Quotes from Susanna Clarke

burnt stubs of candles were stuck to the floor. The candles formed a circle. Nothing appeared to have been taken but the cabinet in which Marepool III was displayed had been broken and the head had been handled. Some candle wax and fragments of mistletoe adhered to it.

what I eventually concluded was that it was necessary to cleanse one's vision in order to see the door. To do this one must return to the place, the geographical location where one last believed the world to be fluid, responsive to oneself. In short one must return to the last place in which one had stood before the iron hand of modern rationality gripped one's mind.

a Revelation. What I mean by this is that I knew it to be true before I understood why or what steps had led me there.

while he was in hospital he became very agitated, saying that he needed to go back to the minotaurs because the minotaurs would have his dinner.

Perhaps that is what it is like with other people. Perhaps even people you like and admire immensely can make you see the World in ways you would rather not. Perhaps that is what Raphael means.

I thought that I was going to die; or else that I would be swept away to Unknown Halls, far from the rush and thrum of Familiar Tides. I clung on.

Without the journals I would be all at sea.

tell them what I told Jamie Askill: that I was in a house with many rooms; that the sea sweeps through the house; and that sometimes it swept over me, but always I was saved. Matthew Rose Sorensen's mother and father and sisters and friends tell each other that this is a description of a mental breakdown seen from the inside; an explanation they find reasonable

Brilliant! Thank you! But what I value even more than the shoes themselves is the proof they give of our friendship! I consider the possession of such a friend as you to be one of the greatest happinesses of my Life!

Tutti erano ammaliati dall'idea del progresso e credevano che qualsiasi cosa nuova dovesse essere superiore a ciò che era vecchio. Come se il merito fosse una funzione della cronologia!

The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; it's Kindness infinite.

It might well appear to Sir Walter that there had been no quarrel. It was often the case that gentlemen did not observe the signs.

Perhaps that is what it is like being with other people. Perhaps even people you like and admire immensely can make you see the World in ways you would rather not.

Show me the labyrinth.' 'Gladly. What would you like to see?' 'I don't know', she said. 'Whatever you want to show me. Whatever's most beautiful.' Of course, what I really wanted to show her was everything, but that was impossible.

We lapsed into silence again. There seemed nothing more to say. I was shocked by his description of 16's wickedness. To be opposed to Reason itself!

It is not his fault that he does not see things the way I do.

He stood motionless for a long moment. I had told him to reflect on his wickedness. Was that what he was doing? Suddenly he knelt and began to write rapidly. No one has ever written to me before.

I must not become so absorbed in my scientific work that I forget to fish and end up with nothing to eat.

He is Englishness carried to perfection

Two days ago I gathered together supplies for the journey: food, blankets, a small saucepan in which to heat water and some rags.

The world was constantly speaking to Ancient Man.

Sir, please do not do that,' I said. 'The Other says that 16 is a malevolent person.' 'Malevolent? I wouldn't say so. No more than most people.

If I leave, then the House will have no Inhabitant and how will I bear the thought of it Empty? Yet the simple fact is that if I remain in these Halls I will be alone.

all I get the sense that she is alone, perhaps by choice or perhaps because no one else was courageous enough to follow her into the darkness.