"Traditional marriages, in which the man made all the decisions and controlled most of the household assets, were all very well for women who wanted to spend their time cooking and looking after children, but times had changed, and for educated women who wanted to make something of their lives, it was undoubtedly better for both spouses to have something to do."
Chap. 1, pp. 3-4

"Doubt could be preferable to sure knowledge if the difference between the two was a large sum of money."
Chap. 1, p. 8

"Mma Ramotswe ... had never been able to see unhappiness and not do something about it. It was a difficult quality for a private detective to have, as there was so much unhappiness entailed in her work, but she could not harden her heart, however much she tried."
Chap. 1, p. 17

"It was a good thing to be an African. There were terrible things...