Quotes from Here be Dragons

“Poor Wales. So far from Heaven, so close to England.”
― Sharon Kay Penman, quote from Here be Dragons

“Eleanor would have been indifferent to the immorality of her adultery, but would never have forgiven the stupidity of it.”
― Sharon Kay Penman, quote from Here be Dragons

“The Welsh were a god-cursed, stiff-necked, and utterly vexatious people, John said bitterly, but they did have an inexplicable ability to rise phoenixlike from the ashes of defeat, to soar upwards on wings too scorched for flight.”
― Sharon Kay Penman, quote from Here be Dragons

“Oh, John is clever enough. But what do brains avail a man if he does lack for backbone?”
― Sharon Kay Penman, quote from Here be Dragons

“Whilst stupidity may indeed be a sin, it is also possible to be too clever. I sometimes fear, John, that you are too clever by half.”
― Sharon Kay Penman, quote from Here be Dragons

“Indeed. But I was not thinking of his immortal soul, Matilda. I was thinking that history is chronicled by monks.”
― Sharon Kay Penman, quote from Here be Dragons

“If disliking Richard be grounds for accusing a man of conspiracy, I daresay you could implicate half of Christendom in this so-called plot. Richard endears himself easiest to those who've yet to meet him.”
― Sharon Kay Penman, quote from Here be Dragons

“If that’s how you’d rather remember it. But I did not mean that as a reproach. I do not, in truth, think less of you for having the common sense to abandon a ship once waves began to break over the bow. Nor, after sixteen years shut away from the sun, am I likely to find tears to spare for Henry Plantagenet.”
― Sharon Kay Penman, quote from Here be Dragons

“War is the least productive of men’s pastimes, and the most indulgent.”
― Sharon Kay Penman, quote from Here be Dragons

“Poor Wales, so far from Heaven, so close to England!”
― Sharon Kay Penman, quote from Here be Dragons

“The day that he accused a reigning King of murder was the day he signed his own death warrant, and he knew it.”
― Sharon Kay Penman, quote from Here be Dragons

“I’ve never been so hungry that I was willing to lick honey off thorns.”
― Sharon Kay Penman, quote from Here be Dragons

“There are secret sins and found-out sins, and it is foolish to worry about the first until it becomes the second.”
― Sharon Kay Penman, quote from Here be Dragons

“I would look dreadful in black.”
― Sharon Kay Penman, quote from Here be Dragons

“Richard forced him from his sickbed, broke his power, his pride. But you, John, you broke his heart. I truly wonder which be the greater sin.”
― Sharon Kay Penman, quote from Here be Dragons

“In a contest of wills between John and his mother, he did not think John would prevail, indeed he hoped he would not. But he did not care to be a witness to their confrontation; he suspected Eleanor's methods would be neither maternal nor merciful.”
― Sharon Kay Penman, quote from Here be Dragons

“Otherwise, I’d like nothing better than…conversing with you. You’re such a deep, penetrating conversationalist, after all,”
― Sharon Kay Penman, quote from Here be Dragons

“Memory is merciful, Joanna, more so than man. It fades past pain, yet holds bright the colors in recalled joy.”
― Sharon Kay Penman, quote from Here be Dragons

“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”
― Sharon Kay Penman, quote from Here be Dragons

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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.