Quotes from Jacqueline Winspear

My first ever job after college was as a flight attendant. I wanted to travel and could not afford it, so I decided to get myself a job where I could travel. I did it for two years and had great fun.

in this great war [WWI] ... they had, all of them, on all sides, lost their freedom. The freedom to think hopefully of the future.

Grace isn't a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It's a way to live.

Also the clothing, people often ask why I talk about what characters are wearing. And that's really important to me, because you have to have a picture of how people moved in their clothes.

It's really important in any historical fiction, I think, to anchor the story in its time. And you do that by weaving in those details, by, believe it or not, by the plumbing.

It was time to move on, to dance with life again.

We talk about globalization today as if it's some great big new thing, that we've all just discovered. But there's really nothing new about it.

I love dogs, horses and generally all animals.

What's interesting to me, is a moving someone through time; in a way, history is part of my landscape. And it fascinates me that history can be so easily reflected in what happens today.

if the way ahead is not clear, time is often the best editor of one's intentions.

only when we have a respect for time will we have learned something of the art of living.

Coincidence is a messenger sent by truth.

War's always the same though—politicians square off and ordinary lads do their dirty work.

In learning about the myths and legends of old, we learn something of ourselves. Stories, Maisie, are never just stories. They contain fundamental truths about the human condition.

In the early days of her pupilage with Maurice, he had told Maisie of his teachers, the wise men who spoke of the veil that was lifted in the early hours, of the all-seeing eye that was open before the day was awake. The hours before dawn were the sacred time, before the intellect rose from slumber. At this time one's inner voice could be heard.

only when we have a respect for time will we have learned something of the art of living.

But the thing is, in all my experience as an artist, I have found that there are people who want to destroy beauty. Is that because it's beyond them? Is it because beauty represents something they cannot have, or is not inside them?

With a true masterpiece, there are no words required. Discourse is rendered redundant. That's why the work of a master transcends all notions of education, of class. It rises above the onlooker's understanding of what is considered good or bad, or right or wrong in the world of art. With the artist who has achieved mastery, skill, experience and knowledge are transparent, leaving only the message for all to see.

Never follow a story with a question, Maisie, not immediately. And remember to acknowledge the storyteller, for in some way even the messenger is affected by the story he brings.

The truth always finds a way, Maisie, in some manner or form. You cannot deliberately change the course of the river without causing a flood or drought somewhere else.

Solitude was her soul's hermitage.

a statement someone makes to Maisie regarding attitudes prior to WWII): ...the corridors of power are littered with Fascist leanings; anything to save the upper classes through disenfranchisement of the common man while allowing the common man to think you're on his side.

The heart does not know chronos time, Maisie.

Suffice it to say that we only answer questions when the person asking has a lot of silver on the epaulettes, or around the peak of his cap.