"They are two spinsters, in their forties, rather badly off, living very quietly. With those handicaps they have managed to impose themselves on the town as beings apart, aristocrats, uninvolved in the hurly-burly of life; they are spoken of with bated breath, and approached by other ladies only in the most ceremonious fashion, carrying out the ritual of the afternoon call, and not approached in any way by other people." 1868, p. 42

"Mrs. Lowrey made a joke about an epidemic of weddings in the Club, and wondered if this would be the last, and Eliza said, short and sharp, 'Where there's an infection in the air, Thomasina's sure to catch it, whether it's measles or love." 1869, p. 95

"'Eliza,' her father rebuked her, 'men cannot take politics so vindictively and continue to live comfortably in the same town. Women must learn to be more tolerant.'" 1872, p. 147

"'Life wasn't...