The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Quotes

“Is it immoral to marry a man solely to gain a library? And if that man happens to be tremendously good looking, is it more or less of a sin?”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“Of course I’m coming with you. Don’t be daft. My friends do not go to war alone.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“It was Hawkes who gave voice. “Alchemy.” I shivered. That mythical pursuit that turns disparate elements to gold.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“We must be our own before we can be another’s.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“Well, let us hold the pass. No traitors among us.
WE WILL FIGHT IN THE SHADE.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“Bless a man who knows how to keep his own counsel when you can’t bear to speak.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“He said nothing, did nothing but keep me close. I, feeling like a ghost he kept chained to earth.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“I expect you want tea, now that you’ve driven my curiosity a country mile and abandoned it on the side of the road?”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“Novel writers, bless them, are such strange birds.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“Yet here I was, determined to fight in the shade. I felt lifted. Noble. Spartan.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“Better be a nettle in the side of your friend than his echo.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“You’re not half so bad once you get dolled up a bit, love.” Clearly the epitaph on my future gravestone.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“we were happily laughing when we came round a corner to meet a familiar mustache, which happened to be attached to the face of my banker, Mr. Penury.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“It was then I thought that life—my life, in particular—wasn’t wholly worth giving up on yet.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“painful.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“My feelings for October are fierce: a sharp love of cool air, a season transforming the landscape towards, and through, death.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“And if that man happens to be tremendously good looking”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“Is it immoral to marry a man solely to gain a library? And if that man happens to be tremendously good looking”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“JOLLY GOOD FUN!” they all cried out.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“And a Wordsworth sonnet,
The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers…”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“I nearly sliced it clean off?” he retorted. “If I remember, you were the one who had gotten hold of your uncle’s sword—” “That small fact is not overly relevant to how you looked, Roland,” I insisted, taking off my gloves. “Did it scar?”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“I ran my fingers along the euphoric texture of the paper and sighed with contentment. Felicity is the gift of a book.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“I took a few moments to compose myself. To compose oneself—such a strange phrase. As if one were a musical score. If I were, what would I be? Emma M. Lion in D Minor?”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“Ah,” I answered in my best ducal disapprobation.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“Rain this morning. It smells of Heaven. Or how Heaven would smell, were I in charge. That doesn’t feel blasphemous, but it sounds as if it might be. Reminder to self: Enquire of Hawkes. Come to think of it, I’ve never looked into the theological record of what canonical scripture supposes the scent of Heaven to be. Wet earth? Fresh grass? Both of which make up the transcendent aroma of rain. I rest my case.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“Penury’s frown deepened. He steepled his fingers across his waist. “You are wise in this thing. However, if the right man should come along, and money looks more like love than one would initially suppose, don’t turn your back on a chance for happiness merely because he has the means to save you.” It was the most fiscally romantic thing I had ever heard.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“Strange is nice.” “Is it?” I repeated. Pierce gave his head a single shake. “Strange is that unexpected moment that stays with you, that makes you think about it again. Strange is memorable, and compelling.” I lifted an eyebrow. “Strange means odd, or bizarre.” “Perhaps we have different internal dictionaries.” “Most certainly.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“Emma, I’ve found the world only wants me for my looks. If I can’t use them to my advantage, more fool me.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“And so, having several hours of freedom, Arabella visited me at Lapis Lazuli for an afternoon of double tea and conversation. The double tea meaning we bookended the visit. Tea to commence. Tea to conclude. It does not strike me as particularly excessive. The afternoon played itself out in five acts.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4

“But bullies do not often quiet themselves. “I have the right to say anything I like in my own house,” Lord Stuart stated. “I don’t bloody care,” Pierce answered slowly. “Do what you will. Rant, rave, make life miserable for all those around you. But if you come at Miss Lion, I will come at you.”
― Beth Brower, The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4