The Gown Quotes

“Worrying about what would become of her work once it was finished was a waste of time, she told herself. The act of creation was what mattered.”
― Jennifer Robson, The Gown

“And tomorrow would be better than today.”
― Jennifer Robson, The Gown

“It was her own fault, as simple as that, and fussing over it or letting herself feel sad wouldn't do a whit of good. It was a shame she wouldn't see him again, for she had truly liked him, and in a different world...
Enough. Enough. It was done, and over, and she'd forget him soon enough, because she had never been the sort of girl to sit around and lick her wounds and moan about how life was unfair. That's what her mum taught her. "Chin up," she'd always said when Ann had come to her in tears about something awful that had happened. A teacher had been cruel at school, her cat had run away, awful Billy from round the corner had pulled her pigtails and said no one would ever kiss her because of her ginger hair. "Just keep your chin up, Ann, and you can face anything," Mum had said. "And don't look back, no matter what you do." Her mum had never been one for hugs or soft words, but she had been honest, and most of the time she'd been right, too. So chin up it was, and no looking back.”
― Jennifer Robson, The Gown

“Just keep your chin up, Ann, and you can face anything,” Mum had said. “And don’t look back, no matter what you do.” Her mum had never been one for hugs or soft words, but she had been honest, and most of the time she’d been right, too. So chin up it was, and no looking back.”
― Jennifer Robson, The Gown

“I know what you mean. All those people who lived through the war. You’d think they were made out of cast iron.”
― Jennifer Robson, The Gown

“then the organ began to play the opening bars of the national anthem and they all sang, a choir of thousands of voices, and it sent shivers up her spine to know the subject of the anthem, the king himself, was listening.”
― Jennifer Robson, The Gown

“So they said goodnight to Miss Duley, who warned them to be careful and for heaven's sake stay well clear of men in uniform.”
― Jennifer Robson, The Gown

“He had given her a book on Miriam Dassin, who was best known for her large-scale embroideries, but had also experimented with mixed-media collage and sculpture.”
― Jennifer Robson, The Gown

“Feeling in need of refreshment, she followed her nose down the street to an Italian café. It was amazing how restorative a few gulps of coffee could be. Hot, bracingly black, and pleasingly bitter, it lifted her spirits far more effectively than the insipid cups of tea so beloved by her English friends.”
― Jennifer Robson, The Gown

“You never know who you’ll meet when you do something new.”
― Jennifer Robson, The Gown

“Grand-Mère’s Friday-Night Chicken My mother made a version of this in the 1970s; I have updated it with ingredients that are readily available today, if not necessarily to cooks of 1947. This is the dish that came to mind when I tried to think of something that Miriam would have made, and though it is far from authentic in its origins, it is delicious and relatively easy to make. Serves 4 1 medium orange ½ teaspoon fennel seeds 8 chicken thighs, skin-on and bone-in, about 3½ to 4 pounds Salt and pepper 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 cup prunes, pitted and halved (quarter if especially large) 1 cup green olives, pitted ½ cup dry white wine or dry (white) vermouth”
― Jennifer Robson, The Gown

“Swirls of tiny gold beads, translucent crystals, and matte copper sequins would cover nearly all the bodice by the time she was finished, the design continuing onto the skirt in irregular waves.”
― Jennifer Robson, The Gown

“was just what she needed, and even after the show’s ridiculously self-centered participants began to grate on her nerves she couldn’t summon up the energy to find a more congenial activity. She was too tired to read, too tired to tackle the mountain of laundry on her closet floor, and too tired to head downstairs and see if Michelle and Sunita felt like going”
― Jennifer Robson, The Gown

“was in need of one hundred grams of green olives, the same amount of prunes, about twenty-five grams of fennel seed, and—although she knew it was a rarity indeed—something that might impart the flavor of fresh orange peel.”
― Jennifer Robson, The Gown

“She would manage, somehow, and spring would come, and her garden would grow green and bright. And she would survive.”
― Jennifer Robson, The Gown

“Not pretty, but lovely, which had seemed somehow better. Deeper and truer, a compliment born of honesty rather than obligation.”
― Jennifer Robson, The Gown