He pictured her to himself as a high-nosed, haughty-mannered, handsome, heartless woman, who would try to make him uncomfortable by being cold and distant to him.

the Votes of the Declinators could not be heard for the noise

The European Union is not an organisation to do things by halves, particularly when it comes to a celebration. This time Europe will party like it's 1999. Or more precisely 1 May, 2004.

1989, John Oliver Killens, Great Black Russian: A Novel on the Life and Times of Alexander Pushkin