Kelly Gardiner QUOTES

1 " All of my books are acts of subversion disguised as historical fiction. "

2 " Doesn’t matter whether you’re a baker’s wife or a whore or a princess—if you have the strength, you can take a lover, write a motet, lead an army, rule a country. Women have. Not all, granted, but some. And we adore them, don’t we? In theory. We make statues of warrior women, paint them on our ceilings—goddesses with shields and togas and one fair breast exposed so there can be no doubt. The palaces of Europe are covered in them. The Opéra stages, too, for that matter. Yet most women I know—no matter how clever, no matter how strong—are dragged down by husbands or fathers or titles or too many petticoats, or priests clutching at their hems, telling them, ‘No, you cannot do that, you cannot be that.’ I never listened. That’s rare. "

― Kelly Gardiner , Goddess

3 " Dear Reader,
This book you hold is a treasure, of sorts, as is every book I have ever known.
I have made it for you – especially you – for reasons you will understand as my words unfurl before your eyes.
Turn these pages tenderly.
You hold my life in your hands. "

― Kelly Gardiner , Act of Faith

4 " slowly, mile after mile, I unwound the bandages, let my wounds, my scars, crust over. They didn’t heal. But I learned to live with them, as you do. Learned how to move, talk, ride, sing, so that the pain wasn’t visible "

― Kelly Gardiner , Goddess

5 " I don’t care what he thinks—I don’t care what you think. My sins are clear enough to me. I have my own commandments. Thou shalt not break the heart of the one you love (though you could argue I learned that a little too late for it to be useful). Thou shalt not diminish thy life for fear of the wrath of men. Thou shalt not curb thy tongue. And, of course, thou shalt never wear satin in the rain if thou can help it—ruins the fabric. "

― Kelly Gardiner , Goddess

6 " I didn’t notice it in those early years—I thought I was surrounded by people who wished me nothing but good. I heard the whispers and shrugged off the notoriety, the half-hidden glances and smirks. I "

― Kelly Gardiner , Goddess

7 " there’s not much difference between envy and hatred. In the end. They "

― Kelly Gardiner , Goddess

8 " For years I believed they loved me for my voice, my stage presence, my courageous life. ‘Incomparable,’ they said. ‘Divine.’ I am the goddesses on the ceilings of the antechambers at Versailles, the statues in the gardens. That’s what they see in me. The huntress. The peacemaker. The Amazon. The Muse. Victory. Glory. War. I am divine. But now I wonder if I was anything more than some exotic creature in the King’s pleasure gardens—not a lion, and surely not a baboon, but perhaps—yes—a giraffe. Unlikely. Ungainly. Unique. Beautiful in parts but not particularly attractive as a concept. Alien. But compelling, nevertheless. "

― Kelly Gardiner , Goddess

9 " my lovers had only ever tended to their own needs. I didn’t know that romance and sex were different creatures—one of the soul, one of the body. I had no idea that two souls can feel as if they are joined in one body, as it were, no matter the shape of the bodies involved. Clara "

― Kelly Gardiner , Goddess

10 " I’m the way I am because this is how God made me—God and my own father—and that is how I will die. "

― Kelly Gardiner , Goddess

11 " Yet most women I know—no matter how clever, no matter how strong—are dragged down by husbands or fathers or titles or too many petticoats, or priests clutching at their hems, telling them, ‘No, you cannot do that, you cannot be that.’ I never listened. That’s rare. Even a woman like the Comtesse pretends to pay attention to the sermons and the instructions, but then does whatever she wishes. I "

― Kelly Gardiner , Goddess

12 " I hardly know now where I wandered and what I did, and yet in that short time I met the three men who would alter forever the course of my life: Maréchal, d’Albert and, finally, Thévenard. Who can say there is no such thing as fate? Had I not fled Avignon, had I not abandoned my love to her own destiny, had I not sold my soul for a thousand livres, I might never have met any of them. "

― Kelly Gardiner , Goddess

13 " Everything is clear to me—outline, details, future, emotion. Not like the world, where everything is muddy and messed, and nothing ever works out the way you mean it to—no matter how skilful or how honourable you are, no matter how vile your enemy. When "

― Kelly Gardiner , Goddess

14 " The fencing masters adjust your pose, your wrist, just as singing masters try to rearrange your throat and tongue, as concert masters order the notes, the cadence. I’ve had many masters. I hear their voices. I don’t need to, anymore, but they still speak to me, through me. Always. "

― Kelly Gardiner , Goddess

15 " In one sense. I prefer to be alone. No. That’s not true. There are a few people—five, at most—with whom I could happily spend days at a time. Otherwise I’ve always been a creature of solitude. Not an outcast—not always. But I am not at home as part of a throng, the way some people are. The "

― Kelly Gardiner , Goddess

16 " There’s so much need in the world. It turns my heart to granite. They are beggars out there, every one of them—from the crippled soldier crying on the corner to the street sellers and crooks and landlords. The bewigged crowd is no different. Better dressed, but desperate nevertheless. Especially at the palace. It’s pathetic, really. I "

― Kelly Gardiner , Goddess

17 " Your only enemy is fear, "

― Kelly Gardiner , Goddess

18 " There are some scars we carry that nobody ever sees. I believe that. Do you? We all have them, I’m sure. Sins that can never be forgiven. Hurts that will not heal. Pains that plague us in the dark hours—that mark our souls forever. And scorch our hearts? "

― Kelly Gardiner , Goddess

19 " The strength comes only from your mind. Fingertips. Wrist. Thighs. Brain. These are your weapons. The sword is merely a beautiful accessory. "

― Kelly Gardiner , Goddess

20 " In their arrogance lies my strength. One "

― Kelly Gardiner , Goddess

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