I started this nostalgic book, intending to read just a couple of chapters, but found it too hard to put down and Good old-fashioned historic fiction.
I started this nostalgic book, intending to read just a couple of chapters, but found it too hard to put down and finished it off the same night. It's the story of the Ayrton family and their beloved estate in Scotland, Amberwell. In particular, it follows five siblings through their childhood and into their lives as young adults during the WWII years. With emotionally absent parents, Roger, Tom, Connie, Nell and Anne learn to rely on each other for support. But life pulls them in different directions.
It's rather leisurely-paced but insightful, and the characters are well-drawn. I wanted to punch out the parents, who really did their children — especially their daughters — a disservice. The parents' motto was "never explain" (citing Benjamin Disraeli: "Never complain and never explain."). They just issue orders. The girls are never taken anywhere as children, not even to church or the local village.
So it was really interesting seeing what life brought to their five children, and what they made of their lives, especially when hard times hit ... as they do nearly all of them, with one notable exception.
When he had gone Nell lay awake for a long time trying to tidy up the chaos in her mind. It was not easy. She had always thought of herself as a complete nonentity, unimportant and ineffectual; but now, all of a sudden, she had had heavy responsibilities placed upon her shoulders, and placed there quite confidently. Roger obviously had no doubt at all of her ability to cope.
It's always nice seeing people rise to a challenge. Not that life is all rainbows and sunshine here; WWII, not to mention the fraught family dynamics, both have a real effect on the characters' lives.
This book isn't nearly as heartwrenching as some WWII era books; it felt a little more like a cozy read, with most of the deaths and trauma taking place with a little distance. But I really liked that it was realistic, both about the effects of the family's dysfunctions ((view spoiler)[those parents!! I really wanted to snatch their neglected daughters away from them! (hide spoiler)]) and the wartime experiences....more
$2.99 Kindle sale, June 1, 2021. My favorite D.E. Stevenson book! Humor-filled read in a 1930s-era English village.
I've got some GR friends who are St$2.99 Kindle sale, June 1, 2021. My favorite D.E. Stevenson book! Humor-filled read in a 1930s-era English village.
I've got some GR friends who are Stevenson fans, and finally, after reading this book, I feel like I really understand their love for her novels. Written in 1936 and set in about that same time, Miss Buncle's Book captures the charm of life in a small English town and the various characters who live there, with all their foibles.
Miss Barbara Buncle, a single lady in her thirties, is having trouble making ends meet, since her investments aren't paying dividends like they once were. Casting about for ways to earn some additional money (and rejecting keeping hens; they're "too fluttery"), she decides to write about the town she lives in, Silverstream, and the people she knows, and publishes it using the pseudonym of John Smith.
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In her book, Disturber of the Peace, she changes the name of the town and people, but it's pretty transparent stuff: Silverstream becomes Copperfield, Major Waterfoot is the name given to the real Colonel Weatherhead, Dr. Walker is called Dr. Rider, and so on. So it's really funny when various people in town start to read the latest bestseller and realize that THEY ARE IN IT ... and the portrayal of their personalities isn't always flattering. Their reactions range from outrage (the elegant Mrs. Featherstone Hogg, aka Mrs. Horsley Downs, whose hidden past as a chorus girl prior to her marriage is brought to light) to vast amusement (the doctor's wife, at least until ... well, read it for yourselves!), depending on how much the book skewered them. And the peace in the village of Silverstream is indeed highly disturbed.
It even gets a little meta, as art imitates life imitates art. In Miss Buncle's book, a mysterious boy piper passes through town and his pipe inspires the townspeople to various acts of passion and adventure. Colonel Weatherhead reads the book and, vaguely inspired by Major Waterfoot's dashing and romantic proposal to Mrs. Mildmay, visits his friend, the widowed Mrs. Bold, and suddenly finds himself proposing marriage to her ... and then tries to make sure she doesn't read the book, or talk too much to anyone who has, before he sweeps her away, for fear that she might change her mind when she realizes where his motivation came from. And so it goes. Meanwhile, Barbara Buncle is trying to write a sequel, while nervously hiding her authorship of Disturber of the Peace from all of her irate neighbors, and is going through a bit of a Cinderella experience in her own life.
Miss Buncle's Book is often hilarious and completely delightful. It's a great retro read, highly recommended if you like books that are just a little old-fashioned....more
2022 reread (I picked this up on a Kindle sale the other day) - I'm dropping my rating from 3.5/4 to 3 stars. It's a pleasant enough way to while away2022 reread (I picked this up on a Kindle sale the other day) - I'm dropping my rating from 3.5/4 to 3 stars. It's a pleasant enough way to while away an evening when you want a cozy, not too challenging read, but pretty bland for a Mary Stewart book. Her earlier romantic suspense novels are much better.
2014 review: Rose Cottage is a gentle, cozy mystery, written in Mary Stewart's later years when I suspect she was weary of writing about alpha heroes and heart-stopping dangers. I almost didn't join the Mary Stewart group's buddy read of this book, I was so convinced that I had read this years ago and was bored to tears. But then I started fretting about missing the last official group read and ran down to the library to grab Rose Cottage before someone else got to it. And I'm glad I did.
Nothing about this story was familiar to me as I was reading it. Either my memory is getting really bad (entirely possible) or I had this book mixed up in my head with The Stormy Petrel, which I still can't recommend to anyone. But this was an enjoyable "curl up by the fire with something cozy and relaxing" type of book.
The book is set in 1947, when Kate Herrick leaves London to visit her ailing grandmother, who sends her to her childhood home, Rose Cottage, to retrieve some family papers and minor heirlooms. Kate never knew who her father was, and when her mother's strict religious aunt, Betsy, who is a real piece of work, moved into their home when Kate was a young child, Aunt Betsy made Kate's mother, Lillias, so unhappy that Lillias left the house and (literally) ran off with the gypsies. Kate never saw her mother again; Lillias died in a bus accident a few years later.
When, a little time later, Aunt Betsy was found to be working a text in cross-stitch which said THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, my grandmother, normally the gentlest of women, tore it out of her sister's hands and threw it in the fire. And for once Aunt Betsy never said a word.
Thankfully, Aunt Betsy has died by the time the main action in the story take place, but her mean-spirited actions during her lifetime reach across the years to affect her family during this story.
Kate and her childhood friend, Davey Pascoe, break open a small hidden safe box in the wall of Rose Cottage to get the family papers and small treasures, only to find that it has been recently emptied by some mysterious person. To add to the mystery, lights have been seen around Rose Cottage in the night, and someone has been digging around the cottage, and putting flowers on the graves of Kate's grandfather and even Aunt Betsy. And a stranger has been asking about Kate's family . . .
There's a little suspense in this book, but it's more on the level of don't-forget-to-lock-the-doors-at-night than sleep-with-a-loaded-pistol-under-your-pillow-and-a-Doberman-next-to-your-bed. There's also some talk of ghosts and some portentous dreams, but it's pretty mild stuff. As I said, a cozy mystery. And there's a love interest for Kate, but he's definitely the beta hero type--which fits well with the overall tone of this story, actually.
Most of the action takes place in northern England and Scotland, so there are quite a few Scots and British terms used in this novel that I was unfamiliar with. I amused myself for the first 50 pages by writing some of them down and looking them up. For example:
Clootie dumplings = clootie is a diminutive of the Scots word "cloot" or cloth. The dumpling is made by wrapping the dough in a floured cloth before boiling it. Who knew? Clamjamphrie = commotion Flitting = (Brit.) leaving one's home (often to avoid creditors!) Lonnen = lane Holystone = a soft and brittle sandstone that was used to scrub ships' decks and, apparently, floors and hearths of homes.
That's Mary Stewart for you: Always an education in some way. :)
This is a 3 1/2 star book for me. It's nice and pleasant, but not really extraordinary. But I'm rounding up because . . . Mary Stewart. Those who love her books will understand....more
Daddy-Long-Legs is a delightful short novel written in 1912. Basically it's along the lines of "Anne Shirley goes to a girls' college." It's mostly epDaddy-Long-Legs is a delightful short novel written in 1912. Basically it's along the lines of "Anne Shirley goes to a girls' college." It's mostly epistolary, told in the form of letters written by the main character where she talks (and jokes) about her daily life.
At the beginning of our story, Jerusha is a 17 year old oppressed but imaginative girl who lives and works in an orphanage, where she's grown up. She's unexpectedly given the chance to go to college when one of the orphanage trustees reads a humorous English essay that she wrote and offers to pay her way. He insists on remaining anonymous to her, but wants her to write him monthly letters telling him of her progress. This novel consists of the letters Jerusha (who quickly dumps her unliked name at college and tells people to call her "Judy") writes over the next four years to her benefactor.
It's fun to get a glimpse of life at an all-girls college 100 years ago. A sample from one of Judy's letters:
Dear Daddy-Long-Legs,
I hope you aren't the Trustee who sat on the toad? It went off--I was told--with quite a pop, so probably it was a fatter Trustee.
. . . Every spring when the hoptoad season opened we would form a collection of toads and keep them in [window wells by the orphanage's laundry room]; and occasionally they would spill over into the laundry, causing a very pleasurable commotion on wash days. We were severely punished for our activities in this direction, but in spite of all discouragement the toads would collect.
. . . I don't know why I am in such a reminiscent mood except that spring and the reappearance of toads always awakens the old acquisitive instinct. The only thing that keeps me from starting a collection is the fact that there's no rule against it.
Judy/Jerusha is a likeable main character with a lively sense of humor and an independent streak. In many ways the book is dated, understandably, but at the same time there are some unexpectedly progressive views. Given the times, it's not too surprising that Judy also makes some positive comments about socialism, as well as a few snarky comments about religion.
But overall this is a gentle, humorous coming-of-age story with just a bit of romance. Minus one star for the overly pat and somewhat disturbing ending -- I didn't care for the way the author glossed over some major personal trust issues (view spoiler)[with the big reveal at the end of who Daddy-Long-Legs is, and immediately gave us a simple and-they-lived-happily-ever-after ending. I rather think that a personality like Judy's would have a few snippy (or even irate) things to say to Daddy about the secret he kept from her, before letting him sweep her off her feet. (hide spoiler)]
If you think your relatives argue too much over Sunday dinner or are just impossible to live with [image] try Valancy Stirling's family.
Written in 192If you think your relatives argue too much over Sunday dinner or are just impossible to live with [image] try Valancy Stirling's family.
Written in 1926 by the author of the beloved Anne of Green Gables series, this is the story of Valancy, a 29 year old timid mouse of a person, considered an old maid by her family and the town generally. She does what everyone asks even when she hates it, quails before her insolent relatives, never talks back (except in her own mind), cries herself to sleep on a regular basis, and overall lives a thoroughly miserable life. Her only solace is the imaginary Blue Castle she lives in when she daydreams, and the poetic nature books of John Foster, which speak to her heart.
One day Valancy, without telling her family, sneaks off to the doctor to find out why her heart has been bothering her. The doctor examines her, but rushes off in an emergency before he can give her a diagnosis. The letter she gets a day or two later from the doctor informs her that she has a severe heart condition, and less than a year to live.
Oddly enough, this death sentence frees Valancy from her miserable existence. With nothing to lose, she starts sassing her ice-cold mother and relatives, begins wearing "unsuitable" clothing, moves out of the family home, and generally starts doing what she wants to without a thought for propriety. It's lovely to see her bloom and gain confidence, and begin to seek out happiness and love on her own terms. And eventually (I won't spoil the story by going into the hows and whys) she finds a home in a cottage by the lake that reminds her of her beloved Blue Castle.
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This really is an old-fashioned, romantic "wish fulfillment" type of tale, and you have to just appreciate it for what it is. A few things kind of bothered me: You have to wade through a fair amount of misery in the beginning of the book before Valancy decides to grow a spine (I recommended this book to my mother, and she texted me for two days whining about the first part and asking me if I was certain she was going to like this book). The plot is also pretty transparent: there are a couple of . . . developments (I can't really call them twists) that I could see coming from almost the very beginning of the book. But the lyrical, loving descriptions of the beauties of nature, a sweet romance and the witty humor touched my heart and won me over. Forget whatever shortcomings there are and just enjoy the ride.
If you like Anne of Green Gables and other old-fashioned books, you'll probably love this one. And you might pick up a few handy insults to use with your relatives when they get insufferable.
This 1944 YA/middle grade novel is a charming, nostalgic trip to a simpler time, when kids explored the outdoors, swam in swimming holes, searched forThis 1944 YA/middle grade novel is a charming, nostalgic trip to a simpler time, when kids explored the outdoors, swam in swimming holes, searched for Indian arrowheads, and fished for jumbo catfish. A livestock auction and homemade fair with a variety show of local talent provide enough excitement for weeks. As a young teen, I learned about the Perseid meteor shower every August from reading this book. Luna moths and monarch butterflies inhabit its pages. I adored this book, and still have a huge soft spot for it. [image] This novel was first published while WWII was still in full swing, and the war provides the backdrop for the story of the four Melendy children, Mona, Rush, Miranda (Randy) and Oliver, ages 15 to 7. Though the war is in the background, there are reminders of it with metal scrap drives, rationing, and mock airplane battles, as well as the absence of the children's widowed father, who spends most of his time away helping with the war effort.
So the Melendy children (with the help of a housekeeper and a handyman), are mostly on their own for the summer and have lots of adventures. Among other things, they befriend a local orphaned teenager, Mark, who has been living with his neglectful and abusive second cousin.
There are a few sobering notes to this tale, mostly involving Mark’s nasty cousin Oren and his low-class friends, but for the most part this is an enjoyable, old-fashioned tale of a halcyon summer. There are also some delightful humorous moments:
As [Randy] swam she encountered an occasional floating leaf; an occasional struggling fly or beetle. Each fly or beetle she rescued and set upon a leaf boat to dry his soaked wings and legs. It gave her a feeling of virtue. She could imagine all heaven looking down upon her and approving. Notice Miranda Melendy; she is a kind, generous girl. She ought to be rewarded. She swam back again with a smile of sweet unselfishness; a misty radiance about her bathing-capped head.
"Why do you swim with your head way out like that?" inquired Rush. "And why are you grinning that goonish way?"
Randy grabbed her brother's ankle and yanked him in again. Naturally Rush dunked her. Naturally she dunked Rush. Heaven ceased to contemplate Miranda Melendy and went about its business, and Randy's halo fell off and was lost in thirty feet of water.
I fell in love with this book as a teenager, and it holds up well with adult rereading. It reminds me of Anne of Green Gables or maybe The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy. This is actually the third book in a series, but it's by far my favorite. You can read the others, beginning with The Saturdays, if you really like old-fashioned YA stories. But I think this one works fine as a stand-alone read, and it really is delightful. Definitely find a copy with the author's charming original illustrations.
4.5 stars. I adored this book and swallowed it whole when I first read it back in the day, and grabbed the three sequels as soon as I could lay my han4.5 stars. I adored this book and swallowed it whole when I first read it back in the day, and grabbed the three sequels as soon as I could lay my hands on them. All four of these old paperback books still have a place of honor on my downstairs bookshelf, wherein reside all manner of classics, old SF and fantasy, ancient English lit textbooks, and other old books. It's quite the massive collection - a lifetime's worth of books that have been lovingly and thoughtfully - or sometimes not - collected and have survived the periodic purges.
Anyway, James Herriott (a pseudonym of James "Alf" Wight) was a Yorkshire veterinarian whose practice began in the 1940s (before many advances in modern medicine). He wrote this hugely successful series of semi-autobiographical books about his many years of veterinary practice amongst the farmers and people of Yorkshire. His tales are very episodic, often self-deprecating, sometimes poignant, sometimes silly, but always humorously told and heartwarming. Herriott affectionately sketches the old Yorkshire personalities so well, and his love for animals shines through on the pages.
A truly delightful read! These are lovely stories, especially if you're an animal lover....more
I've been a Mary Stewart fan since a college roommate introduced me to her books, more years ago than I am willing to cop to. But my least favorite ofI've been a Mary Stewart fan since a college roommate introduced me to her books, more years ago than I am willing to cop to. But my least favorite of all her books that I've read has always been The Stormy Petrel. I excitedly snagged it at a used bookstore years ago, read it and scratched my head (see my prior short review below), read it again, and finally gave it away to Goodwill in disgust.
Then I joined Goodreads, and some of my best times here have been with the ladies in the Mary Stewart group. After re-reading several Stewart books with them and, for the most part (with some exceptions *coughThunder on the Right*), realizing that for me they've gotten better with age, I decided I had to give The Stormy Petrel book one more chance, and checked it out of the library since I had gotten rid of my own copy. I was torn between hoping that I would be charmed by previously unseen depths and underappreciated lovely writing in this book, and hoping that I wouldn't bitterly regret dumping my old copy.
My revised verdict: Stormy Petrel is somewhat better than my twenty-something self thought, but it's never going to join my favorites bookshelf. It's pretty placid and was only mildly interesting. If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be "understated."
The plot is fairly straightforward: Rose Fenemore, a 27 year old Oxford don, poet and closet SF author, takes a vacation up to the lonely isle of Moila off the west coast of Scotland to try to get some writing done.
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Rose's married brother is supposed to join her, but between one thing and another he gets delayed. Things start to get more interesting when one night two separate young men seek shelter from a heavy storm in the cottage Rose has rented. Is something underhanded afoot? Are they in cahoots? Can she trust either of them? Is one of them a potential love interest? (Mary Stewart fans will probably know the answers to these questions.)
It sounds like things could get pretty exciting from here, but nooo - the tone of the book remains pretty relaxed and laidback. Is Rose in peril when she decides to explore the empty mansion near her cottage? (view spoiler)[No, one of the guys grabs her but then he apologizes and they have a nice chat. (hide spoiler)] Is Rose going to be in mortal danger when she gets caught by the rising tide overnight on a small, deserted island? (view spoiler)[No, most of the island remains above water, and there's even a nice tent, some food and a warm sleeping bag there to ease her way until the tide goes back down, lol. (hide spoiler)] Is one of the guys going to rob someone and get away with it? (view spoiler)[No, they chase him down, the police promptly show up and take control, and then everyone gathers in a room and quickly solves the mystery. (hide spoiler)]
Every time the excitement level in this book starts to ramp up, it all just simmers back down again. Even the love interest! (view spoiler)[It remains a matter of future potential; nothing at all happens here, other than a chaste hug and kiss on the cheek, but Rose and her young man comfort themselves with the thought that they'll be able to pursue the relationship further back at Oxford (hide spoiler)].
I'm not even going to shelve this as "romance," "suspense" or "mystery" because there's so little of any of these in the pages of this book. What it is, is a placid, gentle comfort read if you want to escape to the far reaches of the Scottish Hebrides for a few hours. There are - of course! it's a Mary Stewart book - some lovely descriptions of the countryside, and Stewart has a nice way with words and some understated (there's that word again) humor. But I now feel satisfied that I've gleaned whatever rewards there are to be found in this book, and I don't need to feel guilty about giving it to Goodwill or go try to dig up another copy of it at the bookstore. Whew!
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Initial mini-review: I love Mary Stewart novels, but this one was a whole lot of nothing for me. No romance to speak of (boo! That's one of the main reasons I read her books), no real suspense; really, nothing much happened except some nice, detailed descriptions of the cottage and the surrounding geography. I found it completely unmemorable. I read this book several years ago - I even read it twice because I kept thinking a Mary Stewart novel has to be better than that - and literally the only thing I remember now is how bored I was....more
Next up group read with the Mary Stewart group, October 2019.
This is maybe 3.75 stars for me, but if I'm judging it just as a comfort read, that and mNext up group read with the Mary Stewart group, October 2019.
This is maybe 3.75 stars for me, but if I'm judging it just as a comfort read, that and my general love for all things Mary Stewart push it to a solid 4 stars. Mary Stewart (perhaps inspired by her Merlin books that she'd been writing) wrote this sweet romance with a dash of magical realism, as our heroine dabbles in white magic of the hedgewitch variety, like crystal balls and potions. Thornyhold is also a charming ode to the English country life and the healing that a lovely old home can bring to your life.
Thornyhold is on a slightly different wavelength than Stewart's earlier romantic suspense novels; although there are both a mystery and a romance in this book, both are somewhat understated. This book centers around a charming, soul-satisfying place where a young woman can finally find herself, and the plot is more location-driven than action-driven. In any case Mary Stewart's penchant for lengthy, lovingly detailed descriptions of scenery is in full bloom here, so to speak.
The main character, Geillis (Jilly), is very sympathetic: the first three chapters relate her lonely childhood, with a distant father and harsh mother. Jilly's life is lightened only by the periodic appearances of her older cousin Geillis, who brings a breath of fresh air, love, a little white magic, and encouragement. Cousin Geillis shows young Jilly a baby insect, a nymph, that "lives at the bottom of the pond in the dark, and feeds on whatever it can get, till one day it finds it can climb out into the light, and grow its wings, and fly. ... Another nymph, another way, another day."
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But these lovely stolen moments with cousin Geillis are few and far between, and by the time Jilly/Geillis reaches adulthood in the fourth chapter I was desperately hoping for her to find some happiness. Luckily for both me and Geillis, she inherits Thornyhold from her cousin, which is where she finally finds herself and discovers love. This love isn't just romantic love; it's more love for a home and a place where Geillis can truly find herself.
Thornyhold is a lovely old home, with antique furnishings: [image]
It was a big kitchen, old-fashioned but well enough planned, and after the vicarage kitchen, a delight. Instead of our vast black Eagle range there was a cream-coloured Aga, nestling under the old mantelpiece as if it had been built with the house ... Opposite the fireplace was a tall dresser with rows of pretty plates in white and powder-blue, with cups to match hanging along the fronts of the shelves.
... a still room with medicines and herbs . . . [image]
And there's a cat named Hodge, who comes with the home ... [image]
... not to mention a friendly young neighbor boy and his single father. Drama is supplied by a neighborhood woman who dabbles in witchcraft and hides her jealousy toward Geillis under a layer of overfriendliness.
This is a gentle, thoughtful, feel-good tale with just a little romance and a dash of (mostly) white witchcraft. In general I love Mary Stewart's earlier, more suspenseful reads more than her later books, but this one is a nice comfort read and one I'm happy to revisit every few years.
Mara, Daughter of the Nile holds up amazingly well for a 60+ year old YA book. Set in ancient Egypt, it's the story of Mara, a bright, feisty slave giMara, Daughter of the Nile holds up amazingly well for a 60+ year old YA book. Set in ancient Egypt, it's the story of Mara, a bright, feisty slave girl who unexpectedly finds herself forced to act as a spy for both sides of a conflict over the throne of Egypt. Either side is likely to immediately kill her if her duplicity is discovered. And then her heart starts to get involved ...
I had very fond memories of reading Mara years ago, and I was delighted and, frankly, relieved when my re-read lived up to my memories, which isn't always the case when I re-read favorite books from my teenage years. (*coughrobertheinleincough*) It's not a perfect book, but I'm upping my rating to five stars, dang it, just because I can, and because I so enjoyed Mara and her duel of wits with Sheftu. Sheftu is my favorite kind of book hero, an intelligent, extremely capable man hiding behind the mask of a charming, lazy courtier in order to achieve a greater goal. (I'm such a sucker for that Scarlet Pimpernel kind of trope.)
Tomorrow, by Amon, she would have revenge. She would treat him with a smiling indifference he wouldn't be able to break through no matter how hard he tried. She would be gay—aye, charming—but oh, how remote! . . .
Mara found Sheftu's manner the next morning just as gay, just as impersonal, and so much more convincing than her own that she was out of sorts before an hour had passed. There was no outdoing him at irony, that was clear. She would have to find some other means of punishing him.
But this is more than a simple adventure and love story; the book has some surprisingly profound ideas about living for a greater cause, the power of love for your country, and how a country is made up of people, the poor and humble as well as the rich and powerful—all of whom are important.
This one's a keeper and a total comfort read....more
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld is one of my all-time favorite fantasy novels. It's a total comfort read, poetry in prose combined with an appealing storyThe Forgotten Beasts of Eld is one of my all-time favorite fantasy novels. It's a total comfort read, poetry in prose combined with an appealing story, some great symbolism, and an examination of people and their motives and how our desires and fears can make or undo us. It's one of the fantasy books I repeatedly recommend to friends.
I finished this off yesterday in one day, as part of a buddy read with the Buddies, Books and Baubles group. It's probably my third or fourth read of it, but it's been ages since I last read it, so there were quite a few details that I'd forgotten. I still love it as much as ever, though.
Sybel is a young woman who's a powerful wizard. Raised in isolation by her father on Eld Mountain and orphaned at age 16, she's inherited a marvelous menagerie of powerful and wise magical animals. When a young lord, Coren, brings her a baby, Tamlorn, a pawn in the power plays of men, and begs her to raise and protect him, she somewhat reluctantly agrees. But twelve years later, Coren asks for Tamlorn back ... and then Tamlorn's father, King Drede, appears at Sybel's door. And Sybel finds herself very unwillingly drawn into their world.
**slightly spoilerish discussion of symbols in the rest of this review**
Thoughts on symbolism: Rommalb/Blammor, of course, is fear - that's made quite explicit. I've always thought the Liralen was a pretty clear symbol of love, but I did a little spot-checking of online reviews and saw some other people suggest that it's happiness or joy. That would make some sense, but I still think love is the better answer. For one thing, when Sybel calls the Liralen, she usually is subconsciously calling Coren.
It's an interesting idea, though, the juxtaposition of fear with love (or happiness) as flip sides to the same magical creature.
Mary Stewart is - by far - my favorite author in the romantic suspense genre. Nine Coaches Waiting is my favorite Mary Stewart book. I can't tell you Mary Stewart is - by far - my favorite author in the romantic suspense genre. Nine Coaches Waiting is my favorite Mary Stewart book. I can't tell you how many times I've re-read this book. It's not terrifically deep or mysterious, but it's well-written and a favorite comfort read, and my love for it is quite unreasonable at this point, so just realize that I'm likely to hurl insults or furniture at anyone who questions the excellence of this novel.
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Linda Martin, a young woman who grew up as an orphan, has been hired to be the governess of 9 year old Philippe de Valmy, the heir to the Valmy fortune, who lives in a luxurious but lonely chateau in the mountains of eastern France. Philippe is also an orphan, and is living in the care of his aunt and uncle. Linda's father was English and her mother French, but since she was hired primarily to teach Philippe English, Linda decides to hide the French part of her heritage and her fluency with that language. This makes for some awkward but funny situations as she tries to speak schoolgirl French and pretend not to understand when people speak it fluently.
Philippe is distant at first, but quickly warms to Linda's company, and she soon grows very fond of him . . . which makes it all the more upsetting when near-fatal accidents begin to happen to Philippe. And there are too many people who would be materially benefitted by Philippe's death: his uncle Leon de Valmy and his wife, who would own the Valmy fortune if Philippe dies; their loyal servants; and the suave and handsome Raoul, Leon's son, who has managed to quickly sweep Linda off her feet. (Yes, it's insta-love. Deal with it.)
Raoul is kind of a 50's alpha male, but he has a vulnerability that tugs at Linda's heart, even as she's afraid he'll break it. There are some really lovely Cinderella-like scenes between Raoul and Linda as she is preparing for a fancy ball at the chateau, sewing her own dress and--wait for it--losing one of her shoes, and later, when Raoul finally finds her at the ball.
Nine Coaches Waiting takes as its theme an old poem called The Revenger's Tragedy, in which "a tempter's list of pleasures" (the coaches, the palace, banquets, etc.) is "designed to lure a lonely young female to a luxurious doom." Is Linda being lured by Raoul and his father to ignore the dangers to Philippe, discounting them as accidents? This theme is followed through in kind of an amusing way with nine "coaches" or rides in planes, autos and, I think, even a wagon being taken by Linda during the course of the story.
Mary Stewart has a deft touch with humor and excels in creating sympathetic young boy characters, and Philippe is one of my favorites:
"We have got bears," confided Philippe, in the tone of one inviting congratulations. He looked earnestly up at me. "We truly have. This is not a blague. Many bears of a bigness incredible." His scarlet-gloved hands sketched in the air something of the dimensions of an overgrown grizzly. "I have never seen one, vous comprenez, but Bernard has shot one. He told me so."
"Then I hope to goodness we don't meet one today."
"They are asleep," said Philippe comfortingly. "There is no danger unless one treads on them where they sleep." He jumped experimentally into a deep drift of dead leaves, sending them swirling up in bright flakes of gold. The drift was, fortunately, bearless.
Mary Stewart is famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view and your affinity for this sort of thing) for her loving and lengthy descriptions of landscapes, and Nine Coaches Waiting is no exception. I'll confess to occasionally skimming through some of the detailed descriptions when I'm in a hurry to get to the "good parts," but Stewart does have an unquestionable talent for making you feel like you can really see the setting in your mind's eye, and that you're really there.
Nine Coaches is, like all of Stewart's books, intelligently written and spiced with literary allusions. If you like the romantic suspense genre and don't mind books that are a little old-fashioned, you really need to read Mary Stewart's novels, and I'd say Nine Coaches Waiting is the best one to start with. Not that I'm prejudiced or anything....more
This is a fairly leisurely, reasonably well-written Victorian-era tale of a young British widow, Julia Hollis, and her two chKindle freebie 1/31/2017.
This is a fairly leisurely, reasonably well-written Victorian-era tale of a young British widow, Julia Hollis, and her two children, who are left destitute by her husband's unexpected death. Luckily part of her inheritance (the only thing that his creditors weren't interested in) is an old, run-down country inn. Julia and her kids pull up their roots and move out to the country, where she fixes up the inn and starts taking in lodgers.
This novel is basically a pleasant and reasonably interesting tale about life in a small town in Victorian days, and the various personalities who live in and around the inn. There's also a romance, but it plays a fairly minor role in the story and it's so clean it squeaks (there probably was a chaste kiss, but it certainly wasn't memorable).
This is inspirational fiction, so there's a fair amount of talk about God and faith, but I didn't consider it overly preachy. I liked this book well enough that I bought the three sequels. The first two were good (at least as good as this first book); the last one lost my interest.
Periodically available for free in the Kindle version, and it's definitely worth picking up as a freebie if you enjoy inspirational historical fiction with a dash of romance....more
About a thousand nostalgic hearts stars for this older YA novel, a delightful mix of exciting Revolutionary War stories and kindly ancestral spirits. About a thousand nostalgic hearts stars for this older YA novel, a delightful mix of exciting Revolutionary War stories and kindly ancestral spirits.
Elizabeth Marie Pope wrote only two YA novels, this one and The Perilous Gard. They're both on my all-time favorites list, and I've read them both several times. I only wish she'd written more. Even though these books were written over fifty years ago, they have appealing heroines with a can-do attitude.
The Sherwood Ring, written in 1958, is a jewel of a YA fantasy that deserves not to be forgotten. Peggy Grahame is a lonely 17 year old girl, orphaned by the recent death of her footloose and mildly neglectful father. She's sent to live in the ancestral home of her only relative, Uncle Enos, an aging and crotchety historian. Before he dies, Peggy's father tells her, very matter-of-factly, to keep an eye out for the family ghosts that live in the mansion. And in fact, on the way to her new home in New York state, Peggy meets one of these spirits, Barbara Grahame, who points her the way home and leads her to a young Englishman, Pat Thorne, who is visiting the area and hoping to meet with Uncle Enos. Uncle Enos forcefully (and mysteriously!) orders Pat off the property when they arrive, but Pat has no intentions of giving up so easily, especially since he's attracted to Peggy.
As Peggy settles in to her new home, she meets a few more of her ancestral ghosts, who tell her very amusing and engaging stories about their lives during Revolutionary War times. These stories, not incidentally, help Peggy to solve the problems in her own life, including the mystery of Uncle Enos's antagonism toward Pat, and to find happiness and love.
The Sherwood Ring is one of my very favorite youth/young adult reads, well-written with a dash of wit and humor. Peggy herself is (understandably, given her upbringing, and I think she's a little shell-shocked by the upheavals in her life) on the quiet and passive side, although she starts to outgrow that. But the characters from the past are really delightful, especially Barbara Grahame and Peaceable Sherwood, the English spy who's been driving the local patriots to distraction. There's one scene in the middle of the book where Barbara needs to outwit and escape Peaceable, with whom she is falling in love against her will, that I absolutely adore. Best. Proposal. Ever! This one bit makes the whole book worth reading all by itself, even if the rest weren't great. But it is.
I love the unusual plot and setting of this book. Aside from having spirits from the past appearing to characters, it's written in a very realistic fashion (i.e., no magic), and it gives you a nice glimpse of life in Revolutionary War times. I highly recommend this one for readers who enjoy YA fantasies....more
There are books we can't be entirely rational about. For good or bad, they push our personal buttons, and we adore or detest them beyond their own merThere are books we can't be entirely rational about. For good or bad, they push our personal buttons, and we adore or detest them beyond their own merits.
A Town Like Alice is one of those books I love beyond reason. It contains courage, determination when the odds are against you, and taking action to change others' lives and the world around you for the better. It has some bittersweet moments, as well as a little bit of romance.
Nevil Shute based this 1950 novel on a WWII story he had heard about Dutch women and children, who were Japanese prisoners of war, who were marched around Sumatra from place to place because the Japanese had no prison camp to put them in, many of them dying along the way. (As it turns out, he misunderstood the story: they didn't actually have to walk but were transported around the country.) He used this as the basis for this story of Jean Paget, a young Englishwoman who becomes the leader of a group of women and children who are forced to walk from town to town in Japanese-occupied Malaya (now Malaysia), in terrible circumstances. Along the way they meet a kind Australian POW, Joe Harman, a young man who helps them with food and other necessities and quickly becomes a friend to Jean. But Jean and Joe run into trouble when Joe steals some black Leghorn chickens for the underfed group. What happens then, and after, makes for a fascinating story.
[image] Malaysian village
After the war, Jean inherits some money, and becomes friends with Noel Strachan, the elderly English solicitor who is her trustee. Noel is the narrator for most of the novel, and sometimes his voice gets a little dry and tedious in relating tangential details, kind of befitting an aging lawyer (I can say that :D). At the same time, he has a certain old-fashioned charm and wry humor. Noel watches Jean fall in love with a distinct feeling of regret, since her new life will take her away from England, but he continues to help her as she begins to transform the Australian outback town where she has chosen to live.
[image] Queensland, Australia
As he decides to travel to visit Jean to help her with some legal matters, one of his law partners is concerned for his health:
"I only wish you hadn't got to put so much of your energy into this. After all, it's a fairly trivial affair."
"I can't agree with that," I said. "I'm beginning to think that this thing is the most important business that I ever handled in my life."
I've read this book three or four times over the years. I noticed much more this time how Noel's narration sometimes gets repetitive and tedious (I wish I had a dollar for every time a character stared at someone or said "Oh my word"). I don't know if Nevil Shute deliberately wrote it that way or if that's just his style of writing. But then there's a wonderful scene or a lovely turn of phrase, and I fall in love with this book all over again.
In the half light he turned as she came out of the hut, and he was back in the Malay scene of six years ago. She was barefooted, and her hair hung down in a long plait, as it had been in Malaya. She was no longer the strange English girl with money; she was Mrs. Boong again, the Mrs. Boong he had remembered all those years.
It's old-fashioned in many ways, but it still moves and inspires me. And for that reason, despite its occasional weaknesses, it's staying at the full five stars.
February 2015 reread/buddy read with Hana. __________________
Previous review: This is one of my all-time favorite books. It consists of two quite different halves, with the first half relating the travails of Jean Paget and a group of English women in Malaya during WWII, and the second half about Jean's romance with an Australian man she had met briefly during her travels in Malaya and her efforts to turn his Australian town into a decent place for women and families to live.
I may be in the minority of liking the second half better than the first, not just for the romance (which is nice but doesn't take up a lot of space in the book) but more for the way in which the main character takes action to change her town. It's inspiring and enjoyable reading, even if rather deliberately paced at times. Highly recommended....more
The beloved classic 1908 novel about an orphan girl who mistakenly comes to the Prince Edward Island home of aging brother and sister Matthew a[image]
The beloved classic 1908 novel about an orphan girl who mistakenly comes to the Prince Edward Island home of aging brother and sister Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, who just wanted an orphan boy to help Matthew with chores. After an initial kerfuffle about sending Anne back to the orphanage and getting the boy they had intended, hearts are softened, and Anne proceeds to upend their lives ... in what turns out to be very good ways for everyone involved.
Anne is eleven years old when she first comes to Green Gables, and the novel follows her adventures over the next five years. It’s kind of an episodic novel, with memorable characters. Anne is a chatterbox with a tremendously vivid imagination, passionate and sincere. Marilla and Matthew are drawn so well that I feel like I really know them (though it's disconcerting to realize that Matthew in the book has a long beard. My mind's eye refuses to see him that way, LOL. The miniseries has co-opted my imagination). And then there's Anne’s classmate Gilbert, who lives to regret some initial teasing about Anne's hair.
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This novel has a healthy sense of humor that sets it apart from most literature of this period and keeps it from being too sticky sweet. It’s really so charming, with great insights into human nature, and lovely descriptions of P.E.I. It's a feel-good story and a total comfort read!
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Anne of Green Gables spawned a slew of sequels and five other related novels, not to mention any number of film and TV adaptations. Not all of the sequels are great reads like this one - they start getting progressively more sappy - but I do recommend the first four books in this series if you liked this one....more
Peter S. Beagle’s classic The Last Unicorn turns fifty years old this year, and it’s remained in the public eye and continues to capture hearts like very few fantasies of its age. Like a fine tapestry, this gorgeous fairy tale weaves together unicorns and harpies, wizards and witches, dark-hearted kings and brave heroes. Its lyrical language is embellished with whimsical humor and given heft by bittersweet life lessons.
A shy unicorn keeps to herself in her lilac wood, where time passes slowly, if at all, and leaves remain grain and never fall. But one day overhears passing hunters grumbling that they must be in the forest of a unicorn (“Creatures that live in a unicorn’s wood learn a little magic of their own in time, mainly concerned with disappearing”) and that this unicorn must be the last one in the world. Unable to find peace after hearing this, the unicorn leaves her forest to try to find what has become of all the other unicorns, and to rescue them if they need it.
Very few people recognize her for what she is as she travels; mostly they see just a beautiful white mare, and try to capture her for all the wrong reasons. A ditsy butterfly, who speaks mostly in quotes and bits of song, is one of the few that identifies her as a unicorn. The butterfly (in one of his few lucid moments) tells her that her people have been herded away by a Red Bull.
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So the unicorn’s quest continues and, despite her preference for solitude, she gathers a few devoted friends around her: Schmendrick, a mediocre (if not downright terrible) magician with infrequent strokes of brilliant magic, enchanted to remain ageless until he can capture and control the magic hidden deep within him. Molly Grue, a woman beaten down by her harsh life, whose heart and wisdom become indispensable to the quest. A spoiled, soft prince who is inspired to become heroic by his love for the unicorn. They have both adventures and trials. And none of them will ever be the same again.
The pages of The Last Unicorn practically turn themselves, as Beagle’s imagination spins one memorable scene after another. There’s the shabby traveling Midnight Carnival of the witch Mommy Fortuna, who disguises ordinary animals to look like magical, mythic ones, but her caged beasts include one actual magical creature, the deadly harpy Celaeno.
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The unicorn and her friends also pass through the cursed town of Hagsgate, where fruitful fields and financial prosperity are juxtaposed with the bleak hearts and faces of the townspeople, who know the curse will come home to roost at some point.
The Last Unicorn’s pages are also filled with countless similes and metaphors:
“You can’t come with us. We are on a quest.” His voice and eyes were as stern as he could make them, but he could feel his nose being bewildered. He had never been able to discipline his nose.
Molly’s own face closed like a castle against him, trundling out the guns and slings and cauldrons of boiling lead. “And who are you to say ‘we’?”
In the words of Dr. Mardy Grothe, Beagle never metaphor he didn’t like. Occasionally it’s a bit over the top, but overall I found his writing delightful. Less engaging, at least for me, were the songs occasionally sung by the characters. They weren’t particularly inspired or inspiring, and I thought most of them were weaker links in the story. But there are some delicious ironies, such as the prince trying (and failing) to win the heart of the lady he hopelessly loves by bringing her heads of ogres and dead bodies of dangerous beast, in classic conquering hero style. And I was unexpectedly moved to tears by the ending.
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The setting is generally medieval, but Beagle throws in a few anachronisms, like the butterfly singing “Won’t you come home, Bill Bailey” and saying “I must take the A train,” and a bored prince reading a magazine while his betrothed princess fruitlessly calls for a unicorn. They’re amusing touches, but they also serve to give the story a timeless feel.
The Last Unicorn is an inspired tale, a well-deserved classic with unforgettable characters and profound themes. The unicorn and her friends have enchanted readers for fifty years. May they continue to do so for many, many more.
Initial comments: I just finished reading Beagle’s first draft of this book, The Last Unicorn: The Lost Journey, and wrote a really great review for it ... but my FanLit editor has snookered me into rereading this book (it’s been probably 20 years since I last read it) and writing a review of this one too. And she’s holding my Lost Journey review hostage until I cough up a review for this book. (J/k ... but really this is kind of what's happening.)
It’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it.
So I’m on the road with a unicorn and an extremely mediocre magician named Schmendrick, and Molly Grue has just put in her first appearance. It’s like meeting a group of old friends. I love it!...more
The Princess Academy is a favorite comfort read, and a delightful older middle grade/younger YA fantasy, nominated for the 2006 Newbery Award.
Miri isThe Princess Academy is a favorite comfort read, and a delightful older middle grade/younger YA fantasy, nominated for the 2006 Newbery Award.
Miri is a teenage girl living in a small, simple mountain village, where everyone makes a living quarrying a lovely marble rock that is found only on their mountain. It's a sometimes harsh life, with everyone kind of scraping to get by, but filled with love and close friendships. One day the simple life ends: the priests of their country have mystically divined that the prince is to marry a girl from their village. The king's ministers, appalled that their prince needs to marry a rough and unsophisticated village girl, set up an academy, a day's hike down the mountain from the village, and force all the marriageable teenage girls in the village to go live there and be intensely tutored for a year, at which point the prince will arrive in great pomp, there will be a formal dance, and he'll choose his bride. Yay?
Most of the story follows Miri and the other village girls as they deal with a harsh, cold head mistress of the academy, and the competition between them to be the head of the class (which earns you the best dress at the princess ball, plus some other perks). Miri deeply wants to be at the top of the class, but she's also conflicted because of her feelings for a boy back in the village.
What I love about this book is that it's about more than just a competition to win the attention and heart of the prince. It's also about friendship, the importance of education, and being a strong person and true to your heart. There's some magic in it, though it's fairly subtle.
Highly recommended! Read this instead of The Selection unless your main interest is in teen makeout scenes....more
Feb. 2018 reread (for the umpteenth time) with my real-life book club. One of my all-time favorite comfort reads!
If you're wondering why YA fantasy loFeb. 2018 reread (for the umpteenth time) with my real-life book club. One of my all-time favorite comfort reads!
If you're wondering why YA fantasy lovers praise Robin McKinley (and based on her more recent novels that's a fair question), this book is one of the reasons.
The Blue Sword is one of those magical fantasies that I've read more times than I can count, and love beyond reason. I also think this 1982 book has been a little bit forgotten over the years, at least if you're not a Robin McKinley fan, and that it beats most of what passes for YA fantasy nowadays. It's certainly (IMO) much better than most of McKinley's more recent works, so if you've tried one of her later books and think she's not for you, you need to give this one a try. (Or The Hero and the Crown. I recommend both without reservation.)
This story is set in a fantasy world very reminiscent of British colonial-era India in the 1800's. A young woman named Angharad, known as Harry to her friends, has traveled across the sea to the outskirts of this desert country, known as the Royal Province of Daria (nope--no echoes of the British empire here) to join her brother at a military outpost. Harry is tall and quiet and a little awkward and doesn't feel like she fits in, despite the fact that there are only a few unmarried women at this outpost and their company is in high demand at dances and dinner parties among all the young soldiers.
But more important things are afoot: Sir Charles, the officer in charge of the outpost, is trying to negotiate with the Hillfolk, a nomadic desert people who ride magnificent horses. BTW I love the intelligent, brave horses and cats in this book; that's probably one of the reasons it's so near to my heart.
Corlath, the leader of the Hillfolk, is trying to get Sir Charles to commit the British army to help fight against a horrible magical horde from the north whose attack is soon coming. In the process of negotiations, Corlath catches a glimpse of Harry, and his kelar, the magical power in his blood, insists that he kidnap her and take her with him to the hills. So he does, not knowing why, but knowing it is necessary for some reason.
So begin the adventures of Harry, as she learns to ride a Hillfolk horse, fight with a sword, and come to terms with the kelar that runs in her own blood as well as Corlath's. She also needs to come to terms with her own heritage, her relationship with Corlath, and what her role will be in the fight against the inhuman Northern army.
This story takes place in the same world as The Hero and the Crown, which is set in an earlier time but was written later, so you can read these books in either order. And you should. They both have a permanent place on my "favorites" shelf, for good reason. In these early books, McKinley pulled me right into this magical world; I felt like I was living and experiencing all these adventures with Harry and Aerin (from Hero and the Crown). I'm just sad that there are only two novels, and a handful of short stories, that Robin McKinley wrote about this world....more
$1.99 Kindle sale, Nov. 18, 2019. This is a cozy, delightful retelling of The Beauty and the Beast tale, one of my very favorite fairy tale retellings$1.99 Kindle sale, Nov. 18, 2019. This is a cozy, delightful retelling of The Beauty and the Beast tale, one of my very favorite fairy tale retellings and comfort reads.
Update: I've just read Beauty again for the first time in 15 years or more, but I probably read this 5 or 6 times when I was in my 20s, so you are not getting an unbiased opinion here. But I still adore this book, even though I'm older and more cynical now. It's a fairly simple, straightforward retelling of the fairy tale, with a few relatively minor twists. But the writing is lovely, the characters charming, and McKinley used a very fairy tale-ish style of writing that fits the story well. The ending is a little rushed, but otherwise I have no complaints. I want to be Beauty's bestie and chat books and eat buttered toast with her and help her braid Greatheart's mane.
Beauty keeps all 5 stars. Call it nostalgia, but I'm not even a little bit sorry!
Initial review: Beauty has been for a long time one of my favorite fairy tale novelizations. It's a delightful read, not as long or complex as some of Robin McKinley's later works, but it has sweetness and a heart and has withstood many re-readings. I remain convinced that Disney swiped several details of this book for its "Beauty and the Beast," like the book-loving heroine:
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and the servants that seem to have become part of the furniture:
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It's been at least 10 or 15 years since I read this and I probably should do a re-read one of these days to see if it's really a 5-star book or if it's just an excess of nostalgia for an old favorite that's driving my high rating. Till then, just don't go into this expecting something really deep or earth-shaking; it's more of a lovely, sweet, gentle comfort read....more
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