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I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be the respected patriarch of an ordinary English family. Very boring, Emerson.

Barbara Mertz

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Barbara Mertz
Age: 85 †
Born: 1927
Born: September 29
Died: 2013
Died: August 8
Archaeologist
Author
Egyptologist
Novelist
Writer
Canton
Illinois
Elizabeth Peters
Barbara Michaels
Barbara Louise Mertz
Family
Sometimes
Patriarch
Would
Emerson
Like
Respected
Boring
English
Ordinary
Wonder

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Children, I feel, are as much entitled to privacy as human beings.
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love has a very dulling effect on the brain
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The only people who are not in awe of Emerson's powerful voice and well-nigh superhuman strength are the members of his own family. He is aware of this, and often complains about it so from time to time I like to put on a little show of being intimidated. 'Proceed, my dear,' I said apologetically.
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If someone lies down and invites you to trample upon him, you are a remarkable individual if you decline the invitation.
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It's not unsporting to thrash a cowardly cad,' said Simmons. 'Everyone knows you don't fight like a gentleman.' 'That might be called an oxymoron,' Ramses said. 'Oh--sorry. Bad form to use long words. Look it up when you get home.' The poor devil didn't know how to fight, like a gentleman or otherwise.
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The approval of a cat cannot but flatter the recipient.
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Your trousers are on fire. I would have told you, but you so dislike advice.
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Sometimes the characters develop almost without your knowing it. You find them doing things you hadn't planned on, and then I have to go back to page 42 and fix things. I'm not recommending it as a way to write. It's very sloppy, but it works for me.
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Loving someone condemns you to a lifetime of fear. You become painfully conscious of how fragile people are - bundles of brittle bones and vulnerable flesh, breeding grounds for billions of deadly germs and horrible diseases.
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When one is striding bravely into the future one cannot watch one's footing.
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The opportunity to lecture had restored my good humor.
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stereotypes are awfully misleading. There are typical librarians, but not all librarians are typical.
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Noble causes have a deplorable effect on the morals of the persons who espouse them.
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Cats always made up to the people who hated them the most. Depending on how you chose to look at it, it was a touching manifestation of trust, or a malicious pleasure in human discomfort.
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