Allison Montclair > Quotes

“She would at the very least need a governess to take care of Ronnie while she went off to The Right Sort every day. And a maid and a cook. Or a maid who could cook. Or a cook/maid/governess, if there was such a thing. Oh, wait, she thought. There are such things. They’re called wives.”
― Allison Montclair, The Right Sort of Man

“One of your strengths, rather,” said Iris. “Sensitive is certainly a word no one has ever applied to me. I’m the proverbial bull in the china shop.” “Cow,” said Gwen. “I’ve been called that a few times in other contexts,” said Iris. “I wonder why only bulls qualify for that expression?” “Because males blunder about and do more damage,” said Gwen. “A cow in a china shop would look at the lovely patterns and think about having some tea. With milk.”
― Allison Montclair, The Right Sort of Man

“Yes. He tried to kiss me. Succeeded, too.” “I thought that he might.” “You could have given me some warning.” “What was I supposed to say? ‘Look out! He has lips! And he’s going to use them!”
― Allison Montclair, The Right Sort of Man

“Hope," said Sparks. "Powerful force when you have none. One glimmer on the horizon is all you need sometimes.”
― Allison Montclair, The Unkept Woman

“Tillie found herself ushered in and plopped onto a wooden chair that creaked ominously. There were two desks in front of her on either side of a single window. They looked like they themselves had served during the war, perhaps seeing combat in some skirmish against German furniture, and now sat battered but unbowed, the one on the left jammed against the wall for partial support, a book stuffed under one leg which was noticeably shorter than the others.”
― Allison Montclair, The Right Sort of Man

“Women want such unlikely things—
romance and adventure and excitement—
but what’s the use? —E. M. DELAFIELD, TO SEE OURSELVES (1930)”
― Allison Montclair, The Right Sort of Man

“I shall careen through the alphabet of love until I meet a zoologist from Zanzibar named Zoltan, then I will settle down for good," said Iris. "Just him, me, and the lower primates."
"That's not what we call children," said Gwen sternly...”
― Allison Montclair, The Unkept Woman

“I prefer to be optimistic about things. It’s so much more pleasant in the long run.”
― Allison Montclair, The Unkept Woman

“One's past doesn't like being put behind one, she thought. There are no dungeons strong enough or deep enough to lock it away and forget it forever. It will find a way to erupt back into the present, scorching everything in its path.”
― Allison Montclair, The Unkept Woman

“Libraries are my refuges against the world, Gwen. You know that.”
― Allison Montclair, A Rogue's Company

“There were many women I have had to dance with tonight,” he said as they whirled around the room. “There is only one I wanted to dance with.” “Then I’m sorry she couldn’t be here, Your Majesty,” replied Mrs. Bainbridge. “I hope that I prove an adequate substitute.” “You are very well informed,” he said, laughing ruefully. “Still, it is a lovely thing to dance with a beautiful woman, no matter what the circumstances. One can forget that the world exists outside the dance floor. One can forget that one is no longer young, or healthy. Or king.” “There are things I should like to forget as well, Your Majesty,” said Mrs. Bainbridge. “Let us be amnesiacs together.”
― Allison Montclair, A Royal Affair

“Goodness, you've opened up an entirely new category," said Iris. "See under Gangster, hazards related to the dating of. The subheadings are multiplying like rabbits!”
― Allison Montclair, The Unkept Woman

“Penny for your thoughts,” said Iris. “I was thinking how nice it was to try on clothes again,” said Gwen. “To do something ordinary for once, even if it was in the course of something so strange. To think that I would have to undertake a murder investigation to bring some normality back into my life.” “It’s been seven years of insanity,” agreed Iris. “I had hoped that it would go back to the way it was once the war ended, but it hasn’t.”
― Allison Montclair, The Right Sort of Man

“...there should be a collective noun for the lovers gone from one's life, like an exaltation of larks. I know! A remorsefulness of exes!”
― Allison Montclair, The Unkept Woman

“Is it a two- or three-pipe problem?” “What’s that about?” “Sherlock Holmes smoked a pipe while he sat in his study solving mysteries,” she said. “The harder the case, the more he’d smoke.” “I don’t smoke a pipe,” he said. “I also don’t have a study. Maybe that’s what’s holding me back.”
― Allison Montclair, The Lady from Burma

“Tony”
― Allison Montclair, Fire Must Burn

“The declaration of love," said Iris. "So easy to make when you're young and have no idea what it means."
"He knows what it means," said Gwen. "They all do. We're the ones who've forgot.”
― Allison Montclair, The Unkept Woman

“ALLISON MONTCLAIR grew up devouring hand-me-down Agatha Christie paperbacks and James Bond movies. As a result of this deplorable upbringing, Montclair became addicted to tales of crime, intrigue, and espionage. Montclair now spends their spare time poking through the corners, nooks, and crannies of history, searching for the odd mysterious bits and transforming them into novels of their own. Montclair is the author of The Right Sort of Man, the first Sparks & Bainbridge mystery.”
― Allison Montclair, A Royal Affair