“Jolly good!" ... King [George VI] exclaimed [after Queen Elizabeth fired the gun at Hitler's photograph]. "You got him right in the n-n-n-naughty bits."... "Good," she said. "That's where I was aiming.”
―
Susan Elia MacNeal,
Princess Elizabeth's Spy
“Pull yourself together. You can have a nice big breakdown after you get back to London.…” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, His Majesty's Hope
“His one indulgence was attending the occasional Chelsea Blues game” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, Princess Elizabeth's Spy
“Without the freedom to criticize, there is no true praise.” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, The Paris Spy
“Please,” David said, “we’re British—we adore animals. It’s children we can’t stand. That’s why we invented boarding schools. More tea?” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, The Prime Minister's Secret Agent
“I’m through allowing myself to be confined to so-called ‘women’s work.’ I’m also through with patronizing men giving me half-truths and withholding information. That will end here and now.” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, Princess Elizabeth's Spy
“No great country was ever saved by good men, because good men will not go the lengths that may be necessary. —HORACE WALPOLE,” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, The Paris Spy
“The Black Dog of depression was dirty and scarred, feral and rabid. He lurked in the night, yellow eyes gleaming, waiting for a chink in the armor, a weakness, a vulnerability, a memory. And then, jaws wide and fangs sharp, he would leap.” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, The Prime Minister's Secret Agent
“She wasn't happy, exactly; she was still too raw for that. But she was satisfied. Satisfied and relieved, too, with maybe just a bit of joy thrown in for good measure. Yes, that was it. She'd made it through so much already. She knew now that she was strong. She'd survive. And she had friends and family to support her.” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, Mr. Churchill's Secretary
“You have a fifty-fifty chance, Hope. Probability equals the number of desirable outcomes divided by the number of possible outcomes. A coin flip. And that’s only theoretical—a big wave might take you out first—better make that one of the possible outcomes. Probability of survival dips even lower, then.…” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, Princess Elizabeth's Spy
“If you’re poor, they call you crazy. But if you’re rich, you’re ‘eccentric.” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, The Prisoner in the Castle
“Eagles are not kindly birds. Some are cowardly and cruel. But the ancient race of the northern mountains were the greatest of all birds; they were proud and strong and noble-hearted.’ If that doesn’t describe the bloody Americans, I don’t know what does.” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, The Prime Minister's Secret Agent
“Patience attains all that it strives for. He who has God finds he lacks nothing. God alone suffices.” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, His Majesty's Hope
“Maggie thought about numbers. Numbers weren’t evil. Numbers, points, curves, fractions—they all existed independent of human thought and action. She missed math. She loved the order, the cool logic, the joy of solving its inevitable steps.” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, Mr. Churchill's Secretary
“Maggie met her own eyes in the mirror. You were afraid, she realized. But not afraid of him—afraid of being rude. Rude! Afraid of trusting your gut. How many women are raped and worse because they’ve—we’ve—been taught to be pleasant, to be a good girl, to keep the men happy?” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, The Queen's Accomplice
“Why is it that when you pick a number, any number, then double it, add 6, halve it, and take away the number you started with, your answer is always 3?” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, The Paris Spy
“Death is nothing at all, I have only slipped into the next room I am I and you are you Whatever we were to each other, That we are still. Call me by my old familiar name, Speak to me in the easy way you always used Put no difference into your tone, Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow Laugh as we always laughed At the little jokes we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was, Let it be spoken without effort, Without the ghost of a shadow on it. Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was, There is absolute unbroken continuity. Why should I be out of mind Because I am out of sight? I am waiting for you, for an interval, Somewhere very near, Just around the corner. All is well.” When” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, Mr. Churchill's Secretary
“Could she see herself, someday, wearing a bridal gown, walking down an aisle—or going to a courthouse in a simple suit? Marriage was, after all, most young women’s life goal. And yet, the image left Maggie cold. That’s because you need to be in love first, dummy.” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, The Paris Spy
“Christopher Boothby had” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, Princess Elizabeth's Spy
“Pull yourself together. You can have a nice big breakdown after you get back to London.…” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, His Majesty's Hope
“His one indulgence was attending the occasional Chelsea Blues game” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, Princess Elizabeth's Spy
“Without the freedom to criticize, there is no true praise.” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, The Paris Spy
“Please,” David said, “we’re British—we adore animals. It’s children we can’t stand. That’s why we invented boarding schools. More tea?” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, The Prime Minister's Secret Agent
“I’m through allowing myself to be confined to so-called ‘women’s work.’ I’m also through with patronizing men giving me half-truths and withholding information. That will end here and now.” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, Princess Elizabeth's Spy
“No great country was ever saved by good men, because good men will not go the lengths that may be necessary. —HORACE WALPOLE,” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, The Paris Spy
“The Black Dog of depression was dirty and scarred, feral and rabid. He lurked in the night, yellow eyes gleaming, waiting for a chink in the armor, a weakness, a vulnerability, a memory. And then, jaws wide and fangs sharp, he would leap.” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, The Prime Minister's Secret Agent
“She wasn't happy, exactly; she was still too raw for that. But she was satisfied. Satisfied and relieved, too, with maybe just a bit of joy thrown in for good measure. Yes, that was it. She'd made it through so much already. She knew now that she was strong. She'd survive. And she had friends and family to support her.” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, Mr. Churchill's Secretary
“You have a fifty-fifty chance, Hope. Probability equals the number of desirable outcomes divided by the number of possible outcomes. A coin flip. And that’s only theoretical—a big wave might take you out first—better make that one of the possible outcomes. Probability of survival dips even lower, then.…” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, Princess Elizabeth's Spy
“If you’re poor, they call you crazy. But if you’re rich, you’re ‘eccentric.” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, The Prisoner in the Castle
“Eagles are not kindly birds. Some are cowardly and cruel. But the ancient race of the northern mountains were the greatest of all birds; they were proud and strong and noble-hearted.’ If that doesn’t describe the bloody Americans, I don’t know what does.” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, The Prime Minister's Secret Agent
“Patience attains all that it strives for. He who has God finds he lacks nothing. God alone suffices.” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, His Majesty's Hope
“Maggie thought about numbers. Numbers weren’t evil. Numbers, points, curves, fractions—they all existed independent of human thought and action. She missed math. She loved the order, the cool logic, the joy of solving its inevitable steps.” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, Mr. Churchill's Secretary
“Maggie met her own eyes in the mirror. You were afraid, she realized. But not afraid of him—afraid of being rude. Rude! Afraid of trusting your gut. How many women are raped and worse because they’ve—we’ve—been taught to be pleasant, to be a good girl, to keep the men happy?” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, The Queen's Accomplice
“Why is it that when you pick a number, any number, then double it, add 6, halve it, and take away the number you started with, your answer is always 3?” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, The Paris Spy
“Death is nothing at all, I have only slipped into the next room I am I and you are you Whatever we were to each other, That we are still. Call me by my old familiar name, Speak to me in the easy way you always used Put no difference into your tone, Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow Laugh as we always laughed At the little jokes we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was, Let it be spoken without effort, Without the ghost of a shadow on it. Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was, There is absolute unbroken continuity. Why should I be out of mind Because I am out of sight? I am waiting for you, for an interval, Somewhere very near, Just around the corner. All is well.” When” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, Mr. Churchill's Secretary
“Could she see herself, someday, wearing a bridal gown, walking down an aisle—or going to a courthouse in a simple suit? Marriage was, after all, most young women’s life goal. And yet, the image left Maggie cold. That’s because you need to be in love first, dummy.” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, The Paris Spy
“Christopher Boothby had” ― Susan Elia MacNeal, Princess Elizabeth's Spy
