Harriet Tyce > Quotes

“We don't need drink to be pleasant”
― Harriet Tyce, Blood Orange

“Thoughts creep in of time earlier than that, a darker night some months before, the old barrister who thought that young female pupils were his for the taking, his for the groping. I had to struggle hard, kick him harder still before I was able to break free. I stop at the place where it happened, to the left of the stairs, wiping my hands down my skirt. Nearly two decades ago but still fresh in my mind.”
― Harriet Tyce, The Lies You Told

“A mother, a father, two children and a cat, the family structure I longed for so much.”
― Harriet Tyce, The Lies You Told

“You might look like a bit of a slapper, Alison, but you’re my slapper.”
― Harriet Tyce, Blood Orange

“I asked the hotel if they’d take the alcohol out of the room. We don’t need drink to have a good time.’ ‘Did you actually just say that? You sanctimonious prick.”
― Harriet Tyce, Blood Orange

“Not that we know of. And, in general, they’re overworked, under-resourced, under-staffed. That’s why so many rape trials are falling by the wayside – a girl makes an allegation, the defence finally get to go through her phone and, boom! In whatever way, she shows she isn’t purer than the driven snow. The jury won’t convict.”
― Harriet Tyce, The Lies You Told

“Despite everything, the forced nature of this new start, I feel a twinge of excitement. At least I’m finally going to be able to use my legal qualifications again. I’m going back to work. I walk fast down”
― Harriet Tyce, The Lies You Told

“Looking up at them, I feel smaller and stockier than usual, a workhorse to their thoroughbred elegance.”
― Harriet Tyce, Blood Orange

“I’m not surprised. You should have dumped him years ago – you’ve wasted the last decade of your life. At least you haven’t left it too late to get back to work. Honestly, these women with so much promise, degrees from the best universities, brilliant practices, and they give it all up to go off and have children.”
― Harriet Tyce, The Lies You Told

“The affair for me was solace and escape, a relief because I was wanted and not pushed to side.”
― Harriet Tyce, Blood Orange

“Her accounts have been inconsistent, the conferences with her trying and over-emotional. But in her position, what would I have done differently? I believe what she’s said about Edwin’s abuse of her, and I understand”
― Harriet Tyce, Blood Orange

“I’ve raged about it silently over these years. But surely Barbara can’t be so blind to the realities of the situation, the difficulties faced by parents in such an inflexible working environment, the demands of court and the cab-rank rule taking precedence over all other considerations.”
― Harriet Tyce, The Lies You Told

“There you were, one of our brightest young tenants, crown court trials rolling in, and you chuck it all in for a baby. All seems rather a shame, if you ask me.”
― Harriet Tyce, The Lies You Told

“She and I have both let our husbands tell us how to feel bad about ourselves, carrying all the guilt for failures that belong to them too.”
― Harriet Tyce, Blood Orange

“but he has a weak chin and a petulant mouth.”
― Harriet Tyce, The Lies You Told

“All this stuff we tell them, by your best, not be the best. I'm not sure that Julia has got that memo yet.”
― Harriet Tyce, The Lies You Told

“And actions have consequences. I know I keep saying the phrase, but it’s one of my therapist’s favourites, and I think it’s a really good one to bear in mind.’ The”
― Harriet Tyce, Blood Orange

“We did, but not anymore. You’ve made that abundantly clear. And I think you’re a damaging, toxic person, Alison. You’re entirely selfish. Almost narcissistic. Matilda needs to have you out of her life, and I’ll do everything in my power to ensure that happens.”
― Harriet Tyce, Blood Orange

“Nothing should be unforgivable," he says. We should always strive to see both sides of the story.”
― Harriet Tyce, The Lies You Told

“Ah yes, of course. You had a baby. Your career was about to take off, and you got pregnant and disappeared off to America. Don’t you think it was rather a waste?”
― Harriet Tyce, The Lies You Told

“It’s so sad . . . He had so much to offer, so much to live for. Well, if only he’d been able to control himself better. A fatal flaw. He was such a good boss – I was due to become a full partner soon, too.”
― Harriet Tyce, Blood Orange

“Yes,’ she says. ‘Yes, James stabbed Edwin. His father. Edwin beat me once too often, hurt James for the last time. It was James who snapped, not me. And as a mother, what do you suggest I do now?’ It’s a hiss but it cuts through the air as loud as a shout.”
― Harriet Tyce, Blood Orange

“So it”
― Harriet Tyce, Blood Orange

“Alison, leave her.’ Carl pushes me to one side and picks Matilda up. He holds her close, turning to face me over her shoulder. He looks at me with disappointment. ‘I wish you’d think more.’ ‘I do think . . .’ I start to say. He interrupts, ‘I just worry about Matilda being exposed to second-hand smoke.’ ‘I’m not. I don’t think my clothes smell. It’s the house . . .’ My words trail off. ‘It’s clearly not the house. No one’s allowed to smoke in the house. Just get your suit dry-cleaned and tell your clients they can’t smoke in front of you. Think about Matilda.”
― Harriet Tyce, Blood Orange

“But as her barrister . . . I know there’s something that doesn’t feel right, something I’m missing, just out of the corner of my eye. I stop telling her about the limitations of mitigation and steel myself.”
― Harriet Tyce, Blood Orange

“All so much in common, abusive childhoods leading to abuse of alcohol and drugs, deprivation and a desperation that sometimes externalised itself in raging demands”
― Harriet Tyce, Blood Orange

“Because the last time I looked at the law on murder, it seemed pretty clear-cut that sticking a knife into someone repeatedly is pretty damn illegal. If you’ll pardon my pun.”
― Harriet Tyce, Blood Orange

“He did go too far. He’d make all the decisions for us. For me. And I didn’t mind. It was a relief to have someone take over. I loved him so much, I just wanted him to be happy. And I wasn’t always good at making him happy. I fucked up a lot.”
― Harriet Tyce, Blood Orange

“Someone standing on their head while their kid’s in a coma,”
― Harriet Tyce, The Lies You Told

“All those years I gave up after having Robin, living in a place where I couldn’t use my qualifications, all for Andrew’s job. At least I’m back in court – thanks to you. A school place for Robin, a place to live, enough money from the trust to keep us so that I’ve got time to build up a practice. We’ll make it work.”
― Harriet Tyce, The Lies You Told