Barbara Pym, Excellent Women Quotes

I realised that one might love him secretly with no hope of encouragement, which can be very enjoyable for the young or inexperienced.

I stretched out my hand towards the little bookshelf where I kept cookery and devotional books, the most comfortable bedside reading.

We, my dear Mildred, are the observers of life. Let other people get married by all means, the more the merrier. . . . Let Dora marry if she likes. She hasn't your talent for observation.