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If you take a man by surprise, and behave with sufficient arrogance, he will generally do what you ask. -Emerson

Barbara Mertz

I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be the respected patriarch of an ordinary English family.” “Very boring, Emerson.
BARBARA MERTZ

English Ordinary Sometimes Wonder
He hesitated for a moment. Then he said softly, “I love you, Mother.” He took my hand and kissed it, and folded my fingers round the stem of the rose. He had stripped it of its thorns.
BARBARA MERTZ

Love Mother Son You
Many persons lead lives of crushing boredom.
BARBARA MERTZ

Boredom Crush Persons
Since I am not as stupid as my children believe I am, I had immediately realized this might be a ruse, but I was not at all averse to a confrontation. In fact, I had been hoping for some such thing.
BARBARA MERTZ

Believe Children Stupid
Cats always made up to the people who hated them the most. Depending on how you chose to look at it, it was a touching manifestation of trust, or a malicious pleasure in human discomfort.
BARBARA MERTZ

Cat People Touching
But the dust! And the clutter! My housewifely and scholarly instincts were equally offended.
BARBARA MERTZ

Dust Instinct Scholarly
kissing someone out of pity is always a mistake.
BARBARA MERTZ

Kissing Mistake Someone
I do not scruple to employ mendacity and a fictitious appearance of female incompetence when the occasion demands it.
BARBARA MERTZ

Appearance Demand Female
The way to get on with a cat is to treat it as an equal – or even better, as the superior it knows itself to be.
BARBARA MERTZ

Cat Treats Way
A lady cannot be blamed if a master criminal takes a fancy to her.
BARBARA MERTZ

Criminals Fancy Masters
Another dead body. Every year it is the same. Every year, another dead body.
BARBARA MERTZ

Another Body Every Year Years
a church ought to express the joy of religion as well as its majesty.
BARBARA MERTZ

Church Joy Majesty
It’s not unsporting to thrash a cowardly cad,’ said Simmons. ‘Everyone knows you don’t fight like a gentleman.’ ‘That might be called an oxymoron,’ Ramses said. ‘Oh–sorry. Bad form to use long words. Look it up when you get home.’ The poor devil didn’t know how to fight, like a gentleman or otherwise.
BARBARA MERTZ

Fighting Home Sorry
Humor is an excellent method of keeping a tight rein on unproductive displays of emotion.
BARBARA MERTZ

Emotion Excellent Method
Sometimes the characters develop almost without your knowing it. You find them doing things you hadn’t planned on, and then I have to go back to page 42 and fix things. I’m not recommending it as a way to write. It’s very sloppy, but it works for me.
BARBARA MERTZ

Character Knowing Writing
Conventional history completely ignores half the human race.
BARBARA MERTZ

Half History Race

If you take a man by surprise, and behave with sufficient arrogance, he will generally do what you ask. -Emerson

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If you take a man by surprise, and behave with sufficient arrogance, he will generally do what you ask. -Emerson

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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