Dorothy Dunnett

“Every ruin is packed like a biscuit box.”

— Dorothy Dunnett

“I echo like a mynah, that’s why.”

— Dorothy Dunnett

“Subject to intelligence, nothing is incalculable.”

— Dorothy Dunnett

“I prize freedom of the mind above freedom of the body.”

— Dorothy Dunnett

Music, the knife without a hilt,

— Dorothy Dunnett

“The darts which make me suffer are my own.”

— Dorothy Dunnett

“Where are the links of the chain ... joining us to the past?”

— Dorothy Dunnett

Fools make news, and wise men carry it.

— Dorothy Dunnett

“Intentions, yours or anyone else's, don't matter; they never matter and never excuse.”

— Dorothy Dunnett

“Go away and bleed to death,’ said his onetime saviour sharply. ‘On behalf of the female sex I feel I may cheer…

— Dorothy Dunnett

I wish to God,” said Gideon with mild exasperation, “that you’d talk—just once—in prose like other people.

— Dorothy Dunnett

Look up . . . and see them. The teaching stars, beyond worship and commonplace tongues.

— Dorothy Dunnett

“..when two friends discuss money, the third friend should invariably be asleep.”

— Dorothy Dunnett

It was one of the occasions when Lymond asleep wrecked the peace of mind of more people than Lymond awake.

— Dorothy Dunnett

Man is a being of varied, manifold and inconstant nature. And woman, by God, is a match for him.

— Dorothy Dunnett

“In Rome there is a pathological shortage of small coins. For change, the little shops tend to use candy.”

— Dorothy Dunnett

“His tranquil smile deepened. ‘We shall meet in Malta, Jerott. Pray for us all. God has been good tonight.’ ‘Thompson has been…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“You might, without my crediting it, fall deeply in love and forever, with some warped hunchback whelped in the gutter. I should…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“Lymond surveyed the grinning audience with an air of gentle discovery. “Is there no work to be done? Or perhaps it’s a…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“And if there’s no trouble, you’ll make it,’ offered Will Scott, his eyes bright, his cheeks red. ‘No. At the moment,’ affirmed…

— Dorothy Dunnett

You all know that each title in the Chronicles has a chess theme; that's partly because of the overall design of the…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“As a highly qualified Turkish-trained concubine from the harem of Suleiman the Magnificent, Philippa Somerville settled into English court life as a…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“And as he followed after the Irishwoman, Margaret Erskine, most levelheaded of women, picked up a Palissy vase, looked at it earnestly…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“Happiness, that most childish of states, is infectious. Furthermore, in its innocence, it will not be hidden, even when tempered with sorrow”

— Dorothy Dunnett

“Standing safely on the opposite bank with her dry maid, her dry escort, and a company of streaming horsemen, Philippa said scathingly,…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“Jerott’s hand increased its grip on her arm. ‘He is an island with all its bridges wantonly severed. What hostage to evil,’…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“So Philippa got her leave to bring Archie Abernethy with her and sail on the Dauphiné. But they had not seen the…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“Philippa Somerville, standing back a little, did not withdraw her arm. In her white face, a shadow of motherly irritation appeared. ‘Has…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“To pass over grief, they say, the Italian sleeps; the Frenchman sings; the German drinks; the Spaniard laments, and the Englishman goes…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“Tant que je vive, mon cueur ne changera Pour nulle vivante, tant soit elle bonne ou sage Forte et puissante, riche de…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“Then she said, "Thorfinn!" quickly, and moved to him; but had hardly got to his side before he loosed his fingers and…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“Among the loose animals, the Keeper’s sick camel, a lady of brittle temper, had bobbed her tassels and sunk her yellow teeth…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“He was a second too late. Ducking, the felt-capped man, muscles hard, dragged himself out of that grasp and, flinging off to…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“… Jerott?’ Two steps away, Jerott stood perfectly still. ‘I hear you.’ ‘You sound like a schoolmaster,’ said Lymond’s voice at his…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“Moving forward quietly to Jerott’s side, Adam Blacklock had heard. ‘Don’t you understand? The authorities are afraid of them both,’ he said…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“The sparkling smile became enormous. ‘Do you think she has a dagger there? Do you? Ask her, M. Francis? For,’ said the…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“Kate slid to her knees, pulling the child’s head to her breast, her mouth in its hair. “Pippa. Pippa, we’re awful fools.…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“Perfectly prepared to be an eavesdropper but unwilling to look like one, Philippa backed quickly towards the door and collided, hard, with…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“He’d heard of this woman. The Dame de Doubtance, they called her: a madwoman and a caster of horoscopes. Gaultier gave her…

— Dorothy Dunnett

“The six elephants stood, roped each by the foreleg side by side in the vast thirty-foot tent put up several days since…

— Dorothy Dunnett