Helen Fielding

“The only thing worse than being single is being married to a man who secretly hates you.”

“Grown-ups don't get 'grounded.' They get fired.”

“You think you can change a man, but you can't. You can't.”

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that when one part of your life starts going okay, another falls spectacularly to pieces.”

“I will not be defeated by a bad man and an American stick insect! I am a wild woman! I am a Byroness!”

“I will not fall for any of the following: alcoholics, workaholics, commitment phobics, people with girlfriends or wives, misogynists, megalomaniacs, chauvinists, emotional f**kwits or freeloaders, perverts.”

“I felt that I was not living the life I wanted to live. I was not being the person I wanted to be.”

“Sometimes you just have to be a little bit naughty.”

“I am a child of Cosmopolitan culture, have been traumatized by supermodels and too many quizzes and know that neither my personality nor my body is up to it if left to its own devices.”

“I think that the most important thing is to be kind to yourself.”

“Bridget Jones: a legend in her own mind.”

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that the moment one area of your life starts going swimmingly, another part will spontaneously erupt into flames.”

“I've never been on a date. I don't know what to do on a date. I just... I don't want to be on a date.”

“It's a terrible thing to be a wannabe. It's even worse to be a has-been. But the worst of all is to be a never-was.”

“I don't think you can ever be a perfect mother. I think you're always learning.”