A Conspiracy in Belgravia Quotes

“To be thought of as the perfect woman for a man isn’t a compliment to a woman, it’s more about how a man sees himself—and what he needs.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“I try not to expect people to be who I wish them to be, rather than who they are.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“A woman who has nothing left to lose can prove dangerous.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“God gives us only one life. But with good books, we can live a hundred, even a thousand lives in the time we are allotted on this earth.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“Her aunt would be appalled at her forwardness. But Penelope had long ago decided that while the meek might inherit the earth, the non-meek enjoys far more interesting conversations— to say the least.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“Patience is an overrated virtue. It’s much more fun to have what you want now—especially since there is no guarantee that a longer wait will produce better results.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“To be thought of as the perfect woman for a man isn't a compliment to a woman, it's more about how a man sees himself. Should we marry, either I will be exhausted trying to keep his illusion intact — or Lord Bancroft will be severely disappointed in his choice. Likely both.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“Our envy always lasts longer than the happiness of those we envy.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“Many people, women especially, she had observed, responded to a compliment by explaining what they had—or hadn’t done—to merit it.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“Mrs. Watson was feeling a little sorry for herself. Widowed, in the autumn of her life, her only relation away much of the year. But oh, such warmth radiated through her at Miss Holmes’s words, as if she’d swallowed a drop of sunfire and now glowed from within. True, certain beloved phases of her life had come to an end, but with Miss Holmes’s arrival, a whole new vista had opened up. And for one who had tended her years with care, autumn need not be a season of scarcity or regret—but one of harvest and celebration.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“young people had a remarkable lack of interest in the lives of their elders, preferring them to be like the walls of a house: holding up the roof and keeping out the elements, but otherwise completely ignorable.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“She understood the charges of profligacy and shallowness pelted at the Upper Ten Thousand, at those whose entire lives revolved around endless arrays of entertainment. But she also knew that for those on the inside, it was the only way they had been taught to live. Few, in the end, ever truly defied the way they were taught to live.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“Oh, my.” Charlotte was already huffing and puffing after a quarter of an hour. “I don’t know that I can keep up for much longer.”

“Come, Miss Holmes. Think of it as staving off the arrival of Maximum Tolerable Chins. After you exercise, you can indulge your appetite more freely.”

Charlotte panted. “Well, in that case, I might find some additional willpower.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“Livia, on the other hand, actively preferred literary characters to real-life acquaintances: Tom Sawyer stayed forever young, Viola always retained her spunk, and Mr. Darcy could never turn out to be a hypocrite who was also disappointing in bed.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“And then Sherlock Holmes had turned out to be a woman with loose morals and no remorse.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“I'm glad you don't see it as romantic."
"Good gracious, no. It's selfish, pure and simple.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“And for one who had tended her years with care, autumn need not be a season of scarcity or regret—but one of harvest and celebration”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“The Holy Bible. Encyclopedia Britannica. Mr. William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies, otherwise known as the First Folio.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“I’m surprised when people are not me. I’m shocked when they are not them.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“She bit down on another slice of pound cake, her appetite for rich, buttery solace even greater when faced with intractable dilemmas.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“Lord Bancroft had demanded that she source each fact and justify every opinion, while he played devil’s advocate and asked why she didn’t believe in the exact opposite of what she did.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“Charlotte sat before her vanity, pinning up her hair and counting her chins.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“Moreover, he was the sort of fortunate man who could eat what he pleased without having to worry about exceeding Maximum Tolerable Chins. In fact, Charlotte suspected that the more he ate, the leaner he became.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“Of course. Now she saw the error of her ways. She had been so consumed by the Vigenère cipher that she—horrors—hadn’t been eating properly. A quick glance at the mirror told her that she was down to only one point three chins. No wonder her brain was so slow and unwieldy, like a steam engine on the last shovel of coal.

Two more madeleines and she felt like a new woman.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“She glanced down at the muffin, as if debating whether to drench it with even more butter. The term Maximum Tolerable Chins popped into Mrs. Watson’s head—it had come up the first time they sat down at the table together, the benchmark for whether Miss Holmes ate as she wished or gave in to the lamentable necessity to curb her appetite.

With visible regret Miss Holmes set down her butter knife.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia

“She picked up her spoon, gathered the last bit of trifle from her bowl, and consumed it with her characteristic mixture of gourmandise and wistfulness.”
― Sherry Thomas, A Conspiracy in Belgravia