Books Quote by Barbara Wright

That is the mystery: Reading Henry James can yield prose that is contrary to James, yet inspired by him. Who can understand this?

— Joyce Carol Oates

“I armed her against the censures of the world, shewed her that books were sweet unreproaching companions to the miserable, and that if they…

— Oliver Goldsmith

I am re-reading Henry James as a change from history. I began with Daisy Miller, and I've just finished Washington Square. What a brilliant,…

— Antonia Fraser

“He turned and looked at Henry. “Did you always know that you would write all these books?” “I know the next sentence,” Henry said,…

— Colm Tóibín

“The counts of Anjou and their lovely, but wicked wives gained such an unsavory reputation over the centuries that the people of England were…

— Thomas B. Costain

“Encouraged by this to a further examination of his opinions, she proceeded to question him on the subject of books; her favourite authors were…

— Jane Austen

“John had said McKindless would be revealed through his library, but John was a bookseller; he formed his opinion of everyone through their books.”

— Louise Welsh

“Through a story that delineates the power of words to obfuscate, exploit, and distort human reality, Henry James offers his own nuanced, precise, and…

— Siri Hustvedt

“The writing seemed like the books that held it; crumbly and antique and bearing the stink of centuries. Still, it was compelling. His voice…

— Lauren Groff

“She had her own opinions on every subject, and kept steadily to them--very tiresome opinions they often were; as she was always thinking of…

— Emily Brontë

“At the start, we tried to be calm and objective, but that soon fell away, and the purpose of the speakers was to goad…

— Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

“The books are hard. But the more she asked, the more the children gave. And, though they never saw her, there were thousands who…

— Parents' National Education Union