Tracing Quotations
Margaret Atwood? David? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The North American fur trade between First Nations and Europeans began in the 16th century. In the 19th century millions of beaver pelts were sold in Europe. The importance of this trade has been summarized with the following blunt statement: Canada was built on dead beavers. The …
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Margaret Atwood? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Foolish actions can lead to disastrous results. It is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between the actions of a stupid individual versus a malevolent individual. The prominent Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood once made a statement of this type. Would you please help me to find it? Quote Investigator: …
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Creator: Margaret Atwood, prominent Canadian novelist and essayist Context: Atwood’s 2005 novella “The Penelopiad” re-envisioned the myth of Odysseus by re-centering the tale on Penelope who was the wife of the ancient hero. Penelope’s father was King Icarius of Sparta, and her mother was a Naiad, i.e., a water nymph. Commenting on her partially divine …
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Margaret Atwood? Posy Simmonds? Guy Bellamy? Marilyn Duckworth? R. D. Laing? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following quotation may be morbid, but I still consider it cleverly humorous: Life is a sexually transmitted terminal disease. Would you please explore its provenance? Reply from Quote Investigator: Tracing this statement is difficult because it emerged from …
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