WIST Quotations

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 1, Cocaine Blues (1989)

Dave — Thu, 25 May 2017 22:55:57 +0000

“I hope that you did not give him anything, Mr Sanderson!”

“Of course I did, ma’am.”

“But he would only spend it on drink! You know what the working classes are!”

“Indeed, ma’am, and why should he not spend it on drink? Would you deprive the poor, whose lives are bad and miserable and comfortless enough, of the solace of a little relief from grinding poverty? A sordid, sodden relief perhaps, but would you be so heartless as to deny the poor even that pleasure in which all of us indulge at your generous expense?”

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 1, Cocaine Blues (1989)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 1, Cocaine Blues (1989)

Dave — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 01:30:16 +0000

Both had suggestive bulges in their pockets which told of either huge genitalia or trousered pistols. Phryne inclined to the handgun theory.

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 1, Cocaine Blues (1989)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 1, Cocaine Blues (1989)

Dave — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 21:19:54 +0000

Phryne Fisher had a taste for young and comely men, but she was not prone to trust them with anything but her body.

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 1, Cocaine Blues (1989)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 2, Flying Too High, ch. 2 (1990)

Dave — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 00:59:15 +0000

She ate her trifle, reflecting that grinding poverty, though loathsome while one is in it, has the advantage of making one enjoy money in a way denied to the rich-from-birth.

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 2, Flying Too High, ch. 2 (1990)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 3, Murder on the Ballarat Train (1991)

Dave — Thu, 03 Aug 2017 18:00:41 +0000

The young man appeared disconcerted at the vehemence of Phryne’s discourse, and she changed the subject. One did not wantonly disconcert young men on whom one might be having designs in future.

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 3, Murder on the Ballarat Train (1991)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 4, Death at Victoria Dock, ch. 8 (1992)

Dave — Fri, 25 Aug 2017 03:38:40 +0000

Rupert had never forgiven his mother for continuing to have children once she had achieved the heights of human creation by giving birth to Rupert.

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 4, Death at Victoria Dock, ch. 8 (1992)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 5, The Green Mill Murder (1993)

Dave — Thu, 19 Oct 2017 16:45:09 +0000

Even the best cooks were saucepan throwers when the soufflé collapsed.

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 5, The Green Mill Murder (1993)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 5, The Green Mill Murder (1993)

Dave — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 18:35:43 +0000

“Come on, now. Home we go and a nice cuppa,” said Mr. Butler, who was convinced that tea was the cure for most female ills, from miscarriage to bankruptcy.

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 5, The Green Mill Murder (1993)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 5, The Green Mill Murder, ch. 6 (1993)

Dave — Thu, 12 Oct 2017 16:01:26 +0000

No cook can ignore the opinion of a man who asks for three helpings. One is politeness, two is hunger, but three is a true and cherished compliment.

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 5, The Green Mill Murder, ch. 6 (1993)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 5, The Green Mill Murder, ch. 13 (1993)

Dave — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 02:54:37 +0000

This cold wilderness was utterly unfamiliar, but it did not feel hostile, just indifferent to her fate. If she fell off this path and was broken into a hundred pieces nothing up here would be one whit interested.

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 5, The Green Mill Murder, ch. 13 (1993)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 7, Ruddy Gore (1995)

Dave — Fri, 10 Aug 2018 03:34:23 +0000

“To Hell with all racialists,” she said aloud. “And to Hell with eugenics, degenerate heredity, miscegenation and frauds who pile up skulls like a conqueror as well. May they choke on their bones.”

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 7, Ruddy Gore (1995)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 7, Ruddy Gore, ch. 3 (1995)

Dave — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 21:04:51 +0000

Detective inspector John “Call me Jack, everyone does” Robinson did not like theatres. Bit of a night out at the variety or even the Tiv was fair enough, but ever since a high-minded relative had forced him to sit through an Ibsen festival at an impressionable age, theatres had always been synonymous with what he called ‘high art’, a portmanteau term for everything self-indulgent, terminally tedious and incomprehensible in the world of culture.

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 7, Ruddy Gore, ch. 3 (1995)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 7, Ruddy Gore, ch. 10 (1995)

Dave — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 15:47:03 +0000

She passed the photograph to Dot, who liked babies. Phryne always considered that they resembled rabbits in the market when newborn, and uncommonly alcoholic drunks when a little older. Also, despite the pride of their mothers, she could never tell one baby from another, except that some were ugly and some were merely exceptionally plain.

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 7, Ruddy Gore, ch. 10 (1995)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 8, Urn Burial (1996)

Dave — Mon, 29 May 2017 18:52:36 +0000

“Far better that they are dead and with God, who will know how to deal with them. That is, after all,” Miss Mead said gravely, “what God is for.”

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 8, Urn Burial (1996)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 8, Urn Burial (1996)

Dave — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 16:11:23 +0000

Phryne was feeling most displeased with a species to which, she reminded herself, she belonged. She took an egg sandwich and a gulp of tea and strove to adjust her philosophy.

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 8, Urn Burial (1996)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 10, Death Before Wicket, ch. 7 (1999)

Dave — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 23:36:41 +0000

Neither struck her as particularly experienced. The night would degenerate into the usual problems with an orgy: where to put what and where and when, and how to find room for one’s elbows.

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 10, Death Before Wicket, ch. 7 (1999)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 10, Death Before Wicket, ch. 7 (1999)

Dave — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:38:23 +0000

Phryne had never liked pain. It hurt.

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 10, Death Before Wicket, ch. 7 (1999)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 11, Away with the Fairies, ch. 1 (2001)

Dave — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 00:48:45 +0000

She felt that the day should not be bounced in on with rude energy, but carefully and delicately seduced into being, and children and animals were sadly impervious to reason on this matter.

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 11, Away with the Fairies, ch. 1 (2001)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 11, Away with the Fairies, ch. 18 (2001)

Dave — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 23:38:01 +0000

The solemn ritual continued. The pastor gave his final blessing. The coffin was lowered into the grave and earth cast on it; the most final sound in the world, Phryne thought, clods thudding hollowly on the lid.

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 11, Away with the Fairies, ch. 18 (2001)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 13, The Castlemaine Murders, ch. 2 (2003)

Dave — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 01:15:39 +0000

The one requirement for a really satisfying fit of hysterics is a sympathetic audience.

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 13, The Castlemaine Murders, ch. 2 (2003)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 13, The Castlemaine Murders, ch. 4 (2003)

Dave — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 20:02:42 +0000

Enough of this … I am not cut out to be a guide to youth. I think youth can get itself into enough trouble without my help, don’t you, Youth?

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 13, The Castlemaine Murders, ch. 4 (2003)
(Source)

Phryne to Jane.

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 13, The Castlemaine Murders, ch. 4 (2003)

Dave — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 21:11:06 +0000

“Conversation is a minefield until you learn the conventions, Jane dear.”
“I’ll never learn all the rules,” muttered Jane.
“Yes, you will,” said Phryne. “Then you can bend them.”

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 13, The Castlemaine Murders, ch. 4 (2003)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 13, The Castlemaine Murders, ch. 4 (2003)

Dave — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 18:41:41 +0000

Mr. Butler approved of gluttony. It was, he thought, a nice, comfortable vice. Never caused any noise or trouble and the sufferer just expired of an apoplexy, regretted by all those who had attended his excellent dinner parties.

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 13, The Castlemaine Murders, ch. 4 (2003)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 13, The Castlemaine Murders, ch. 4 [Phryne to Jane] (2003)

Dave — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 21:39:31 +0000

“The best advice I would give you is, ‘If under attack, cause a diversion.'”
“A diversion?”
“Yes, trip over the dog, spill a glass of wine on your attacker, burst into song, challenge your attacker to a duel.”

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 13, The Castlemaine Murders, ch. 4 [Phryne to Jane] (2003)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 13, The Castlemaine Murders, ch. 8 (2003)

Dave — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 22:15:23 +0000

“Very well, Uncle,” said Lin. “I bow to your wisdom.”
“Good thing, too. What is the use of wisdom if it is not bowed to?”

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 13, The Castlemaine Murders, ch. 8 (2003)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 14, Queen of the Flowers, ch. 15 [Phryne to Dot] (2004)

Dave — Thu, 14 May 2026 22:23:33 +0000

“Boys like obvious,” Phryne told her. “Men prefer subtle but boys only stop thinking about sex when they are thinking about food. Or football. The adolescent male is a strange and horrible creature unless, of course, one’s tastes run the same way.”

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 14, Queen of the Flowers, ch. 15 [Phryne to Dot] (2004)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 15, Death by Water, ch. 10 (2005)

Dave — Fri, 22 May 2026 16:37:10 +0000

[…] the bitterness to which all viola players are prone, while there are violins in the world.

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 15, Death by Water, ch. 10 (2005)
(Source)

Greenwood, Kerry -- Phryne Fisher, Book 15, Death by Water, ch. 15 (2005)

Dave — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 14:11:17 +0000

When pursued by a satyr, always make sure you are caught near the softest available moss.

Kerry Greenwood (b. 1954) Australian author and lawyer
Phryne Fisher, Book 15, Death by Water, ch. 15 (2005)
(Source)

A quip Phryne recalls once making.