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

“Who snitched?"
"We have people monitoring police radio frequencies. They gave Jim a heads-up in case our security had to storm PAD offices and bust you out of there. I found out when I saw Jim walking down the hallway snickering to himself.”
― Ilona Andrews, quote from Magic Slays

“When I rode the train west,
I went looking for something,
but I didn't see anything wonderful.
I didn't see anything better than what I already had.
Home.”
― Karen Hesse, quote from Out of the Dust

“Wit is the most dangerous talent you can possess. It must be guarded with great discretion and good-nature, otherwise it will create you many enemies.”
—John Gregory
A Father’s Legacy to His Daughters, 1774”
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“He studied the boulders, then pushed against one until it began to move.
When she gasped, he stopped. “Seems I could free you, after all.”
She gave him a tentative touch on his chest. “What would it take to get you to finish moving those?”
“What are you offering?” he asked, his voice rougher.
“Money? Would you take money to push these free?”
“I’ve plenty of my own. More than enough for both of us.”
She scowled at that. “What do you want, then?”
“I want”—he ran his hand over his face—“to . . . touch you. Not here, but tonight . . .”
“Not going to happen.” She crossed her arms over her chest, and his gaze landed on her damp cleavage. As he had that night on the coast, he looked like he was considering throwing her over his shoulder and tracing her back to his bed. “I do so wish my breasts would stop staring at your eyes.”
His head jerked up, and he had to clear his throat to rasp, “Kiss me. Kiss me, and I’ll free you.”
“The last time that happened you bit me, and you could do it again.” Kissing Sebastian always seemed to lead to more. Last time, it had led to his taking her blood.
And possibly her memories.
“I never bit you. I grazed your skin. Accidently.”
“Then tell me you haven’t contemplated doing it again.”
“I” –he exhaled heavily—“cannot. The pleasure was too intense to ignore.”
― Kresley Cole, quote from No Rest for the Wicked

“Food, Ivan Arnoldovich, is a subtle thing. One must know how to eat, yet just think – most people don’t know how to eat at all. One must not only know what to eat, but when and how.’ (Philip Philipovich waved his fork meaningfully.) ‘And what to say while you’re eating. Yes, my dear sir. If you care about your digestion, my advice is – don’t talk about bolshevism or medicine at table. And, God forbid – never read Soviet newspapers before dinner.’ ‘M’mm . . . But there are no other newspapers.’ ‘In that case don’t read any at all. Do you know I once made thirty tests in my clinic. And what do you think? The patients who never read newspapers felt excellent. Those whom I specially made read Pravda all lost weight.”
― Mikhail Bulgakov, quote from Heart of a Dog

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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.