Michelle Cooper > Quotes

“There’s a fine line between gossip and history, when one is talking about kings.”
― Michelle Cooper, A Brief History of Montmaray

“Simon called you 'Machiavelli disguised as a debutante.'" "Gosh," I said, not sure whether to feel flattered or insulted.”
― Michelle Cooper, The FitzOsbornes in Exile

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife,' I said, sighing.
'Is it?' said Veronica, looking surprised. 'Universally acknowledged? Surely that presupposes life similar to human societies beyond this planet, and besides--'
'No, no, it's a quote from ... Never mind,' I said.”
― Michelle Cooper, The FitzOsbornes in Exile

“She seemed to think reading was some sort of hobby, as opposed to being as necessary as breathing, sleeping, and eating.”
― Michelle Cooper, The FitzOsbornes at War

“The way she told it, the English counties are littered with aging spinsters who accidentally displayed a spark of intelligence at a debutante dance and were banished forever from civilized society”
― Michelle Cooper, A Brief History of Montmaray

“When I was little, I longed and longed to be older, except now I can't recall what exactly it was that I most keenly anticipated. Being allowed to stay up as late as I wanted? To wear or eat or read whatever I pleased? Well, I could do all those things now, but mostly I don't--either because I have to get up early for work the next morning, or haven't enough money to buy the outfit I really love, or for some other boring, grown-up reason. Also, children don't realize what a huge proportion of adult life is used up worrying about things--from what to make for dinner and whether one's sheets will get dry in time to make the beds that night, to whether one will ever manage to meet the right man and marry him. Shouldn't being a grown-up be slightly more exhilarating?”
― Michelle Cooper, The FitzOsbornes at War

“When I asked her what she'd thought of Pride and Prejudice, she only wondered aloud how anyone could have written a novel set in the first part of the nineteenth century without once mentioning Napoleon.”
― Michelle Cooper, A Brief History of Montmaray

“And I’ll gaze across the chasm to the other side of the island, where I can still sometimes catch sight of a curly-haired urchin running joyously through the tall purple grass, her faithful dog at her heels.”
― Michelle Cooper, The FitzOsbornes at War

“Do you know what it is?' [Toby] said thoughtfully. 'It's that they haven't had anything really awful happen to them. No wonder they seem so superficial and unfeeling.'
It was certainly an interesting theory, ... [but] surely one didn't need to have suffered in order to possess empathy for those who had? All it required was a bit of imagination and a well-stocked library.”
― Michelle Cooper, The FitzOsbornes in Exile

“If all women were as frail as men seem to believe, the human race would have died out millennia ago.”
― Michelle Cooper, A Brief History of Montmaray

“I wondered whether mad people would be better off if their memories could be neatened up, or taken off the shelves on which they were stored and replaced with nicer ones, and if they'd be the same person then, or completely different ones, and whether dreams were like a vandal rampaging through a library of memories, tearing out random pages and turning them into paper boats...”
― Michelle Cooper, The FitzOsbornes in Exile

“Sometimes I think Life is best summed up as
(a) Awful Bits
and
)b) This That Successfully Distract One from the Awful Bits”
― Michelle Cooper, The FitzOsbornes in Exile

“Perhaps this is one of the reasons Toby dislikes politics-that some of the people who car most about politics seem to have the least compassion for ordinary human beings.”
― Michelle Cooper, A Brief History of Montmaray

“For are any of us non-believers at moments of despair?”
― Michelle Cooper, A Brief History of Montmaray

“For we carry what we love inside us, always.”
― Michelle Cooper, A Brief History of Montmaray

“Are any of us non-believers in moments of despair?”
― Michelle Cooper

“And later, when the sun begins to sink and the infinite sky is streaked with red and gold, I'll stroll out into the courtyard- perhaps even climb the steps to the gatehouse. And I'll gaze across the Chasm to the other side of the island, where I can still sometimes catch sight of a curly-haired urchin running joyously through the tall purple grass, her faithful dog at her heels.”
― Michelle Cooper, The FitzOsbornes at War

“So, it’s just having a charismatic leader, that’s all there is to their popularity?” “It’s also what he promises. Everything will become perfect the moment he takes over. Industry will be more efficient, there’ll be jobs for all, workers will get paid more for working less, education and health care will be freely available. It’s all a lot of nonsense, of course. None of his ideas would actually work, and half of them contradict the other half. But for people without much education, with badly paid, backbreaking jobs—or no jobs at all—it must sound wonderful. And he’s careful to say exactly what his audience wants to hear. He promises to get rid of the idle rich when he’s talking to unemployed miners up north, then he vows to abolish the Communists and trade unions when he’s talking to his fellow idle rich. But the main thing is that he claims he’s the only one who can save Britain from war.” “By letting Hitler do whatever he wants,” I said, disgusted.”
― Michelle Cooper, The FitzOsbornes in Exile

“I think it's unnecessary, extremely risky and altogether one of the stupidest ideas you've ever had,' said Veronica.
'I can't believe they let you work in the Diplomatic Services,' said Toby.”
― Michelle Cooper, The FitzOsbornes at War

“said,”
― Michelle Cooper, The FitzOsbornes at War

“Well, we're all animals, really--just with a veneer of civilization.”
― Michelle Cooper, The FitzOsbornes at War

“Benedict shall protect the house of FitzOsborne now and for eternity.”
― Michelle Cooper