"I became what I shall call the Madame of an unusual house of literary prostitution." Preface x

"Manuel and his wife were poor, and when they first looked for an apartment in Paris, they found only two dark rooms below the street level, giving onto a small stifling courtyard." Page 3

"Few people attended these hanging. But in the case of the Russian, because emotions had been so much aroused, all the students and artist of Montparnasse, the young agitators and revolutionaries had decided to attend." Page 17

"The next day when we met at the post office she did not even seem to recognize me." Page 52

"Maria soon realized that she had lost his love. She did not know how to win it back." Page 58-59

"He became my first real lover. I forgot Reynolds and Stephen. They now seemed like children to me." Page 91

"He was drunk. She...