Quotes from King Hereafter

Dorothy Dunnett ·  721 pages

Rating: (1.8K votes)


“He said, 'You have everything there is of me, save a little I gave to my people. Now you hold that as well.'
And last of all, when he had released her and moved to the door, to stand outside where the sky was enclosed with thick hills and dark, heavy forests, he said, because he could not prevent himself, 'When next you stand by the sea, say goodbye for me.”
― Dorothy Dunnett, quote from King Hereafter


“You have only to lift your hand,' Thorkel Fostri said. And after a moment, 'What else were you born for?'

'Why not happiness, like other men?" Thorfinn said.

'You have that,' said his foster-father. 'But if you try to trap it, it will change. Why do you resist? It is your right.'

'I resist because it is no use resisting,' Thorfinn said. 'Do you not think that is unfair? I shall be King because I was King; and I shall die because I did die; and did I remember them, I could even tell what are the three ways it might befall me.”
― Dorothy Dunnett, quote from King Hereafter


“A man of over thirty might be held to be at the height of his powers, but not necessarily of his wisdom.”
― Dorothy Dunnett, quote from King Hereafter


“Don't you know, even yet, why I came back to Orkney?" Rognvald said.
Than Thorfinn looked up. Rognvald's gaze, waiting for his, took and sustained it. Thorfinn did not look away, but his face held no expression.
Rognvald said "I am the dog at your heel. Everything I have ever done has been an attempt to be like Thorfinn.”
― Dorothy Dunnett, quote from King Hereafter


“Then she said, "Thorfinn!" quickly, and moved to him; but had hardly got to his side before he loosed his fingers and thumbs and plunged them down to the mattress like spear-points.
"No!Macbeth. Macbeth. Macbeth!" the name reached her like sling-shot.
Groa said, "They are the same man. I should know. I married both.”
― Dorothy Dunnett, quote from King Hereafter



“His chest heaved, and he coughed.
"You have coughed before," his mother said. "It is a sign of weakness. Control it.”
― Dorothy Dunnett, quote from King Hereafter


About the author

Dorothy Dunnett
Born place: in Dunfermline, Scotland, The United Kingdom
Born date August 25, 1923
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“The baby closed its mouth, staring at him with hope and small hiccups.

“Jesus,” he said. He lay down on the bed, pulling the pillow under his head, and drew the whole bundle of coat, shawl and infant up against his shirt. A tiny hand closed tight on the lace. One sob erupted, and then changed midbreath to a soft sigh.

Women, he thought sardonically, sinking in the bedclothes, with sleep revolving and closing in his head. He moved one finger, feeling a cheek as soft as down.

What’s your name?

Ask the girl. Remember that…

Maddy…

It was wrong. I must leave thee now.

Don’t cry. Don’t cry, little girl… I’m so tired. I never deserved you, did I? Maddy… but I loved you.

I always loved you.”
― Laura Kinsale, quote from Flowers from the Storm


“Great, lets round up all the useless cats and hope a tree falls on them - Jayfeather”
― Erin Hunter, quote from The Sight


“También estaba descontento por otra cosa: yo traté una vez más de convencerlo de que dejase de ir a las Cataratas. Eso fue porque el fuego me había revelado una pasión nueva, totalmente nueva, y claramente distinta del amor, de la pena y de esas otras que ya había descubierto: el miedo. ¡Es horrible! Ojalá nunca la hubiese descubierto. Me da malos momentos, arruina mi felicidad, me hace estremecer y temblar y sobresaltarme. Pero no pude persuadirlo, porque él no ha descubierto el miedo aún, y por eso no puede comprenderme.”
― Mark Twain, quote from The Diary of Adam and Eve


“I don't want you to be the shifter." Rokan's voice was quiet, and her human sense of smell told her nothing about how he felt. "I haven't wanted that for a long time. Since before I knew it was possible for you to not be the shifter." A pause then --- so quietly that even she could barely hear him. "Since before I knew I loved you.”
― Leah Cypess, quote from Mistwood


“I thought it was a really good story,' Cindy said. She was trying to make me feel better, I think. 'I liked the way it ended. When I was halfway through, I was thinking that maybe some handsome prince was going to show up and save the princess.'

'She didn't need a handsome prince,' I said. 'Those wild girls did just fine on their own.”
― Pat Murphy, quote from The Wild Girls


Interesting books

Flat-Out Celeste
(8.6K)
Flat-Out Celeste
by Jessica Park
Awakenings
(8.8K)
Awakenings
by Oliver Sacks
What-the-Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy
(6.5K)
What-the-Dickens: Th...
by Gregory Maguire
Time Is the Simplest Thing
(1.4K)
Time Is the Simplest...
by Clifford D. Simak
Sweet Revenge
(4.4K)
Sweet Revenge
by Rebecca Zanetti
Between the Spark and the Burn
(3.1K)
Between the Spark an...
by April Genevieve Tucholke

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.