Best Of Dorothy Whipple's "The Priory"

Here is a selection of memorable quotes from The Priory by Dorothy Whipple.

Painting above: Portrait of the Artist's Sisters Playing Chess c. 1555 by Sofonisba Anguissola

They were part of the springtime; as much as the leaf-buds 

in the wood behind them and the new grass under their dancing feet. 

Young and lovely as they were, all the beautiful things in life 

were before them and possible to them.

p.95

Where had she gone wrong, she wondered.

 She couldn’t think of any mistake. 

Except the mistake of loving him too much. 

Perhaps that had been it. 

But what a storm of love he had roused in her. 

Looking back she wondered how she had come through it. 

p. 104

Once again Victoria was to be the bearer 

of what she considered to be bad news to the nursery. 

She was quite pleased to do it. 

She had prophesied trouble and trouble had come. 

That is always gratifying to the prophet if to no one else.

p.112

"But if I got married I should want some children. 

Married people without children look so aimless, wandering about. 

Children do make you look important where you otherwise wouldn’t be. 

Unless you are important in yourself; then, perhaps, you don’t need children. 

I don’t know what I’m going to be yet; 

whether I'm going to be important in myself or just married.”

p. 112

Night had been something she did not know about. 

But now she knew how long the night was, 

lying through the hours wondering, worrying, crying into her pillow. 

p. 129

The was something significant about going back, 

like taking an irrevocable step forward, 

away from all she had known so far.

p. 154

"Some people seem to nurse a grievance all the time. 

You don’t know what it is and you’ve nothing to do with it, 

but they include you in it and look at you 

with queer meanings in their eyes 

and make ‘Good morning’ sound like a curse.

p.197

“There doesn’t seem to be anything to do.”

“Nothing to do?” echoed Penelope, looking up with a puzzled, 

tear-stained face from the hearthrug upon which she had subsided. 

“You’ve never said that before. That shows what falling in love does to you.”

p.193

Christine, across the table, would not have been pleased. 

No girl likes to be called wholesome; 

she likes to be thought something much more interesting than that.

p.215

It was a pity that it was only marriage that moved women about, 

Anthea reflected. Women moved to men, 

but otherwise they mostly stayed where they were born. 

p.241

There is no happiness like loving someone with complete trust,

 like being able to feel: whatever happens, there’s always so-and-so. 

The young love like that, with complete confidence, 

but in return they demand that the object of their love should be well-night perfect. 

The young can’t allow for flaws. No flaws, they say, forgetful of their own, 

and if they find flaws, they take their love back and turn sadly away.

p.469