“Most English talk is a quadrille in a sentry-box.”
Said by the Duchess in Book V, ch. XIX.
The Awkward Age (1899)
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Henry James 154
American novelist, short story author, and literary critic 1843–1916Related quotes

“Philosophy, is the talk on a cereal box.
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When an MP sought to correct Palmerston when he said "non-interference" instead of "non-intervention" in the House of Commons http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1832/aug/02/germany-protocol-of-the-diet (2 August 1832)
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“The most original novelist now writing in English.”
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"Notes on Translation", in The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 202, No. 5 (November 1958), p. 109

“The two most beautiful words in the English language are 'cheque enclosed.”