Everything may be labelled—but everybody is not. ~ The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Photo by Mona Eendra on Unsplash
Tag Archives: The Age of Innocence
Quotes About Communication
The site has a large collection of literary quotes about communication. These are some of my favorites.
In reality they all lived in a kind of hieroglyphic world, where the real thing was never said or done or even thought, but only represented by a set of arbitrary signs. ~ The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
“Old men only lie in wait for people to ask them to talk. Then they rattle on like a rusty elevator wheezing up a shaft.” ~ Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
Often I must speak other than I think. That is called diplomacy. ~ Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
“With no intention to take offence, I deny your right to put words into my mouth.” ~ Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. ~ The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
“Words,” said the host, at length, “is worse’n bullets. You never know what they’ll hit.” ~ The Night Horseman by Max Brand
Fair speech may hide a foul heart. ~ The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien
We are never half so interesting when we have learned that language is given us to enable us to conceal our thoughts. ~ Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery
“I make no manner of doubt that you threw a very diamond of truth at me, though you see it hit me so directly in the face that it wasn’t exactly appreciated, at first.” ~ Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Never tell all you know—not even to the person you know best. ~ The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
Fine, large, meaningless, general terms like romance and business can always be related. They take the place of thinking, and are highly useful to optimists and lecturers. ~ The Job by Sinclair Lewis
The fool wonders, the wise man asks. ~ Count Alarcos: A Tragedy by Benjamin Disraeli
A slight throbbing about the temples told me that this discussion had reached saturation point. ~ Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse
Mrs. Bittacy rustled ominously, holding her peace meanwhile. She feared long words she did not understand. Beelzebub lay hid among too many syllables. ~ The Man Whom the Trees Loved by Algernon Blackwood
To read between the lines was easier than to follow the text. ~ The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
More Quotes about Communication
July 2017 – More Quotes Added
We added new quotes to the site today. All of the quotes on this site list an author and a source. NONE of the quotes come from movies made from books.
Smiles and tears are so alike with me, they are neither of them confined to any particular feelings: I often cry when I am happy, and smile when I am sad. ~ The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
I wish I were a girl again, half savage and hardy, and free; and laughing at injuries, not maddening under them! ~ Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
A trusty companion halves the journey and doubles the courage. ~ The Coming Race by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the house-tops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness. ~ Paul Clifford by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
In case you’re wondering, the above IS the quote that made “it was a dark and stormy night” famous.
“I’ll borrow of imagination what reality will not give me.” ~ Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
Feeling without judgment is a washy draught indeed; but judgment untempered by feeling is too bitter and husky a morsel for human deglutition. ~ Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
But sorry is the Kool-Aid of human emotions. It’s what you say when you spill a cup of coffee or throw a gutterball when you’re bowling with the girls in the league. True sorrow is as rare as true love. ~ Carrie by Stephen King
Her husband had archaic ideas about jewels; a man bought them for his wife in acknowledgment of things he could not gracefully utter. ~ A Lost Lady by Willa Cather
Everything may be labelled—but everybody is not. ~ The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
“Why do we call all our generous ideas illusions, and the mean ones truths?” ~ The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton (1862-1937)
Edith Wharton was an American novelist, short story writer, and designer. She’s best knows for her Pulitzer-winning novel, The Age of Innocence as well as Ethan Frome and The House of Mirth.
Edith Newbold Jones was born in New York City in 1862. Her family was wealthy. In fact the saying “keeping up with the Joneses” is said to refer to her father’s family.
She was always interested in writing. Wharton began her first novel at eleven. When she was 15 she was published for the first time. (It was a translation of a German poem.) Later she would go on to write fifteen novels, seven novellas, eighty-five short stores as well as poems and non-fiction.
In 1885 she married Edward (Teddy) Robbins Wharton. He shared her love of travel. Sadly, their travels ceased because of Edward’s acute depression. Later his metal health grew worse. Edith divorced him in 1913 after 28 years of marriage.
During World War One she lived in Paris and was involved in humanitarian projects. In 1914 Wharton opened a workroom for unemployed women that provided food and employment. She was involved in the American Hostels for Refugees organization as well as the Children of Flanders Rescue Committee.
Edith Wharton knew many of the well-known people of her time. This includes Henry James, Sinclair Lewis, Theodore Roosevelt, Bernard Berenson, and Kenneth Clark.
“Half the trouble in life is caused by pretending there isn’t any.” ~ The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
Novels and Novellas by Edith Wharton
The Touchstone, 1900
The Valley of Decision, 1902
Sanctuary, 1903
The House of Mirth, 1905
Madame de Treymes, 1907
The Fruit of the Tree, 1907
Ethan Frome, 1911
The Reef, 1912
The Custom of the Country, 1913
Bunner Sisters, 1916
Summer, 1917
The Marne, 1918
The Age of Innocence, 1920
The Glimpses of the Moon, 1922
A Son at the Front, 1923
Old New York: False Dawn, The Old Maid, The Spark, New Year’s Day, 1924
The Mother’s Recompense, 1925
Twilight Sleep, 1927
The Children, 1928
Hudson River Bracketed, 1929
The Gods Arrive, 1932
The Buccaneers, 1938 (unfinished)
Fast and Loose: A Novelette, 1938 (written in 1876–1877)
