the relationship between the two men was something of a miracle in itself. It was a cordiality based, apparently, on complete non-comprehension cemented by a deep mutual respect for the utterly unknown. No two men saw less eye to eye and the result was unexpected harmony, as if a dog and a fish had mysteriously become friends and were proud each of the other's remarkable dissimilarity to himself.

Good doctors get a mechanic's pleasure in making you tick over.

Of all the band of personal traitors the sense of humor is the most dangerous.

the old fellow seemed to spot deceit as if it reeked like a goat.

She rose and followed her bust from the room.

I write every paragraph four times - once to get my meaning down, once to put in anything I have left out, once to take out anything that seems unnecessary, and once to make the whole thing sound as if I had only just thought of it.

I believe that an author who cannot control her characters is, like a mother who cannot control her children, not really fit to look after them.