Elizabeth Peters citations

“No woman really wants a man to carry her off; she only wants him to want to do it.”

“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.”

“Marriage, in my view, should be a balanced stalemate between equal adversaries.”

“Most men are reasonably useful in a crisis. The difficulty lies in convincing them that the situation has reached a critical point”

“In the silence I heard Bastet, who had retreated under the bed, carrying on a mumbling, profane monologue. (If you ask how I knew it was profane, I presume you have never owned a cat.)”

“She loved the smell of books, the feel of books, the look of them on the shelf.”

“It is much more sensible to be an optimist instead of a pessimist, for if one is doomed to disappointment, why experience it in advance?”

“I do not scruple to employ mendacity and a fictitious appearance of female incompetence when the occasion demands it.”

“Your trousers are on fire. I would have told you, but you so dislike advice…”

“Is is difficult to be angry with a gentleman who pays you compliments, even impertinent compliments. Especially impertinent compliments.”

“If all else fails, we will simply have to drug our attendants, overpower the guards, raise the oppressed peasants to arms, and take over the government.”

“When one is striding bravely into the future one cannot watch one's footing.”

“Another dead body. Every year it is the same. Every year, another dead body…”

“I have learned that particularly clever ideas do not always stand up under close scrutiny.”

“The trouble with unknown enemies is that they are so difficult to identify.”

“Humor is an excellent method of keeping a tight rein on unproductive displays of emotion.”

“There are too many people in the world as it is, but the supply of ancient manuscripts is severely limited.”

“Many persons lead lives of crushing boredom.”

“The combination of physical strength and moral sincerity combined with tenderness of heart is exactly what is wanted in a husband.--Ameila Peabody”

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

“I don't think she realized how much she cared for him, or he for her, until the end. Hasn't someone said a woman may be known by the men who love her enough to die for her? (If they haven't, I claim the credit myself.)”

“There was no warning, not even a knock. The door flew open, and he forgot his present aches and pains in anticipation of what lay in store. The figure that stood in the door was not that of an enemy. It was worse. It was his mother.”

“Nefret had always had an uncanny ability to read his thoughts. 'Did she cry?' she asked sweetly. 'And then you kissed her? You shouldn't have done that. I'm sure you meant well, but kissing someone out of pity is always a mistake.”

“A lady cannot be blamed if a master criminal takes a fancy to her.”

“.. he continues to cling to the forlorn hope that I will turn into one of those swooning females… and fling myself squeeling at him whenever anything happens. Like all men, he clings to his illusions.”