Despite Grace’s longing to go to London, and despite Viv’s enthusiastic encouragement, Grace had remained in Drayton for nearly a year after in an attempt to pick up the pieces of her broken existence.
-- Narrator (Chapter 1)

Importance: This quote describes Grace’s reluctance to move to London even though there was nothing left for her in Drayton, the town where she had grown up. Grace’s mother had died and Grace learned her uncle owned the house in which she and her mother had lived together. Grace’s aunt finally demanded that Grace leave the house, giving her no other choice but to move.

I’m not,’ she confessed. ‘A book lover, I mean. I haven’t had much time for books.
-- Grace (Chapter 3)

Importance: When George meets Grace working at Primrose Hill Books, he assumes she loves to read as much as he does. He appears taken aback when she tells him she...