Christmas with the Railway Girls Quotes

“Emily was far from being the little girl whom Cordelia had striven to shape in the image of herself and Kenneth. But that was the point, wasn't it? She had succeeded in bringing up a younger version of Kenneth and herself. the trouble was that while Kenneth remained his middle-class, cultured, urbane self, Cordelia had changed. Her wartime experiences and friendships had opened her eyes and her mind - while her daughter's remained firmly closed”
― Maisie Thomas, Christmas with the Railway Girls

“That's what all this is about. Hope. Yes, it's sensible and practical and folk will benefit from it. But the Christmas Kitchens are about more than giving practical help. They're about goodwill and hope, and you can never have too much of them”
― Maisie Thomas, Christmas with the Railway Girls

“When Cordelia had first known Mrs Cooper, she had thought her a simple soul, but now she valued that simplicity, seeing it as a kind of wisdom. Since losing her beloved only child, Mrs Cooper had looked for pleasure in small things. That was how she got by and made the best of her life. It was something to be admired. Mrs Cooper was neither educated nor cultured, but there was a fundamental goodness in her, a willingness to see the best in others, that few possessed”
― Maisie Thomas, Christmas with the Railway Girls

“Alison delivered a final squeeze and met Mum's approving expression. God, it was appallingly hard doing the decent thing. Wasn't being honourable supposed to make you stronger? It didn't have that effect on her. Her attempts to do right by Lydia were only on the surface. Inside, she was a seething mess of hurt and resentment”
― Maisie Thomas, Christmas with the Railway Girls

“She had gone right back to being the quiet little mouse. What had happened to the bright, pleasant woman from earlier on? A hot feeling expanded inside Colette's chest. The bright, pleasant woman had come home. That's what had happened. She had come home and turned back into the near-silent mouse. Oh my goodness. Was that the explanation? Had Bunty been ground down over the years until all that remained was a quiet little shadow? An obedient shadow? Was Father a bully? The hot sensation in Colette's chest turned in an instant to ice. Was that where Tony got it from? From his Father? Was Tony in the process of grinding her down? In years to come, would she too be nothing more than a near-silent, obedient shadow? Was she halfway to becoming that already?”
― Maisie Thomas, Christmas with the Railway Girls

“Was it wrong of her not to give Emily a lecture on accepting people for themselves instead of judging them according to their position in the world?”
― Maisie Thomas, Christmas with the Railway Girls