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Top 280 Diane Setterfield Quotes (2026 Update)
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Diane Setterfield Quote: “He was the first of my ghosts.”

201. “He was the first of my ghosts.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “Thomas Ambrose Proctor!”

202. “Thomas Ambrose Proctor!”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “I still forget myself when I am in the middle of a good book.”

203. “I still forget myself when I am in the middle of a good book.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “Gone were her fiery orange and resplendent purple. She was dressed in a white long-sleeved chemise, and she was weeping.”

204. “Gone were her fiery orange and resplendent purple. She was dressed in a white long-sleeved chemise, and she was weeping.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “They were not willfully cruel, you know. Only foolish. Misguided by their learning, their ambition, their own self-deceiving blindness.”

205. “They were not willfully cruel, you know. Only foolish. Misguided by their learning, their ambition, their own self-deceiving blindness.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “The cat was on the window ledge, gazing intently into the garden.”

206. “The cat was on the window ledge, gazing intently into the garden.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “The storyteller gave me a sideways look. “Miss Lea, it doesn’t do to get attached to these secondary characters. It’s not their story. They come and go, and when they’re gone, they’re gone for good. That is all there is to it.”

207. “The storyteller gave me a sideways look. “Miss Lea, it doesn’t do to get attached to these secondary characters. It’s not their story. They come and go, and when they’re gone, they’re gone for good. That is all there is to it.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “Ask him to tell you about when he was born. What you get won’t be the truth; it will be a story.”

208. “Ask him to tell you about when he was born. What you get won’t be the truth; it will be a story.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “I left wide margins. In the left-hand one I noted any mannerisms, expressions and gestures that seemed to add something to her meaning. The right-hand margin I left blank. Later, rereading, it was here that I would enter my own thoughts, comments, questions.”

209. “I left wide margins. In the left-hand one I noted any mannerisms, expressions and gestures that seemed to add something to her meaning. The right-hand margin I left blank. Later, rereading, it was here that I would enter my own thoughts, comments, questions.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “Do you mean to tell me, Aurelius, that you are a foundling?” “Yes. That is the word for what I am. A foundling.”

210. “Do you mean to tell me, Aurelius, that you are a foundling?” “Yes. That is the word for what I am. A foundling.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “The other rooms were thick with the corpses of suffocated words.”

211. “The other rooms were thick with the corpses of suffocated words.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “Mr. Lomax had signed for Emmeline. That told me that she had survived the fire, at least. And on the second line, the name I had been hoping for. Vida Winter. And after it, in brackets, the words, formerly known as Adeline March. Proof. Vida Winter was Adeline March. She was telling the truth.”

212. “Mr. Lomax had signed for Emmeline. That told me that she had survived the fire, at least. And on the second line, the name I had been hoping for. Vida Winter. And after it, in brackets, the words, formerly known as Adeline March. Proof. Vida Winter was Adeline March. She was telling the truth.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “When there is no light to see by, any drunk can walk in a straight line!”

213. “When there is no light to see by, any drunk can walk in a straight line!”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “Aurelius Alphonse Love.”

214. “Aurelius Alphonse Love.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “As we drove into Harrow-gate, the atmosphere in the car was heavy with Miss Winter’s oppressive silence.”

215. “As we drove into Harrow-gate, the atmosphere in the car was heavy with Miss Winter’s oppressive silence.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “Thinking about it now, I realize that the mark had more or less the form of a Q, but at the time, in the shock of this unexpected and painful act of revealment, it had no such clarity, and it disturbed me the way I would be disturbed by the appearance on a page of English of an unfamiliar symbol from a lost and unreadable language.”

216. “Thinking about it now, I realize that the mark had more or less the form of a Q, but at the time, in the shock of this unexpected and painful act of revealment, it had no such clarity, and it disturbed me the way I would be disturbed by the appearance on a page of English of an unfamiliar symbol from a lost and unreadable language.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “In summer he was a different person, sprightly and alert, and people took him for a man a decade younger than his years; but in winter he sank as the skies darkened, and by December he was always tired. When he went to bed, he drowned in sleep; when he was wakened from it, dragged from the depths, he was somehow always unrefreshed.”

217. “In summer he was a different person, sprightly and alert, and people took him for a man a decade younger than his years; but in winter he sank as the skies darkened, and by December he was always tired. When he went to bed, he drowned in sleep; when he was wakened from it, dragged from the depths, he was somehow always unrefreshed.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “I had realized that while books are extraordinary, writers themselves are no more or less special than anyone else.”

218. “I had realized that while books are extraordinary, writers themselves are no more or less special than anyone else.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “It was Hester herself, made word.”

219. “It was Hester herself, made word.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “Adeline was made like a piece of wire with knots for knees and elbows.”

220. “Adeline was made like a piece of wire with knots for knees and elbows.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “Margot was a handsome woman in her late fifties. She could lift barrels without help and had legs so sturdy, she never felt the need to sit down. It was rumored she even slept on her feet, but she had given birth to thirteen children, so clearly she must have lain down sometimes.”

221. “Margot was a handsome woman in her late fifties. She could lift barrels without help and had legs so sturdy, she never felt the need to sit down. It was rumored she even slept on her feet, but she had given birth to thirteen children, so clearly she must have lain down sometimes.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “A birth is not really a beginning. Our lives at the start are not really our own but only the continuation of someone else’s story. Take me, for instance. To look at me now, you would think my birth must have been something special, wouldn’t you? Accompanied by strange portents, and attended by witches and fairy godmothers. But no. Not a bit of it. In fact, when I was born I was no more than a sub-plot.”

222. “A birth is not really a beginning. Our lives at the start are not really our own but only the continuation of someone else’s story. Take me, for instance. To look at me now, you would think my birth must have been something special, wouldn’t you? Accompanied by strange portents, and attended by witches and fairy godmothers. But no. Not a bit of it. In fact, when I was born I was no more than a sub-plot.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “To make it true? Was it for me or for her that he made these thankless efforts to connect us? It was an impossible task.”

223. “To make it true? Was it for me or for her that he made these thankless efforts to connect us? It was an impossible task.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “One should always pay attention to ghosts, shouldn’t one, Miss Lea?”

224. “One should always pay attention to ghosts, shouldn’t one, Miss Lea?”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “All the grief I had kept at bay for years by means of books and bookcases approached me now.”

225. “All the grief I had kept at bay for years by means of books and bookcases approached me now.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “And will you tell me the truth?” “I will tell you the truth.”

226. “And will you tell me the truth?” “I will tell you the truth.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “There was nothing to see; the mist that hung in the air made everything invisible that was more than a short distance away.”

227. “There was nothing to see; the mist that hung in the air made everything invisible that was more than a short distance away.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “Shirley goes over the edge.” “I don’t like games like this.” “Now George Sand starts to go up in flames.” I sighed and closed my eyes. “Wuthering Heights.”

228. “Shirley goes over the edge.” “I don’t like games like this.” “Now George Sand starts to go up in flames.” I sighed and closed my eyes. “Wuthering Heights.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “Don’t you think one can tell the truth much better with a story?”

229. “Don’t you think one can tell the truth much better with a story?”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “By the time we wake up to ourselves, we are little children, and our advent is something that happened an eternity ago, at the beginning of time. We live like latecomers at the theater; we must catch up as best we can, divining the beginning from the shape of later events.”

230. “By the time we wake up to ourselves, we are little children, and our advent is something that happened an eternity ago, at the beginning of time. We live like latecomers at the theater; we must catch up as best we can, divining the beginning from the shape of later events.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “Things were happening that were beyond her comprehension. More and more often these days, and for longer and longer periods, she had the sense that something had gone wrong with the world. More than once she seemed to wake up in her head and find that whole hours had passed by without leaving a trace in her memory. Things that clearly made sense to other people didn’t always make sense to her.”

231. “Things were happening that were beyond her comprehension. More and more often these days, and for longer and longer periods, she had the sense that something had gone wrong with the world. More than once she seemed to wake up in her head and find that whole hours had passed by without leaving a trace in her memory. Things that clearly made sense to other people didn’t always make sense to her.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “Her presence could be divined in any number of ways by those who had eyes to see. Yet she was not seen.”

232. “Her presence could be divined in any number of ways by those who had eyes to see. Yet she was not seen.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “It’s what my mother would say. She thinks a weightless story is better than one that’s too heavy.” “So. My story is a heavy one.”

233. “It’s what my mother would say. She thinks a weightless story is better than one that’s too heavy.” “So. My story is a heavy one.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “El silencio donde moraban sus demonios.”

234. “El silencio donde moraban sus demonios.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “Even the furniture made the most of the lack of supervision to move about.”

235. “Even the furniture made the most of the lack of supervision to move about.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “My father noticed the direction of my reading. He came home from fairs and sales with books he thought might be interesting for me. Shabby little books, in manuscript mostly, yellowed pages tied with ribbon or string, sometimes hand-bound. I devoured them. Though my appetite for food grew frail, my hunger for books was constant.”

236. “My father noticed the direction of my reading. He came home from fairs and sales with books he thought might be interesting for me. Shabby little books, in manuscript mostly, yellowed pages tied with ribbon or string, sometimes hand-bound. I devoured them. Though my appetite for food grew frail, my hunger for books was constant.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “What if the child’s dependence on her twin is so great that the separation causes a mental trauma such that the damaged mind provides solace by the creation of an imaginary twin, a fantasy companion? We arrived at no satisfactory conclusion but parted with the satisfaction of having located another area of future study: linguistics.”

237. “What if the child’s dependence on her twin is so great that the separation causes a mental trauma such that the damaged mind provides solace by the creation of an imaginary twin, a fantasy companion? We arrived at no satisfactory conclusion but parted with the satisfaction of having located another area of future study: linguistics.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “The words from the letter were trapped in my head, trapped, it seemed, beneath the sloping ceiling of my attic flat, like a bird that has got in down the chimney.”

238. “The words from the letter were trapped in my head, trapped, it seemed, beneath the sloping ceiling of my attic flat, like a bird that has got in down the chimney.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “He saw her not here in this room and not now in this hour but in the infinity of memory.”

239. “He saw her not here in this room and not now in this hour but in the infinity of memory.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “Rigid, glaring, set in a frown, his face was so much what it had been in life that the maid spoke to him three times before she realized he was dead.”

240. “Rigid, glaring, set in a frown, his face was so much what it had been in life that the maid spoke to him three times before she realized he was dead.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “It was odd to think that only a few years ago she had been Helena Greville. It seemed a lot longer. When she thought about that girl now it was as if she was thinking about someone she used to know, and know quite well, but would never see again. Helena Greville was gone for good.”

241. “It was odd to think that only a few years ago she had been Helena Greville. It seemed a lot longer. When she thought about that girl now it was as if she was thinking about someone she used to know, and know quite well, but would never see again. Helena Greville was gone for good.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “Just what kind of a person are you, Miss Lea?” I fixed my mask in place before replying.”

242. “Just what kind of a person are you, Miss Lea?” I fixed my mask in place before replying.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “Imagine the time it would take if every aspect of experience had to be scrutinized afresh every minute of every day. No; in order to free ourselves from the mundane it is essential that we delegate much of our interpretation of the world to that lower area of the mind that deals with the presumed, the assumed, the probable.”

243. “Imagine the time it would take if every aspect of experience had to be scrutinized afresh every minute of every day. No; in order to free ourselves from the mundane it is essential that we delegate much of our interpretation of the world to that lower area of the mind that deals with the presumed, the assumed, the probable.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “It felt as if everything had come to an end. I had only one wish: to sit like John, immobile, staring into space and doing nothing. Yet time did not stop. I could still feel my heartbeat measuring out the seconds. I could feel hunger growing in my stomach, and thirst in my throat. I was so sad I thought I would die, yet instead I was scandalously and absurdly alive – so alive I swear I could feel my hair and fingernails growing.”

244. “It felt as if everything had come to an end. I had only one wish: to sit like John, immobile, staring into space and doing nothing. Yet time did not stop. I could still feel my heartbeat measuring out the seconds. I could feel hunger growing in my stomach, and thirst in my throat. I was so sad I thought I would die, yet instead I was scandalously and absurdly alive – so alive I swear I could feel my hair and fingernails growing.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “Her hair was a dirty color that was too dark to be blond, her chin was big and her eyes were small.”

245. “Her hair was a dirty color that was too dark to be blond, her chin was big and her eyes were small.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “One of the first keys to success, he considered, was to recognize the difference between problems you could do something about and problems you could do nothing about.”

246. “One of the first keys to success, he considered, was to recognize the difference between problems you could do something about and problems you could do nothing about.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “He knows what reading is. How it takes you.”

247. “He knows what reading is. How it takes you.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “We turned into the rose garden where the pruned bushes appeared as piles of dead twigs, but the elaborate borders of box that surrounded them in sinuous Elizabethan patterns twisted in and out of the moonlight, showing here silver, there black. A dozen times I would have lingered – a single ivy leaf turned at an angle to catch the moonlight perfectly; a sudden view of the great oak tree, etched with inhuman clarity against the pale sky – but I could not stop.”

248. “We turned into the rose garden where the pruned bushes appeared as piles of dead twigs, but the elaborate borders of box that surrounded them in sinuous Elizabethan patterns twisted in and out of the moonlight, showing here silver, there black. A dozen times I would have lingered – a single ivy leaf turned at an angle to catch the moonlight perfectly; a sudden view of the great oak tree, etched with inhuman clarity against the pale sky – but I could not stop.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “Rita did not look away. Part of her job was to help people face what was coming. Dying could be lonely. A nurse was often easier to talk to than family.”

249. “Rita did not look away. Part of her job was to help people face what was coming. Dying could be lonely. A nurse was often easier to talk to than family.”

— Diane Setterfield

Diane Setterfield Quote: “I cannot pretend that the reading I have done in my adult years matches in its impact on my soul the reading I did as a child.”

250. “I cannot pretend that the reading I have done in my adult years matches in its impact on my soul the reading I did as a child.”

— Diane Setterfield

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