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The story had held us, round the fire, sufficiently breathless, but except the obvious remark that it was gruesome, as, on Christmas Eve in an old house, a strange tale should essentially be.

— Henry James The Turn of the Screw (1898)

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Christmas

More quotes by Henry James

The superiority of one man's opinion over another's is never so great as when the opinion is about a woman.

The Tragic Muse (1890)

It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature.

Hawthorne (1879)

The time-honored bread-sauce of the happy ending.

Theatricals: Second Series (1895)

The right time is any time that one is still so lucky as to have.

The Ambassadors (1903)

She gave an envious thought to the happier lot of men, who are always free to plunge into the healing waters of action.

The Portrait of a Lady (1881)

All Henry James quotes →

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Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind.

William Shakespeare A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595)

Health is the greatest gift, contentment is the greatest wealth, a trusted friend is the best relative, Nibbana is the greatest bliss.

Gautama Buddha

To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.

Bertrand Russell Marriage and Morals (1929)

Not for the body, but for the heart; companion and company are needed.

Sanu Sharma

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Henry James (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.