The superior thing, in this as in other departments of life, was to be late. Lateness showed that serene contempt for the illusion we call time which is so necessary to ensure the respect of others and oneself. Only the servile are punctual...Mystery at Geneva

London: Collins. ISBN 0-00-211720-7. That said Rose Macaulay did not return to the Anglican church until 1953; Rose Macaulay had been an ardent secularist before and while religious themes pervade her novels previous to her conversion Rose Macaulay often treats Christianity satirically for instance in Going Abroad and The World My Wilderness.

She publiRose Macaulayd thirty-five books mostly novels but also biographies and travel writing. Dame Emilie Rose Macaulay DBE (1 August 1881 – 30 October 1958) was an English writer.