Quotes from The Magic Toyshop

“I think I want to be in love with you but I don't know how.”
― Angela Carter, quote from The Magic Toyshop

“She stood lost in eternity... watching the immense sky...”
― Angela Carter, quote from The Magic Toyshop

“Moonlight, white satin, roses. A bride.”
― Angela Carter, quote from The Magic Toyshop

“Then she broke down and cried onto the flowery wrapping paper. Melanie put her arms around the poor, thin body. What is Aunt Margaret made of? Birdbones and tissue paper. spun glass and straw.”
― Angela Carter, quote from The Magic Toyshop

“She said to the Daisy girl with her big brown eyes: 'I will not have it plain. No. Fancy. It must be fancy!' She meant her future. A moon-daisy dropped to the floor, down from her hair, like a faintly derisive sign from heaven.”
― Angela Carter, quote from The Magic Toyshop

“Everything went black in the shocking folds of his embrace. She was very startled and near to sobbing.
'Caw, caw,' echoed his raincoat.
'Don't be frightened,' he said. 'It is only poor Finn, who will do you no harm.'
She recovered herself a little, though she was still trembling. She could see her own face reflected in little in the black pupils of his subaqueous eyes. She still looked the same. She saluted herself. He was only a little taller than she and their eyes were almost level. Remotely, she wished him three inches taller. Or four. She felt the warm breath from his wild beast's mouth softly, against her cheek. She did not move. Stiff, wooden, and unresponsive, she stood in his arms and watched herself in his eyes. It was a comfort to see herself as she thought she looked.
'Oh, get it over with, get it over with,' she urged furiously under her breath.
He was grinning like Pan in a wood. He kissed her, closing his eyes so that she could not see herself any more. His lips were wet and rough, cracked. It might have been anybody, kissing her, and besides, she did not know him well, if at all. She wondered why he was doing this, putting his mouth on her own undesiring one, softly moving his body against her. What was the need? She felt a long way away from him, and superior, also.”
― Angela Carter, quote from The Magic Toyshop

“What is Aunt Margaret made of? Bird bones and tissue paper, spun glass and straw.”
― Angela Carter, quote from The Magic Toyshop

“But needs must when the devil drives.”
― Angela Carter, quote from The Magic Toyshop

“Finn is Daddy,' said Victoria with fat satisfaction.
'Not yet,' said Finn. 'But we'll christen the first one Proximity.'
Melanie choked on a mouthful.”
― Angela Carter, quote from The Magic Toyshop

“NU S-AR FI AȘTEPTAT CA SUFLETUL LUI SĂ CUNOASCĂ ASTFEL DE TRĂIRI.
[…]
MELANIE SE SIMȚEA UȘOR VINOVATĂ CĂ NU-I PUTEA ÎMPĂRTĂȘI SENTIMENTELE CU ACEEAȘI INTENSITATE.”
― Angela Carter, quote from The Magic Toyshop

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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.