The Last Castle Quotes

“It was a time of repurposing. “Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without,” was the motto of the time.”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without,”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“Elbridge Gerry, the fifth vice president of the United States—under President James Madison—and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. (Due to his incessant fiddling with voter districts in Massachusetts to shape them in his favor, Elbridge Gerry infamously inspired the term “gerrymandering.”)”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“Mrs. Gerry was an outstanding figure here,” the paper noted, “not because she tried to be, but because she couldn’t help being.”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“nobody ever became a writer just by wanting to be one. “Nothing any good isn’t hard.”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“May your joys be as many as the sands of the sea,”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“So ended a day many had dreaded,” Natalie wrote in her diary on Christmas Day, “but by doing and thinking of others, we had forgotten self.”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“Conformity,” she wrote, “is the bane of middle class communities.”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“Half the pleasure in life comes from learning to choose between things.”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“The rich sought to conquer one another on battlefields of architectural grandeur. Society fought wars in ballrooms and twinkling parlors, wielding the most haute of designers and decor as their weapons of choice, Italian marble beneath their feet.”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“Edith’s new fiancé was the grandson of Elbridge Gerry, the fifth vice president of the United States—under President James Madison—and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. (Due to his incessant fiddling with voter districts in Massachusetts to shape them in his favor, Elbridge Gerry infamously inspired the term “gerrymandering.”)”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“George’s”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“George often bought books from publishers in an unbound state, then had the volumes bound according to his own preferences”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“The town has grown into a mecca for foodies, outdoor enthusiasts, and artists—those seeking to reinvent themselves far from urban centers—without forgoing access to theater, film, excellent restaurants, beautiful surroundings, and lots of beer. Ironically, the town that adopted prohibition more than a decade before the Volstead Act became law, has repeatedly earned the title of “Beer City.” At this writing, the mountain town of fewer than 100,000 boasts one of the largest number of craft breweries per capita of any city in the United States.”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“dining room. On Sunday, supper was eaten early”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“It was a reminder in this time of tarnishing gilt, that should all else crumble, memories of gestures made, thoughtfulness considered, and seeds of inspiration planted, might outlast all.”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“Chase National Bank in New York”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“gold for those lives lost,”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“Staten Island”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“the island,”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“New Dorp,”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“Greensboro-born William Sydney Porter—better”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“a stuffed bear: “Teddy’s Bear.” Roosevelt okayed the use of his name, and—thanks in no small part to LeRoy Dresser—the Teddy Bear was born.”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“regular deliveries of ice blocks from the local purveyor.”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“noted naturalist and Sierra Club cofounder John Muir,”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“Grand Central Depot, which George’s grandfather, the Commodore, had unveiled in 1871.”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“Napoleon-commissioned Arc de Triomphe.”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“6,500 square feet.”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“for Columbia University.”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle

“Calvert Vaux, had already designed the most dynamic city parks of the day, including Central Park in Manhattan and Prospect Park in Brooklyn.”
― Denise Kiernan, The Last Castle