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Quote by Deanna Raybourn

“Dove smiled in satisfaction. “Something I picked up in the south of France. It’s the purest jasmine from Grasse, which makes it very special indeed.” “Why?” Evie sniffed again. The scent was rich and sensual, curling against her like a cat and warming itself on her skin. “Child, jasmine is one of the most seductive scents imaginable, and the stuff from Grasse is the finest in the world. In the little village where I collected that, the farmers won’t even let their nubile daughters walk through the fields when the flowers are ripe for fear they won’t be able to control themselves.” “I can see why,” Evie murmured. The heavy fragrance was intoxicating, and she felt like someone entirely new.”

Quote by Deanna Raybourn

Work

Whisper of Jasmine

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Author

Deanna Raybourn
Deanna Raybourn

Deanna Raybourn is an Australian author of historical novels, known for her works that blend suspense and romance set in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in England. Born on June 17, 1968, Raybourn graduated from the Australian National University. more

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“So not only was this curious bracelet [found at the Denisova cave] unequivocally the work of anatomically archaic human beings--the Denisovans-- but also it testified to their mastery of advanced manufacturing techniques in the Upper Paleolithic, many millennia ahead of the earliest use of these techniques in the Neolithic by our own supposedly "advanced" species, Homo sapiens. Also made crystal clear was the realization that the Denisovans must have possessed the same kinds of artistic sensibility and self-awareness that we habitually associate only with our own kind--for there can be no doubt that very real, conscious, aware, and unmistakably human beings had interacted with this bracelet at every stage of its conception, design, and manufacture, all the way through to its end use.”

“Charity is the best form of prayer. Do whatever little you can to help the not so fortunate. You may donate a small portion of your income, you may take out time to teach the underprivileged children, sponsor a meal for the hungry or just spend some time with an old lady who has no one. I am sure that you will move one level high on the spiritual plane. Like prayers, doing charity once is not enough. You have to do it continuously, as much as possible.”

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“She opened the capers, green and freckled as amphibians, and with a teaspoon eased them from their brine. The olives were next, and she pushed pits from the aubergine-dark fruits, dropping their flesh into the tomato sauce. She ate as many as she added, and, as she stirred, she spat out the stones. The sauce bubbled, and the hob became flecked with red. Heat had started to rise in the kitchen, and she turned to the parsley, cool as morning grass. She chopped the herb to a finely mown darkness, her fingertips stained lawn-green when she pulled back, when she wiped the blade of her knife.”