By Taylor Jasmine | On May 16, 2016 | Updated September 30, 2022 | Comments (0)
Dame Rebecca West (1892 – 1983) was one of the most respected and prolific intellectual minds of the twentieth century. At her death in 1983, William Shawn, then the editor of The New Yorker said of her:
“Rebecca West was one of the giants and will have a lasting place in English literature. No one in this century wrote more dazzling prose, or had more wit, or looked at the intricacies of human character and the ways of the world more intelligently.”
A prolific author of essays, novels, and weighty books of nonfiction, she was a force to be reckoned with and shouldn’t be forgotten. Here are some thought-provoking quotes by Rebecca West: Read More→
By Taylor Jasmine | On May 11, 2016 | Updated June 6, 2024 | Comments (12)
Carson McCullers (1917 – 1967) won numerous literary accolades for her 1940 novel The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Following is a selection of quotes from The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, a twentieth-century classic.
Published when McCullers was only twenty-three, she described herself as “much too young to understand what happened to me or the responsibility it entailed.” Still, it was an epic achievement and a marvel that one so young had such a grasp of human nature.
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is concerned with the struggle of human beings to build bridges of communication between their separate islands of loneliness. A 1940 review stated: Read More→
By Nava Atlas | On April 23, 2016 | Updated May 22, 2020 | Comments (0)
Katherine Mansfield (1888 – 1923) was a complex, brilliant writer of short stories who lived with tuberculosis for several years that overlapped with her most productive time as a writer. The following selection of gutsy and inspiring quotes by Katherine Mansfield that demonstrate her desire to live life to the fullest, even at its most difficult times.
New Zealand-born Mansfield adopted the bohemian life in London in 1908, and it was then that she began writing short stories.
Her first collection was published in 1911 and reflected a certain disillusionment with her native country. Titled In a German Pension, it received favorable reviews and was praised for “acute insight” and “unquenchable humour.” Read More→
By Nava Atlas | On July 11, 2015 | Updated September 29, 2025 | Comments (4)
Gertrude Stein (1874 – 1946), American author of experimental prose and poetry, had a way with words —many, many words. Many were beautiful and wise; and just as many were delightfully perplexing. Following are a few favorites among a vast selection of slightly absurd quotes by Gertrude Stein.
Born into a well-to-do family Jewish family in Pennsylvania, Stein went to college at Radcliffe and then studied medicine for four years at Johns Hopkins University. She lived most of her adult life in Paris, where she moved in 1903.
Stein and her brother Leo Stein amassed an important art collection; the two lived together in Paris for some years, but after she met her life partner, Alice B. Toklas, she and her brother became estranged. Read More→
By Taylor Jasmine | On May 25, 2015 | Updated September 26, 2022 | Comments (0)
Every Pride and Prejudice fan can quote the famous opening line of Jane Austen’s beloved classic, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” There are lots more gems where that came from, as evidenced by the memorable quotes from Pride and Prejudice on life, love, and marriage that follow.
Jane’s family recognized her talent, and with the assistance of her father and brothers, they sought to find a publisher for Pride and Prejudice. Amazingly considering the book’s iconic status, they met with no success. Soon, they embarked on a similar mission for Sense and Sensibility. Read More→
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