Winspear Quotes & Sayings

If the way ahead is not clear, time is often the best editor of one's intentions. — Jacqueline Winspear

Never follow a story with a question, Maisie, not immediately. And remember to acknowledge the storyteller, for in some way even the messenger is affected by the story he brings. — Jacqueline Winspear

[Maisie] "Tell me, Dr. Dene, if you were to name one thing that made the difference between those who get well quickly and those who don't, what would it be?"
[Dr. Dene] " ... In my opinion, acceptance has to come first. Some people don't accept what has happened. They think, 'Oh, if only I hadn't ... ' or ... 'If only I'd known ... ' They are stuck at the point that caused the injury.
" ... I would say that it's threefold: One is accepting what has happened. Three is having a picture, an indea of what they will do when they are better or improved. Then in the middle, number two is a path to follow. — Jacqueline Winspear

Come, take what you will, be nourished and know that you can bear what might be on your horizon, the good and the ill." Now, — Jacqueline Winspear

(a statement someone makes to Maisie regarding attitudes prior to WWII):
"...the corridors of power are littered with Fascist leanings; anything to save the upper classes through disenfranchisement of the common man while allowing the common man to think you're on his side. — Jacqueline Winspear

I know this isn't easy for anyone - nothing worth doing is every easy" Brenda to Maisie Dobbs — Jacqueline Winspear

I believe it is to our detriment that age gives us a certain mistrust of those younger than ourselves, and we fail to see the strength within them to assume the burden of truth. — Jacqueline Winspear

Love without a little fighting is like potatoes without salt. — Violet Winspear

There's only one thing left to do. St. Paul's on Old Year's Night. For Auld Lang Syne, my dears. For old time's sake. — Jacqueline Winspear

Though there had yet to be a victor in this great war that had begun almost three years ago, Maurice had written to her that they had, all of them, on all sides, lost their freedom. Freedom to think hopefully of the future. — Jacqueline Winspear

But there are many men-and women-who do things in a time of war that they wouldn't dream of doing in peacetime, and all for the common good. — Jacqueline Winspear

But the thing is, in all my experience as an artist, I have found that there are people who want to destroy beauty. Is that because it's beyond them? Is it because beauty represents something they cannot have, or is not inside them? — Jacqueline Winspear

My passionate puritan! — Violet Winspear

What is certain, is that war will not leave us as it found us. - WOMAN AT HOME, February 1915 — Jacqueline Winspear

Perhaps we shouldn't try to answer the questions now - let's just note them down. Maurice always said the power in a question is not in the answer, it's in the way the imagination gets busy when the question is at work. — Jacqueline Winspear

My first ever job after college was as a flight attendant. I wanted to travel and could not afford it, so I decided to get myself a job where I could travel. I did it for two years and had great fun. — Jacqueline Winspear

She knew the worries that came to the fore at night were the ones you had to pay attention to, for they blurred reasoned thought, sucked clarity from any consideration of one's situation, and could lead a mind around in circles, leaving one drained and ill-tempered. And if there was no one close with whom to discuss those concerns, they grew in importance in the imagination, whether they were rooted in good sense or not. — Jacqueline Winspear

I love dogs, horses and generally all animals. — Jacqueline Winspear

Mrs. Crawford. As she walked into her — Jacqueline Winspear

Trouble is, your best ain't always the best for those who want a say in the matter. — Jacqueline Winspear

As Churchill said about the Great War, and he said this in about 1924, that it was the first war in which man realized that he could obliterate himself completely. If you consider the way the whole world was impacted, 18 million people worldwide died, and that is taking into account military and civilian deaths: 18 million people. And it was the whole world, if you will. You know, many of those trenches were dug by Chinese. There are photographs of Chinese looking like they just came from China, with their hats and so on, digging the trenches, right from the beginning. — Jacqueline Winspear

My favorite way to unwind is to go for a walk with my husband and the dog at the end of the working day, then we go to our local health club for a swim and to sit by the pool and read for a while. — Jacqueline Winspear

Coincidence is a messenger sent by truth. — Jacqueline Winspear

Because, we assume, these days, you just get in a car, you turn the key, and woosh, you're up the road. Or even now, dare I say, you don't turn a key; you get in a car and you're up the road. And yet with this particular car, it was a five-step process to start it. So how do I let the reader know that? — Jacqueline Winspear

when greeted, in case the ghostly specter — Jacqueline Winspear

But for Maisie the case notes would not be filed away until those whole lives were touched by her investigation had reached a certain peace with her findings, with themselves, and with one another - as far as that might be possible. — Jacqueline Winspear

Grief is not an event, my dear, but a passage, a pilgrimage along a path that allows us to reflect upon the past from points of remembrance held in the soul. At times the way is filled with stones underfoot and we feel pained by our memories, yet on other days the shadows reflect our longing and those happinesses shared. — Jacqueline Winspear

In The Care and Management of Lies the wonderfully talented Winspear writes irresistibly about the First World War, both in the trenches of France and the fields of England. Her richly complex characters walk right off the page and into our imaginations, as we fight with them, farm with them, cook with them. I devoured this dazzling novel. — Margot Livesey

It was Harry Patch, who was the last living World War I veteran; and by veteran I mean someone who actually fought in the war, he didn't just happen to be in the army at that time, in the Great War. And when the Iraq War started, he was interviewed, and they said, well what do you think of this? And he said, in a very sad voice, "Well, that's why my mates died. We thought we were going to end all that sort of thing." — Jacqueline Winspear

She would not allow someone for whom she had so little regard to have a negative effect on her mood at the start of a new week. -Pardonable Lies — Jacqueline Winspear

I think that one of the things that we all ask ourselves, whoever we are, is: who stands to make a lot of money out of this [wars]? And, certainly, it comes back to people like armaments makers, and so on and so forth. — Jacqueline Winspear

As friends they knew each other's history, knew the twists and turns that had brought them to this place in the world. And they understood each other's fears and frailties; nothing had to be explained. Now, — Jacqueline Winspear

I think it's best if I reserve judgement on the perpetrator of this crime. If I jump to conclusions too soon, I might well blind myself to the right path when it's in front of me. — Jacqueline Winspear

What does anyone really know about the impetus to go to war? And so much is uncovered in hindsight. And there are aspects of even past wars that are only coming out now. Historians discover letters here, notes there, and look very carefully at different aspects of not only any conflict but any great historical event. — Jacqueline Winspear

David Corbett's The Art of Character offers a deep inquiry into the creation of character for the novice writer, with valuable nuggets of wisdom for the seasoned storyteller. If you are a writer, it should be on your desk. — Jacqueline Winspear

She closed her eyes, silently continuing the pleas that she be given words that might soothe, words that would begin the healing of bereaved parents. She had seen, when she entered the kitchen, the chasm of sorrow that divided man and wife already, each deep in their own wretched suffering, neither knowing what to say to the other. She knew that to begin to talk about what had happened was a key to acknowledging their loss, and that such acceptance would in turn be a means to enduring the days and months ahead. — Jacqueline Winspear

In the early days of her pupilage with Maurice, he had told Maisie of his teachers, the wise men who spoke of the veil that was lifted in the early hours, of the all-seeing eye that was open before the day was awake. The hours before dawn were the sacred time, before the intellect rose from slumber. At this time one's inner voice could be heard. — Jacqueline Winspear

What interests me is the experience of ordinary people. To tell you the truth, although I can repeat certain dates, statistics, and so on, what I am really curious about is what happens to ordinary men, women, and children in extraordinary times. — Jacqueline Winspear

The boy laughed, for he was a boy and not yet a man. — Jacqueline Winspear

The sands have run through, you have but moments, make peace with your gods.
'Aelfric of the Green Isle — J.M. Winspear

Even if the whole world was throwing rocks at you, if you had your mother at your back, you'd be okay. Some deep-rooted part of you would know you were loved. That you deserved to be loved. - Jojo Moyes, One Plus One — Jacqueline Winspear

The feeling inside that she experienced when she saw the books was akin to the hunger she felt as food was put on the table at the end of the working day. And she knew that she needed this sustenance as surely as her body needed its fuel. — Jacqueline Winspear

I'm not really interested in the black and white, the 'goodies and baddies.' I find the complexity of the gray areas more compelling, more intriguing. As I have said before, there are angels and demons in all of us, and I am interested in the relationship between the two within the 'ordinary' person. — Jacqueline Winspear

What's interesting to me, is a moving someone through time; in a way, history is part of my landscape. And it fascinates me that history can be so easily reflected in what happens today. — Jacqueline Winspear

Only when we have a respect for time will we have learned something of the art of living. — Jacqueline Winspear

It is indeed a wondrous universal alchemy, is it not? When one's heartfelt intentions cause mountains to move. — Jacqueline Winspear

Stay with the question. The more it troubles you, the more it has to teach you. In time, Maisie, you will find that the larger questions in life share such behavior. — Jacqueline Winspear

They say the face tells all there is to know about a life, but I personally believe much can be deduced from the hands. There are lines and scars, bumps and calluses; indeed, the hands are both the sketch and the final work of art. — Jacqueline Winspear

We talk about globalization today as if it's some great big new thing, that we've all just discovered. But there's really nothing new about it. — Jacqueline Winspear

I'll tell you this. Leaving that which you love breaks your heart open. But you will find a jewel inside, and this precious jewel is the opening of your heart to all that is new and all that is different, and it will be the making of you-if you allow it to be. — Jacqueline Winspear

The real aim of romance is to provide escape and entertainment. — Violet Winspear

Thus he always wrote using a pencil with a long, sharp but soft lead, so he couldn't here his words as they formed on the page. — Jacqueline Winspear

She had always told herself that she did hti job because she wanted to help others; afterall, hadn't Maurice told her once that the most important question any individual could ask was, "How might I serve?" If her response to that question had been pure, surely she would have coninued with the calling to be a nurse ... But that role hadn't been quite enough for her. She would have missed the excitement, the thrill when she embarked on the work of collecting clues to support a case. — Jacqueline Winspear

She thought the flat would be all the better for some photographs, not only to serve as reminders of those who were loved, or reflections of happy times spent in company, but to act as mirrors, where she might see the affection with which she was held by those dear to her. — Jacqueline Winspear

May I not sit in judgment. May I be open to hearing and accepting the truth of what I am told. May my decisions be for the good of all concerned. May my work bring peace . . . Charlotte — Jacqueline Winspear

There is nothing of which every man is so afraid, as getting to know how enormously much he is capable of doing and becoming. — Jacqueline Winspear

Grace isn't a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It's a way to live. — Jacqueline Winspear

But to some extent, the whole aspect of Fascism was a real hot potato. Because so many of the aristocracy were enamored of the tenets of not only fascism but also of Adolf Hitler himself. And you know, that was treading on a lot of toes. — Jacqueline Winspear

she would have been disappointed if he had not demonstrated such idealism, for he was yet to reach twenty-one; youth without optimism, without a strong sense of the possible, would represent a very sad state of affairs. — Jacqueline Winspear

Truth walks toward us on the paths of our questions ... as soon as you think you have the answer, you have closed the path and may miss vital new information. Wait awhile in the stillness, and do not rush to conclusions, no matter how uncomfortable the unknowing. — Jacqueline Winspear

Fear can be used in all sorts of ways to control people, and that's what he's done." They took a few — Jacqueline Winspear

Shame, isn't it? That we only like our heroes out in the street when they are looking their best and their uniforms are 'spit and polished,' and not when they're showing us the wounds they suffered on our behalf. — Jacqueline Winspear

[Maisie]: ... going out for luncheon with a gentleman is definitely not the same as going out to dine in the evening. [Billy]: You get more grub at dinner, for a start - — Jacqueline Winspear

Wisdom comes when we acknowledge what we can never know. — Jacqueline Winspear

I've come to the conclusion that liking a person we are required to have dealings with is not of paramount importance. But respect is crucial, on both sides, as is tolerance, and a depth of understanding of those influences that sculpt a character. — Jacqueline Winspear

Again, and was saluted in return. Each — Jacqueline Winspear

He's what my old mum would call a bombastic little nit of a man. — Jacqueline Winspear

With a true masterpiece, there are no words required. Discourse is rendered redundant. That's why the work of a master transcends all notions of education, of class. It rises above the onlooker's understanding of what is considered good or bad, or right or wrong in the world of art. With the artist who has achieved mastery, skill, experience and knowledge are transparent, leaving only the message for all to see. — Jacqueline Winspear

Never judge a journey by the distance... — Jacqueline Winspear

Solitude was her soul's hermitage. — Jacqueline Winspear

The extraordinary hides behind the camouflage of the ordinary. Assume nothing, Maisie. — Jacqueline Winspear

Now that's discrimination - when you look down your nose at the very men who fought to make sure you could still go to work in your tidy, warm office. That's the trouble with people - they cherish their comforts, but they don't want to know where they come from. — Jacqueline Winspear

... truth has a certain buoyancy - it makes its way to the surface, in time. — Jacqueline Winspear

I get my heroes so that they're lean and hard muscled and mocking and sardonic and tough and tigerish and single, of course. Oh and they've got to be rich and then I make it that they're only cynical and smooth on the surface. But underneath they're well, you know, sort of lost and lonely. In need of love but, when roused, capable of breathtaking passion and potency. Most of my heroes, well all of them really, are like that. They frighten but fascinate. They must be the sort of men who are capable of rape: men it's dangerous to be alone in the room with. — Violet Winspear

Also the clothing, people often ask why I talk about what characters are wearing. And that's really important to me, because you have to have a picture of how people moved in their clothes. — Jacqueline Winspear

I often think it would be really interesting to take all of those who would wage war to the battlefield cemeteries, and say, explain yourself to the dead. Explain yourself to the dead! — Jacqueline Winspear

A question has the most power before we rush to answer it, when it is still making us think, still testing us. — Jacqueline Winspear

But you just know when someone's there, don't you? You can feel them in the house, as if--oh, I don't know, I'm an old woman rambling--but it's as if your heart knows that their heart is beating somewhere and everything's all right. — Jacqueline Winspear

It was time to move on, to dance with life again. — Jacqueline Winspear

Those of us who have reached our more mature years know the value of a nap, Maisie, and we can indulge ourselves without the comfort of pillow or bed. — Jacqueline Winspear

Use your training, Maisie, your heart, your intuition, and your love for your father to forge a new, even stronger, bond. — Jacqueline Winspear

The heart does not know chronos time, Maisie. — Jacqueline Winspear

And you think journeying abroad will give you this knowledge you crave?
I think it will contribute to my understanding of the world, of people.
More so than say, the old lady who has lived in the same house her entire life, who has borne children both alive and dead? Who tends her soil; who sees the sun shine and the rain fall over the land, winter, spring, summer and autumn? What might you say to the idea that we all have a capacity for wisdom, just as a jug has room for a finite amount of water-pouring more water in the jug doesn't increase that capacity. — Jacqueline Winspear

I'm a storyteller; that is what I do. And I'm particularly interested in history; and in history of a certain era. But what is interesting for me is how many, how many things you see repeated. — Jacqueline Winspear

Don't mind me askin', Miss - and I know it ain't none of my business, like - but why don't you take 'im up on the offer of a dinner? I mean, gettin' the odd dinner fer nuffin'ain't such a bad thing. — Jacqueline Winspear

Most people don't realize that they feel something is wrong before they think something is wrong ... — Jacqueline Winspear

Allow grief room to air itself," Maurice had taught her."Be judicious in using the body to comfort another, for you may extinguish the freedom that the person feels to be able to share a sadness. — Jacqueline Winspear

Truth walks towards us on the paths of our questions. [Dr. Maurice Blanche] — Jacqueline Winspear

Maurice Blanche maintained that amid the tales, the smokescreens, and the deceptive mirrors of life's unsolved mysteries, truth resides, waiting for someone to enter its sanctum, then leave, without quite closing the door behind them. That is when truth may make its escape. — Jacqueline Winspear

One always has riches when one has a book to read. — Jacqueline Winspear

The depression we find ourselves in here, and which is causing havoc in America, is allowing people to give weight to that which divides them, rather than to the shared experiences and elements of connection they see mirrored in their fellow man. — Jacqueline Winspear

If you look at the First World War, the Kaiser was actually, actively buying a lot of the armaments from Britain! in the years, in the run-up to the First World War. And I mean, there was a connection there. He was, indeed, Queen Victoria's grandson. You know, they were all related, all these royal families. — Jacqueline Winspear

It's really important in any historical fiction, I think, to anchor the story in its time. And you do that by weaving in those details, by, believe it or not, by the plumbing. — Jacqueline Winspear

It isn't love if it isn't everything. — Violet Winspear

Suffice it to say that we only answer questions when the person asking has a lot of silver on the epaulettes, or around the peak of his cap. — Jacqueline Winspear

Fancy 'avin' to say you work for the Murder Squad, eh, Miss? Don't exactly warm folk to you, does it? — Jacqueline Winspear

And there's a thin line between genius and insanity, isn't there? — Jacqueline Winspear

With the hindsight of the worldly experience she had since acquired, it was clear to Maisie that Dame Constance had suffered fools, if not gladly, then with gracious ease. — Jacqueline Winspear

Maisie bit her lip. She had learned that sometimes it was best to let words die of their own accord, rather than fight them. — Jacqueline Winspear

The vacuum left by the departing visitor seemed to echo along the hallway and into the walls. It was at those times, when her aloneness took on a darker hue, that she almost wished there would be no more guess, for then there would be no chasm of emptiness for her to negotiate when they were gone. — Jacqueline Winspear