Quotes from Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

“Odd, said Miss Pettigrew conversationally, 'the undermining effect of flowers on a woman's common sense.”
― Winifred Watson, quote from Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

“All the men send you orchids because they're expensive and they know that you know they are. But I always kind of think they're cheap, don't you, just because they're expensive. Like telling someone how much you paid for something to show off.”
― Winifred Watson, quote from Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

“All these years she had never had the wicked thrill of powdering her nose. Others had experienced that joy. Never she. And all because she lacked courage.”
― Winifred Watson, quote from Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

“The psychology of silk underclothes has not yet been fully considered," mused Miss Pettigrew happily.”
― Winifred Watson, quote from Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

“You've gone all red. It's cooking over a hot stove. That's why I've never cultivated the art. It simply ruins the complexion. I'm terribly sorry."
"It's all right," said miss Pettigrew with resignation. "I've reached the age when... when complexions don't matter."
"Not matter!" said miss LaFosse, shocked. "Complexions always matter.”
― Winifred Watson, quote from Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

“her destination. It was a very exclusive, very opulent, very intimidating block of flats. Miss Pettigrew was conscious of her shabby clothes, her faded gentility, her courage lost through weeks of facing the workhouse. She stood a moment.”
― Winifred Watson, quote from Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

“It’s my last chance. You know it. I know it.”
― Winifred Watson, quote from Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

“If you act “ marriage or nothing” they generally give you marriage. I”
― Winifred Watson, quote from Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

“If you act “ marriage or nothing” they generally give you marriage. I was very lucky. I went to his head, but he couldn’t stand the pace. He got a nice tombstone and I got the parlour.”
― Winifred Watson, quote from Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

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Popular quotes

“Heather looked Scarlet up and down for the first time that day. “The brown shirt, Scarlet? Wow. I know you’ve already snagged the most delicious thing to ever walk this earth—” Heather shot Gabriel a smile, “but you’ve still gotta try to look like you care. No brown. I repeat, no brown. Brown looks like death on you.”

Scarlet smiled tightly. “Aw, I feel so pretty now.”
― Chelsea Fine, quote from Anew

“Living alone,' November whispered, 'is a skill, like running long distance or programming old computers. You have to know parameters, protocols. You have to learn them so well that they become like a language: to have music always so that the silence doesn't overwhelm you, to perform your work exquisitely well so that your time is filled. You have to allow yourself to open up until you are the exact size of the place you live, no more or else you get restless. No less, or else you drown. There are rules; there are ways of being and not being.”
― Catherynne M. Valente, quote from Palimpsest

“For obvious reasons, I never told you about my notebook, with a cover as green as mansions long ago, which I use as a commonplace book, a phrase which here means 'place where I have collected passages from some of the most important books I have read.”
― Lemony Snicket, quote from Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography

“Nick drank the coffee, the coffee according to Hopkins. The coffee was bitter. Nick laughed. It made a good ending to the story. His mind was starting to work. He knew he could choke it because he was tired enough. He spilled the coffee out of the pot and shook the grounds loose into the fire. He lit a cigarette and went inside the tent. He took off his shoes and trousers, sitting on the blankets, rolled the shoes up inside the trousers for a pillow and got in between the blankets.

Out through the front of the tent he watched the glow of the fire when the night wind blew on it. It was a quiet night. The swamp was perfectly quiet. Nick stretched under the blanket comfortably. A mosquito hummed close to his ear. Nick sat up and lit a match. The mosquito was on the canvas, over his head. Nick moved the match quickly up to it. The mosquito made a satisfactory hiss in the flame. The match went out. Nick lay down again under the blankets. He turned on his side and shut his eyes. He was sleepy. He felt sleep coming. He curled up under the blanket and went to sleep.”
― Ernest Hemingway, quote from The Nick Adams Stories

“Who wants to feel everything everyone else feels all the time?”
― Patricia Briggs, quote from On the Prowl

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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.