Kate Hardy Quotes

“and what is more annoying than to be chatted to when you are absorbed in a book?”
― D.E. Stevenson, Kate Hardy

“The evenings were not so bad, for Kate did not write in the evening unless Stephen forced her to do so, and, realising that Milly was lonely, Kate set herself out to be entertaining and agreeable to her guest. Sometimes she felt tired after writing all day and would much rather have gone out for a walk or listened peacefully to a little music, but she flattered herself that she could behave like a reasonable being whatever her mood. Kate believed that one had no right to annoy other people by one’s moods. Moods were one’s own affair and should be dealt with accordingly. She suffered a good deal from those sudden fluctuations of temper which afflict all creative artists, especially when their imagination is at full flood. One day she would be brimming with inexplicable joy and the next plunged in unreasonable gloom. She believed in God, but her faith, instead of burning as a comforting warm fire, would flare up like a flame in the wind or sink into a smouldering heap of ashes. In spite of all this, however, Kate usually managed to be pleasant to her neighbours, and they, taking her at her face value, believed her to be placid and serene. Milly”
― D.E. Stevenson, Kate Hardy