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Who really said it

In case you ever foolishly forget: I am never not thinking of you

Not Virginia Woolf — an untraced modern line Unknown Source not identified
Disputed Rights unconfirmed

Countless websites credit this line to Woolf, often to her Selected Diaries, but it appears nowhere in her published works. The Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain ↗ reports that “foolishly forget” does not occur in her writing, letters and diaries included. Scholars from both Woolf societies searched for it and are “stumped”.

Last verified 2 Nov 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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Disputed credit — copy with the correction

“In case you ever foolishly forget: I am never not thinking of you” often attributed to Virginia Woolf, but not found in her published works, letters or diaries (Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain). Source unknown.

The slide-ready mistake: crediting this to Virginia Woolf. Use the credit shown above instead.

Can you use it?

We couldn’t verify where this wording comes from, so there’s no rights status to give. Safe to present as an unverified or anonymous line — just don’t assert a specific author or source.

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In context

Evoking the theme of love. Theme: "In case you ever foolishly forget: I am never not thinking of you". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Minimalist

Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "In case you ever foolishly forget: I am never not thinking of you". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

What the record shows

Claimed source
Selected Diaries (credited online; not supported)
Found in Woolf’s works?
No. “Foolishly forget” does not occur in her published works, letters or diaries
Early example online
2015 Facebook post on the “Virginia Woolf” page run by Everyman’s Library
Investigated by
Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain; International Virginia Woolf Society

In case you ever foolishly forget: I am never not thinking of you

This is the popular wording. A common variant reads “Just in case you ever foolishly forget; I’m never not thinking of you.” No original text exists to quote it in context: Woolf scholars have not found the line in anything she published.

Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain — Misquotations and Misattributions

How the misattribution was traced

  • 2015: a post on the “Virginia Woolf” Facebook page, which says it is run by “her publishers Everyman’s Library”, credits the line to Woolf with a Selected Diaries cover. The VWSGB calls this one of the earliest examples it found and notes that the addressee “you” makes a diary entry unlikely (VWSGB ↗).
  • Quote sites: Goodreads repeats the variant “Just in case you ever foolishly forget; I’m never not thinking of you” and says it is from Selected Diaries (Goodreads ↗).
  • January 2025: a query reaches the Woolf societies from someone who said she was working for Tiffany & Co and wanted permission to use the line in a campaign. On the VWoolf mailing list, Vara Neverow reports no hits in Google Books, Google Scholar or the Kindle Complete Works, where “Foolishly” appears only 18 times and never in this phrase. Another member found zero hits for “foolishly forget” in a Complete Works edition that includes the diaries (VWoolf list archive ↗).
  • Verdict: the VWSGB adds the line to its misquotations page and concludes that “foolishly forget” does not occur in Woolf’s published works, letters and diaries included: “we’re stumped!” (VWSGB ↗).

No identifiable source exists, so no copyright status can be stated. The line is not in any of Woolf’s published works, and its anonymous author and first appearance are unknown. Quotle.info makes no public-domain claim for it.

Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.

Fact-check

Why it gets pinned on Woolf

The line sounds like one of Woolf’s love letters to Vita Sackville-West. Online it travels with a specific-sounding citation, Selected Diaries, that does not hold up.

Virginia Woolf, Selected Diaries Wrong source

The 2015 Everyman’s Library Facebook post and Goodreads both credit Selected Diaries. The VWSGB notes that the line’s addressee “you” makes a diary entry unlikely, and that the phrase is not in her diaries or letters (VWSGB ↗).

Virginia Woolf, letters to Vita Sackville-West Not found

The VWSGB says the line “might sound like part of a letter to Vita Sackville-West”, but “foolishly forget” does not occur in her published letters (VWSGB ↗).

Vita and Virginia (play or film), or a novel about Woolf Speculation

On the VWoolf list, Vara Neverow suggested the phrase was probably invented anonymously and might have come from the play or film Vita and Virginia or from a novel about Woolf. That was only a guess, and nobody has confirmed it (VWoolf list archive ↗).

Nobody has found who wrote it. It does not come from Virginia Woolf’s published works, diaries or letters, according to the Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain ↗.

Context

Why it matters

This misquote nearly went commercial. In January 2025 the Woolf societies were asked about permission to use the line in a Tiffany & Co campaign. That started a search across Woolf’s complete works, and it found nothing (VWoolf list archive ↗).

The case shows how a precise-looking citation can carry a fake quote. One early version came from a Facebook page that says it is run by Woolf’s own publisher, and it named a real book, Selected Diaries. The book is real. The line is not in it.

Many people have tried to find the source … but we’re stumped!

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Love

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Misquotations and Misattributionsvirginiawoolfsociety.org.uk

The Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain’s list of false Woolf quotes, including this one, which it could not find in her published works, letters or diaries.
VWoolf mailing list, January 2025 (archived)web.archive.org

The scholars’ thread “A Woolf quotation? Probably not...”, with the Tiffany & Co query, the full-text searches and the 2015 Facebook trace.
Virginia Woolf on Wikiquoteen.wikiquote.org

Wikiquote’s sourced Woolf quotations. This line does not appear among them.
Goodreads listinggoodreads.com

An example of the misattribution in circulation, crediting the variant wording to Selected Diaries.
Virginia Woolfen.wikipedia.org

Biography of the writer the line is pinned on.

The name it’s pinned on

Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf

1882–1941 · English modernist novelist, essayist, publisher & critic

Virginia Woolf wrote Mrs Dalloway (1925) and To the Lighthouse (1927) and was a central figure of literary modernism. Her diaries and letters were published after her death, including her love letters to Vita Sackville-West. That makes her an easy target for romantic lines that sound like a letter but have no source.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Best available source

Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain, “Misquotations and Misattributions,” entry “In case you ever foolishly forget: I am never not thinking of you,” virginiawoolfsociety.org.uk/resources/misquotations/ (accessed November 2026). Source unidentified; not found in Woolf’s published works, letters or diaries.

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘In case you ever foolishly forget: I am never not thinking of you’?” Last verified 2 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/in-case-you-ever-foolishly-forget-i-am-never-not-thinking/

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