"Sometimes it rests in a sunbeam for a century or two, but on the whole, history is always plotting, and it bites very hard. It stalks around the world, fickle and dissatisfied and often angry. It demands to be fed just a little earlier each day, until you find yourself carving meat from the bone as fast as you can, faster than you thought possible, just to satisfy it. Some people have a marvellous talent for calming it and enticing it onto their laps. To some it will never even spare a glance."
Catherynne M. Valente, "The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland - For A Little While" in The Bread We Eat In Dreams