discovery that Miss Charing was a brunette immediately confirmed her in her conviction that she would like her prodigiously.”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“If someone would have the goodness to inform me whether I am assisting at a tragedy or a farce I should be grateful,”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion



“I do think,’ said Kitty fervently, ‘that Freddy is the most truly chivalrous person imaginable!’ Freddy’s sister, regarding her with awe, opened her mouth, shut it again, swallowed, and managed to say, though in a faint voice: ‘Do you, indeed?’ ‘Yes, and a great deal more to the purpose than all the people one was taught to revere, like Sir Lancelot, and Sir Galahad, and Young Lochinvar, and—and that kind of man! I daresay Freddy might not be a great hand at slaying dragons, but you may depend upon it none of those knight-errants would be able to rescue one from a social fix, and you must own, Meg, that one has not the smallest need of a man who can kill dragons!”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“Lord Biddenden’s instincts were patriarchal. He liked to see his brothers and sisters under his roof, and to feel that they depended upon him for guidance; and he was almost as anxious for their advancement as his own.”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“That Hugh’s presence within walking distance of Biddenden Manor might not be conducive either to his happiness or to his self-esteem he did not allow to weigh with him, for he was a man with a strong sense of propriety, and he knew that it was his duty to feel affection for all his brothers and sisters.”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“she was generally considered to be a pretty woman; and, since she was as good-natured as she was foolish, she was almost universally liked.”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“It was seldom that Mr Standen, a peace-loving young gentleman, was conscious of a wish to come to blows with his fellow-men, but a wistful desire to land his cousin a facer did for an instant flicker in his mind.”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion



“Dear Papa, it seemed, had not left his family in affluent circumstances; but he had certainly endowed them with good looks, a commodity in which they had been bred from earliest youth to trade to the best advantage.”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“It seemed to Kitty a pity that her new friend’s mind was set so irrevocably upon marriage, but her suggestion that Olivia might seek an eligible situation as a governess met with no favour at all. Olivia stared at her with dismay in her big eyes, and unequivocally stated her preference for death.”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“That sort of thing always leads to trouble! It is all kindness, and I am sure I am quite as sorry for Miss Broughty as anyone, but one cannot make a friend of everybody in distressing circumstances!”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“I am sure I do not know why a man should not be a gamester, if his talents make it an eligible profession for him!”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion


“Dashed if I didn’t receive a letter from him this morning! Yes, and what’s more, I had to pay sixpence for it, which I’d as lief not have done. It ain’t that I grudge sixpence, but what I mean is, why the deuce should I have to give sixpence for a thing I’d as soon not have?”
― Georgette Heyer, quote from Cotillion



About the author

Georgette Heyer
Born place: in The United Kingdom
Born date August 16, 1902
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“Imagine this: Take your problems, all of them, from the tiniest, annoying concerns to the most horrific, difficult challenges, and put all those problems into a brown paper bag. Then imagine if everyone else in the world took all their problems and put them into their own paper bags. Think of how many bags there would be, all piled up into one gigantic mountain of brown paper. If you were told you could pick any bag of problems and take it home with you, do you think you'd want someone else's problems? I don't think so. You'd be scampering like crazy to find your own bag in that mountain of brown paper.”
― quote from The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew--Three Women Search for Understanding


“A language is a map of our failures”
― Adrienne Rich, quote from The Fact of a Doorframe: Poems Selected and New, 1950-1984


“To this day, I feel a fierce warmth for women that have the same disregard for the social conventions of sexual protocol as I do. I love it when I meet a woman and her sexuality is dancing across her face, so it's apparent that all we need to do is nod and find a cupboard.”
― Russell Brand, quote from My Booky Wook


“Her fingers clenched against his shoulder blades. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“Do I not?” He threaded his hands gently around her neck. “I’m asking you to make love with me.”
That word again. She opened her eyes. “Gareth,” she whispered. “Please. Don’t. This is hard enough—”
She stopped speaking as his gaze pierced her.
Incredible. Last night had seemed so intimate. And yet it
had been so dark that she had not been able to see anything other than flashes of light, reflecting off the surface
of his skin. Now she could look into his eyes. They were golden-brown. They were not cutting or dismissive. And
even though she could see the desire smolder inside them, there was something else in them that turned her belly to liquid.”
― Courtney Milan, quote from Proof by Seduction


“according to Alamoth; 21Mattithiah, Elipheleh, Mikneiah, Obed-Edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah, to direct with harps on the Sheminith; 22Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was in charge of the music because he was skillful; 23Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark; 24Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, were to blow the trumpets before the ark of God; and Obed-Edom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the ark. The Ark Is Moved to Jerusalem 25With joy David and the elders of Israel and the captains over thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the house of Obed-Edom.† 26And so it was, when God helped the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, they offered seven bulls and seven rams.† 27David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who bore the ark, the singers, and Chenaniah the music master with the singers. David also wore a linen ephod.† 28Thus all of Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting and the sound of the horn, with trumpets and cymbals, making music with stringed instruments and harps. 29And it happened, as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the City of David, that Michal, Saul's daughter, looked out through a window and saw King David dancing and playing music; and she despised him in her heart.”
― quote from The Orthodox Study Bible


Interesting books

The Demonologist
(7.3K)
The Demonologist
by Andrew Pyper
Worth the Effort
(724)
Worth the Effort
by Mara Jacobs
You Slay Me
(18.6K)
You Slay Me
by Katie MacAlister
Trail of the Spellmans
(7.9K)
Trail of the Spellma...
by Lisa Lutz
Starfire
(802)
Starfire
by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez
Fallen Fourth Down
(14.6K)
Fallen Fourth Down
by Tijan

About BookQuoters

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.