The Calypso Chronicles

Idols of Augustinian Girls

Every modern girl needs an idol or two to look up to and Augustinian girls are no exception. We can but hope that a little of their magnificence will rub off on us. Here are some of our favourites along with classic quotations.

Nancy Mitford

Nancy Mitford was an essayist in, and editor of, Noblesse Oblige (1956), in which she helped to originate the famous 'U', or upper-class, and 'non-U' classification of linguistic usage and behaviour — although this is something she saw as a bit of a tease rather than a serious matter.

She is best known for her series of novels about upper-class life, The Pursuit of Love (1945) and Love in a Cold Climate (1949), but she also wrote three well-received biographies.

Nancy Mitford quotes:

'The great advantage of living in a large family is that early lesson of life's essential unfairness.'

'An aristocracy in a republic is like a chicken whose head has been cut off: it may run about in a lively way, but in fact it is dead.'

'Surely a King who loves pleasure is less dangerous than one who loves glory?'

'To fall in love you have to be in the state of mind for it to take, like a disease.'

"Twenty-three and a quarter minutes past," Uncle Matthew was saying furiously, "in precisely six and three-quarter minutes the damned fella will be late."

Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker became famous for her short, viciously humorous poems, many about the perceived ludicrousness of her many (largely unsuccessful) romantic affairs.

Classic Dorothy Parker quotes:

'A little bad taste is like a nice dash of paprika.'

'Brevity is the soul of lingerie.'

'I don't care what is written about me so long as it isn't true.'

'If all the girls who attended the Yale prom were laid end to end, I wouldn't be a bit surprised.'

'If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.'

'Take care of the luxuries and the necessities will take care of themselves.'

Mother Teresa

One of the 20th Century's most admired people, Mother Teresa helped thousands of the world's poor and disposessed. She was and still is an inspiration to millions. Mother Teresa was an unelected spokesperson for the poor everywhere -- not simply highlighting their despair but also underscoring their hopes.

Mother Teresa quotes:

'Suffering today is because people are hoarding, not giving, not sharing.'

'Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.'

Agatha Christie

The greatest crime fiction writer of them all. Her legendary super-sleuths Miss Marple and Poirot helped Agatha Christie to sell more novels than any other author in the history of publishing. An estimated two billion copies of her works have sold; a billion copies in the English language and another billion in over 45 foreign languages. It is often said that she is outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare.

In a writing career that spanned more than half a century, Agatha Christie wrote 80 novels and short story collections. She also wrote over a dozen plays, including The Mousetrap, which opened in London on November 25, 1952, and is now the longest continuously running play in theatrical history.

Agatha Christie quotes:

'Curious things, habits. People themselves never knew they had them.'

'I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming... suddenly you find - at the age of 50, say - that a whole new life has opened before you.'

'If one sticks too rigidly to one's principles, one would hardly see anybody.'

'I don't think necessity is the mother of invention - invention, in my opinion, arises directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness. To save oneself trouble.'

Emeline Pankhurst

British suffrage leader who advocated militancy and violence in order to gain public recognition. With her daughters Christabel Pankhurst (1880–1958) and Sylvia Pankhurst (1882–1960) she founded (1903) the Women's Social and Political Union, a women-only, nonpartisan group whose motto was “Deeds, not Words.”

It is the name of "Mrs Pankhurst", more than any other, which is associated with the struggle for votes for women in the period immediately preceding World War I.

Emeline Pankhurst quotes:

"Equal pay for equal work, equal marriage and divorce laws, the same rights over children for both parents, equality of rights and opportunities in public service, and a system of maternity benefits."

Coco Chanel

From her first millinery shop, opened in 1912, to the 1920s, Coco Chanel (Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel) rose to become one of the premier fashion designers in Paris, France. Replacing the corset with comfort and casual elegance, Coco Chanel fashion themes included simple suits and dresses, women's trousers, costume jewelry, perfume and textiles.

Coco Chanel Quotations:

'How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.'

'Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.'

'A fashion that does not reach the streets is not a fashion.'

'Elegance is refusal.'

'I don't understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little - if only out of politeness. And then, you never know, maybe that's the day she has a date with destiny. And it's best to be as pretty as possible for destiny.'

'Legend is the consecration of celebrity.'

Nancy Astor

In 1906, when she visited England, she met an influencial, rich man named Waldorf Astor, and they were soon married. In 1910, Waldorf was elected to Parliament and Nancy immediately also involved herself in government.

In 1919, Waldorf and Nancy became Viscount and Viscountress, and then Nancy won a huge majority of the votes to put her in a vacated seat in the House of Commons, and was the first woman elected into the British Parliament.

Astor was also a member of the Tory party (the political opposite of the Whig party), and she focused mostly on women and children's issues. She was also the first female in Parliament to introduce a bill. The bill she introduced was a bill prohibiting the selling of alcohol to an individual under eighteen years of age.

Nancy Astor quote:

'We're not asking for superiority for we have always had that; all we ask is equality.'

Artemisia Gentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593 - 1652/1653), daughter of well-known Roman artist, Orazio Gentileschi (1563 - 1639), was one of the first women artists to achieve recognition in the male-dominated world of post-Renaissance art. In an era when female artists were limited to portrait painting and imitative poses, she was the first woman to paint major historical and religious scenarios.

The heroines of her art, especially Judith, are powerful women exacting revenge on such male evildoers as the Assyrian general Holofernes.

After her death, she drifted into obscurity, her works often attributed to her father or other artists. Art historian and expert on Artemisia, Mary D. Garrard notes that Artemisia "has suffered a scholarly neglect that is unthinkable for an artist of her calibre." Renewed and overdue interest in Artemisia in recent years has recognized her as a talented seventeenth-century painter and one of the world's greatest female artists.

Little Red Hen

Favourite kindergarten story for hard working hens everywhere.

Favourite Little Red Hen Quote: Help!