Quotes from Barbara Taylor Bradford

the canvas the first time I saw

Faith and it's doubting me that she is! But 'tis the truth I be telling ye, Emma. On the heads of the Blessed Saints I do swear it's the truth I am speaking, mavourneen.

And then her consummate hatred for the Fairleys, so close to the surface, rose up again and took hold of her, jostling against the grief for prominence in her mind. Was there no end to the pain that family would cause her? Was she to be cursed with them all the days of her life? Damn the Fairleys. All of them. Damn them! Damn them! Damn them! May they rot in hell!

name petrel is supposedly a diminutive of Peter. You see, when it's feeding, the bird appears to hover just above the water, and its feet look as if they're pattering on the surface of the sea. One gets a sense that it's walking on water, the way St. Peter did in the Bible story, hence its name petrel, for Peter.

I have the heart of a man, not of a woman, and I am not afraid of anything…

I have the heart of a man, not of a woman, and I am not afraid of anything… –ELIZABETH I, Queen of England

He paweth in the valley and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men. —JOB

a damp June morning Emma accompanied them

Marry in haste, repent at leisure,' she said, remembering her brother's words of warning. Damn my stubbornness, she muttered.

When you are a strong woman, you will attract trouble. When a man feels threatened, there is always trouble.

I work eight hours a day, but I'm not writing all that time. I'm thinking, editing, looking something up. Thinking is what I do a lot of.

In my opinion, moderation is a vastly overrated virtue, particularly when applied to work