Jane Hathaway Quotes & Sayings

When I first thought about becoming Jane Austen I had to forget about the fear, or at least choose something else to focus on because it was becoming paralysing, I couldn't focus. I felt frightened, not so much by her fans' reaction to my performance but that I would be playing someone who I think is a legend, who I respect and admire so much. I didn't want to fail, so I was putting a lot of pressure on myself. — Anne Hathaway

He was like a paperweight, but less mobile. — Mary Jane Hathaway

I wonder what it was really like back then. We think it's all fun and flirting, but there was probably a lot of ugly reality."
"Like the dancing. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Middle of May," Alice said. "I'm a May baby. We're calm, sweet-natured people. — Mary Jane Hathaway

He turned toward the bookshelf, his back to her, saying nothing. He held out one hand and she gave him the Eliot to shelve. His voice was rough. "'Our words have wings, but fly not where we would.'"
Caroline stepped back into her heels. "I always thought she stole that line from Homer. He was all about the 'winged words' in the Odyssey, and then Eliot comes along with that line and everyone falls all over it."
Brooks seemed to be examining the shelf again. "I thought you liked George Eliot."
"I do. I think she was brilliant. But what does that line mean, anyway? Is it about influence? Writing? Distance?" She shrugged, wishing he would step away from the books and turn around.
"Maybe it means that sometimes what we say doesn't come across the way we mean it to." He finally turned, his lips tilted up a bit at the corners. "I always liked 'nothing is so good as it seems beforehand.' I think that's the perfect Eliot quote for the moment we head off to a garden party. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Sometimes, you just needed a friend to sit on your couch and watch your favorite movie. They — Mary Jane Hathaway

When I kissed Brooks, it was like I'd been stun-gunned. But I was still conscious."
Debbie Mae's eyebrows had gone way up. "Awake but nobody home?"
"Well, maybe awake but somebody home with really, really bad judgment. — Mary Jane Hathaway

I feel like this little contraption gave me back a lot of my old friends. — Mary Jane Hathaway

I don't correct anyone's grammar unless they're under five. — Mary Jane Hathaway

I have a bad feeling about this," she said.
"We'll fake it. And if push comes to shove, we can just sing Goober Peas and waltz around."
"Rebecca might not find that very funny."
"Rebecca is a Northerner. You can tell because there aren't any cheese straws on the snack table. — Mary Jane Hathaway

I think you should ignore Sara Teasdale (she's a bit of a moper, to be honest.).
Take Christina Rossetti's advice and be fire. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Linnie. And this Winnie." They wore identical smiles, their bright black eyes sparked with curiosity. "Are you the doctor?"
"No, I'm just volunteering."
"I knowed that, too." Winnie gave her an exaggerated shake of the head. "Girls is never the doctor. They's the nurses."
"Oh no, what about Dr. Clare? Huh? The lady doctor who took care of Grammy in the hospital when she broke her hip bone?" Linnie asked.
"Yeah, but she was a white lady. They can be doctors." Winnie looked at Lucy. "Right? There are white lady doctors. I seen 'em."
Lucy felt her eyes go wide. Were there children who still believed your gender or color dictated your career? "There are white lady doctors, black lady doctors, white man doctors, black man doctors."
They stared at her.
She thought for a moment. "And there are white man nurses and black man nurses, too."
"Now you're just bein' silly," Linnie said and let out a laugh. — Mary Jane Hathaway

I saw goats. A party can't be all bad when you have goats," Lucy said. — Mary Jane Hathaway

I prefer baseball. For future reference, for the luring. — Mary Jane Hathaway

But, for me, being attractive is about more than just what a man's been blessed with. I like that Gideon doesn't know he's the handsomest man in town. Once, when we were on our way to the Finnemore house, a girl almost walked into a post because she wasn't paying attention. But Gideon had no idea. — Mary Jane Hathaway

So, does that make me your girlfriend?"
"Do you want to be?"
"I've never liked that word, actually. It sounds so juvenile. "
He shot her a worried look. "Is there another term you'd prefer?"
"I've always liked 'companion of my heart'. Or 'my better half'. Or maybe even 'the sun in my universe'. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Henry wasn't curious in the least. She just wanted Gideon to stay close. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Caroline leaned forward. "Now explain to me why this is perfectly normal and dressing up in Regency gear is not."
He blinked. "Finley, because the Civil War is history."
"So is Regency England." She laughed, eyes bright. "Just because we're not firing cannons or riding horses doesn't mean it won't be fun. — Mary Jane Hathaway

The sound of the rain faded away and she kissed him, letting herself be as honest as she'd wanted to be, letting her kiss speak for everything she was afraid to say with words. — Mary Jane Hathaway

No, I went to the bar to ask for a mojito and that guy Johnny said he didn't make mojitos. Then he offered to make me a mint julep, in one of those silver cups and everything."
"Did you know say the true cause of the Civil War was some Northerner adding nutmeg to a mint julep?" Lucy asked. — Mary Jane Hathaway

copy instead of finding the book on the shelf. And the finding is half the fun. Browsing on either side, above and below, that is the joy of it. — Mary Jane Hathaway

You don't have to walk me back. I live down the hall." She smiled up at him.
"My mama didn't raise me like that," Paul said, opening the door.
"Actually, your mama has some sense, and would say, 'She lives twenty feet away,' but suit yourself," Mrs. Olivier said. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Not to harp on Jane Austen, but do you know why everyone loves Darcy?"
"Here we go. Austen has the answer for everything." Shelby laughed outright. There were no six degrees of separation for Rebecca: everything related directly back to Jane. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Ah, a romantic." Danny leaned back, threading his fingers behind his head. "I used to be one, until my wife died. And then I was just pathetic. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Lucy rubbed her back, a feeling of panic tightening her chest. She was the last person to give love advice. She hadn't done anything but pine for Jem since he'd gone, and done nothing but pine for him since he'd returned. She hadn't taken her love for him and put it anywhere at all.
Alda looked up, eyes red. "I need to take that love and spread it around. What a waste to just keep it tucked inside. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Bitterness can get you pretty far in life. But love always takes you farther, — Mary Jane Hathaway

Let's get this movie started. There's nothing like a little Austen to soothe the wounded soul," Theresa said. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Getting to know him made me take a real good look at myself. I don't like what I see. I want to be honest with him but I've spent so long lying to everyone, I don't even really know who I am anymore. — Mary Jane Hathaway

. "Don't be a stranger. And pray about that petition you filed."
"Mama," Paul groaned. That was the Christian way of saying "I know you're wrong but you won't take my word for it, so God will have to explain it to you. — Mary Jane Hathaway

There's no way on God's green earth that I'm dressing up like Mr. Darcy." Brooks stretched out on Caroline's bed, hanging his suede wing tips off the edge and crossing his ankles. He laced his fingers behind his head and looked infuriatingly cool and relaxed.
"Not Mr. Darcy. That's the guy from Pride and Prejudice. You're supposed to come as Mr. Knightley. — Mary Jane Hathaway

I hadn't really thought that far ahead. I was trying to put some distance between me and-"
"-the corset" He said, his dimples appearing — Mary Jane Hathaway

Right, I totally forgot. I can't wait to taste the flummery."
"I'm not sure if I want to know what that is," Manning said.
"It's a sort of jelly, but made into a mold that is shaped like a castle or a tower or just a" - Debbie Mae wiggled one hand - "big wobbly thing. The ragout of veal will be a hit, I'm sure. And the Roman punch will have to be changed a little bit. It's usually lemon water and hot syrup with a lot of rum. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Lucy paused, hands full of green beans, her memory flashing back to the giant pots of crawfish on the stove. Her Mama's green eyes would squint into the steam, hair pulled back, a frown of concentration on her face. The salted water was flavored and ready to receive the "mudbugs" out of their burlap sacks. Other than an onion or maybe an ear of corn, if it wasn't alive when you threw it in, then it shouldn't be in the pot, she'd say. Did her Mama mind that Lucy didn't cook those old family recipes? Was she turning her back on her culinary heritage as surely as Paulette was?
She snapped the ends of the beans faster, glancing at the clock. This whole dinner was breaking her Mama's cardinal rule: don't hurry. She thought if a cook was in a hurry, you might as well just make a sandwich and go on your way. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Brooks stuck his hands in his pockets and examined his shoes. It would be nice to be known fully and still loved, but what if it was one or the other? What if by the time someone got to know you, the person didn't love you anymore? And when could you be sure the person really knew you? Two years? Four? It was probably better to pull back while the going was good, rather than to risk losing a marriage on the gamble of someone's still liking the real you, the forty-years-of-marriage you. Yes, definitely better to leave good things alone. Things such as friendship.
"You look like someone ran over your dog." Blanche nudged him with her elbow. — Mary Jane Hathaway

He's come a long way, but he's still never accepted that he's forgiven. — Mary Jane Hathaway

It's the truth." Her voice was barely more than breath.
"I believe you." He was gently kissing his way along her jaw. "You came all this way to bring me a photo."
"Yes." She said. "Well, I can..this morning..here bring it."
He raised his head, "What?"
She glared at him, "I can't talk when you're doing that."
He grinned, dimples appearing. "Sorry. Say it again. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Guys like Gideon didn't get the girl — Mary Jane Hathaway

My first wife was a bear in the morning. I love me some passion, and I gotta have a woman who puts a little pepper in the gumbo, but I didn't make that morning mistake twice. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Why do people call it settling down when it's a man and finding the right one when it's a woman? — Mary Jane Hathaway

I feel weird." Caroline blinked a few times. "Do you feel weird?"
Brooks shrugged. "How weird? We're all dressed like people in a Jane Austen book. I think weird comes with the territory. — Mary Jane Hathaway

I'm not Janessa. I want to celebrate my wedding, with friends and family, while having a really good time. If someone spills punch on my dress, I'm not going to cry about it."
Lucy raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, I may cry just a bit but it's only because it's an Austen-era reproduction and anybody would feel the pain of destroying something so lovely. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Technology was meant to be a tool, not a crutch. The entire world had become dependent on gadgets for entertainment and personal happiness. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Lucy saw the delighted expressions of the guests and knew they looked like something out an Austen movie. Well, at least Jem did. She giggled a little and cleared her throat.
"Something funny?" he murmured out of the corner of his mouth.
"Just thinking how you're just like Captain Wentworth and I'm just like Tina Turner. — Mary Jane Hathaway

He felt so tired, so weary of holding on with an iron grip to something he knew was slipping away.
"You can't make someone love you," he said.
Her hand stilled for a moment, the dirty tissue between her fingers. "True."
"Even if you love them so much you'd do anything, anything, for them." The truth of his words sank in. Speaking about it wasn't helping. It felt worse, like probing an open wound.
"Even if," his grandmasaid, nodding.
"Sometimes they pick another person to love when you've been right in front of them the whole time."
"It does happen." Her voice was soft.
"And then there's nothing left but to keep going as you were, pretending you never felt anything more than . . ."
"Friendship?" Her eyes met his and there was the faintest glimmer of tears.
"But I don't think I can have even that, anymore. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Her beauty was classic, timeless. Just the line of her neck, the curve of her cheek, the way the dress draped her hips, was enough to stop the room. When she'd turned away to look at something on the table and he'd seen the back of the dress, he thought he might have to sit down. The smooth skin of her back looked impossibly soft and he ached to reach out, just for a moment, and splay his hand against it. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Redemption was an ugly, down-in-the-dirt, every single day sort of thing. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Lucy gripped her chilled glass of orange and raspberry juice. When Rebecca talked about Austen, she'd mostly mentioned Mr. Darcy or Mr. Knightley. She hadn't really thought of the doe-eyed, pale-skinned heroines.
On the screen, Anne Elliot walked down a long hallway, glancing just once at covered paintings, her mouth a grim line. Lucy thought Jane Austen would start the story with the romance, or the loss of it, but instead the tale seemed to begin with Anne's home, and having to make difficult decisions. Maybe this writer from over two hundred years ago knew how everything important met at the intersection of family, home, love, and loss. This was something Lucy understood with every fiber of her being. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Maybe I should have got some chili-slaw dogs from Shorty's. Everybody loves those."
"Buddy," Lars said, dropping his shoes to the deck with a thump, "sit yourself down and stop fussing. You're reminding me of my Aunt Glynna with all this temperature takin' and foil tuckin'. This food is fine. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Captain Owen Hartford, at your service." He tipped his hat.
Oh, so it was going to be like this, was it? She searched her memory for a good name. "Patience Corntower. Of Thorny Hollow way."
His grin went wide. "We are well acquainted. You may not recollect me."
"But I do, sir. Quite clearly."
Something flickered in his gaze. "Would the miss be available for a short walk on the pier?"
"In the middle of a battle?" Her eyes went wide and she tried not to laugh. "Aren't you supposed to be getting something amputated?"
"Shhh." He held up a finger, eyes crinkled at the corners. "Don't break character. — Mary Jane Hathaway

She's not looking to change you. She wants you just the way you are. And loving someone isn't a crisis. It's normal. Lots of people do it. They love each other and the sky doesn't fall. The world doesn't stop turning. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Thank you. There were three of us kids, all right together. I'm the oldest, she was the knee-baby, and my brother Henry came last. Funny, I miss her all the time, but I miss her most when I'm reading Austen. We'd been fans since we were in the seventh and eighth grade, two Creole girls gigglin' about marriage proposals gone bad. Our daddy teased us about reading each other passages during a Fourth of July crawfish boil, so he named the biggest one Mr. Darcy and threw him in the pot." She looked up, a smile fighting the tears in her eyes. "We refused to eat him. — Mary Jane Hathaway

if it meant the difference between getting evicted and living in her gas-less car, or asking a state agency for help, she was glad she'd asked for help. — Mary Jane Hathaway

She slid a look toward him, one edge of her mouth tilting up. "My Mama told me to watch out for boys like you."
"Your Mama was right," his voice dropped an octave, "but I am not a boy. — Mary Jane Hathaway

It's just a party. You eat some food and drink a beer and pretend you don't want to be crawdad fishing," Angie said.
"No, it's an echo chamber of sycophants and I can't listen to some bimbo recite her newest purchases while pretending I don't want to throw myself from the roof. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Her face crumpled and he felt her pain as if it was his own. He wanted to take it back, but just like that memory, it was always going to be there.
She worked to get control over her features, then said, "I'm sorry I didn't defend you. I'm sorry I didn't tell them you were my guest."
Jem hadn't thought he cared anymore, not really, but her words were tugging loose the hard, painful knot in his chest. "It's okay."
She shook her head. "It's not. It wasn't."
He reached out and cupped her cheek in his hand. He didn't know what else to say and all he wanted was to touch her skin, let her know that he wasn't that boy anymore and that she wasn't that girl. — Mary Jane Hathaway

Jane Austen would be so proud. Another girl trussed up for a fancy party."
"On the contrary, she'd be horrified. All that skin. You'd need about another five yards of material. — Mary Jane Hathaway

His mama put down the bag and headed for the door, her mouth a thin line.
"Wait! What are you doing? Don't go over there and yell at her." Paul jumped off the stool and tried to beat her to the door.
"Oh, honey, I would never do that." His mama stepped into the hallway. "I'm fixin' to invite her for dinner. — Mary Jane Hathaway

We both know you can't split a bookstore. (I don't even share shelf space.) — Mary Jane Hathaway

She closed her eyes, not really hearing the rest of what he murmured against her ear. All she knew was that it echoed everything that was in her heart. He was a surprise. Love was a surprise. And a surprise love between friends was the best kind of all. — Mary Jane Hathaway