Books Quote by Frances Hodgson Burnett
““I do not know whether many people realize how much more than is ever written there really is in a story — how many parts of it are never told — how much more really happened than there is in the book one holds in one’s hand and pores over. Stories are something like letters. When a letter is written, how often one remembers things omitted and says, “Ah, why did I not tell them that?” In writing a book one relates all that one remembers at the time, and if one told all that really happened perhaps the book would never end. Between the lines of every story there is another story, and that is one that is never heard and can only be guessed at by the people who are good at guessing. The person who writes the story may never know all of it, but sometimes he does and wishes he had the chance to begin again. When I wrote the story of “Sara Crewe” I guessed that a great deal more had happened at Miss Minchin’s than I had had time to find out just then.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, 1905
Stories contain unseen layers and untold events beyond the written page, leaving gaps that readers must imagine.
In simple terms: Stories have hidden parts not written.
Accept that stories are incomplete and embrace imagination.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- reading novels
- writing fiction
- teaching literature
- creative workshops
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What hidden details do you imagine in a story?
- How does omission shape your perception?
The author may not capture every detail, limiting full understanding.