One never quite allows for the moron in our midst.

The best time to plan a book is while you're doing the dishes.

Nobody knows what another person is thinking. They may imagine they do, but they are nearly always wrong.

You are the patient one, Mademoiselle,' said Poirot to Miss Debenham. She shrugged her shoulders slightly. 'What else can one do?' You are a philosopher, Mademoiselle.' That implies a detached attitude. I think my attitude is more selfish. I have learned to save myself useless emotion.

And, of course, afterwards -- one always hears these things afterwards, so much better if one heard them before -- we found out that dozens of empty brandy bottles were taken out of the house every week!

Words, mademoiselle, are only the outer clothing of ideas.

She was a lucky woman who had established a happy knack of writing what quite a lot of people wanted to read.