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Jan 2012

4^th January

'Not really'

Olwen had long ago discovered that this is a response which may be made with impunity to almost any enquiry, including, 'Are you well?' and 'Are you free on Saturday?'

Ruth Rendell, Tigerlily's Orchids (2010)

11^th January

The sexton.... has himself tried his hand at sculpture, and his carvings are all excruciating parodies of Mestrovitch, criticisms which none of his enemies have ever surpassed in venom; and, as every artist knows, there are tortures which a dragon dreads far more than the pyre.

Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon (1942)

18^th January

It was by now apparent that Mrs Lace was one of those people whose energies, whilst often boring, are occasionally indispensable. Poppy and Jasper recognized though they deplored this fact. Noel sat in a kind of admiring trance.

Nancy Mitford, Wigs on the Green (1935)

25^th January

[H]e is filled with that humility and eagerness to learn which is only found in those who have already learned more than their neighbours.

Elizabeth von Arnim, The Solitary Summer (1899)