"'Can a magician kill a man by magic?” Lord Wellington asked Strange. Strange frowned. He seemed to dislike the question. “I suppose a magician might,” he admitted, “but a gentleman never would.'"
— Susanna Clarke (Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell)

""Oh! And they read English novels! David! Did you ever look into an English novel? Well, do not trouble yourself. It is nothing but a lot of nonsense about girls with fanciful names getting married."

From "Tom Brightwind""
— Susanna Clarke

"To sit and pass hour after hour in idle chatter with a roomful of strangers is to me the worst sort of torment."
— Susanna Clarke

"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much."
— Oscar Wilde

"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells."
— Dr. Seuss

"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea."
— Robert A. Heinlein