Rouge A Novel Quotes

«La nuit froide est un frisson sur sa peau, la nuit brille dans l'obsidienne de ses yeux, la nuit fourmille de lumières, d'étoiles, de feux rouges, de noms au néon magnifique et étrangers, de noms dangereux, de noms qui rugissent du fond de la vie»

Miss Steele was a thin, quiet woman of about sixty, who used rouge and powder somewhat heavily, whose white, frizzy, well-kept hair had the appearance of being, without being, a wig, and whose whole manner gave the impression of her having, without her having had, a past. She was careful to avow at all times her predilection for ‘fun’, for ‘cocktails’, for ‘broadmindedness’, for those who in common with her were ‘cursed’ with a sense of humour, and for the company of young people as opposed to ‘old fogies’ like herself. But she had, in fact, little fun, no cocktails, and no company younger than that furnished by the Rosamund Tea Rooms. She was also advanced in the matter of culture, for she had no time for ‘modern novels’. Instead she read endless Boots’ biographies of historical characters, and was, in fact, a historian.

Maomao briefly regretted that she hadn’t simply disguised Jinshi as a woman, but then she remembered that dab of rouge and thought better of it. She shook her head: Jinshi must never appear in women’s clothing, lest the very world tear itself apart.