ot: R. I. P. Mary Stewart

[filkferengi]

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/may/15/romance-suspense-novelist-mary-stewart-dies

I'm a bit late with this, as I just found out. Her Merlin trilogy was a pivotal formative influence, as were her romantic suspense novels. Lots of intricate plotting, engaging characters, and an author's voice I enjoyed spending lots of time with were among her appeal.

Besides the Merlin Trilogy, I'd cite _Touch Not The Cat_ and _The Ivy Tree_ as particular favorites.

How about y'all?

Comments

[elvenjaneite.livejournal.com]

Thornyhold! And The Ivy Tree! I haven't read her Merlin trilogy yet because I get a bit weird about Arthur retellings.

[filkferengi]

It was very well researched & was revolutionary at the time, but might read a bit male-heavy for modern sensibilities. The women that were there had agency & did things, but were not as center-stage as one might wish. Her romance novels hold up pretty well. The women are mostly smart and fun & do things. Best of all, her books are just fun places to be.

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

I adore her Merlin, which is basically all I ask for. And her Nimue is lovely.

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

The Ivy Tree is straight-up AMAZING. I didn't love the book when I first read it in my early twenties, but it's the one I've come back to most often (and most admiringly) since. MADAM, WILL YOU TALK also has a fantastic twist that I enjoy even now that I know what it is (sound familiar?).

I also have a deep fondness for THIS ROUGH MAGIC, AIRS ABOVE THE GROUND and THE GABRIEL HOUNDS, but they're all good really (except for THUNDER ON THE RIGHT, which is so cliched, sexist and generally terrible that I can hardly believe Stewart wrote it. I suspect editorial meddling on a massive scale).

But generally speaking: MARY STEWART, YES. And also Susanna Kearsley, who is basically her modern heir only with lots more history.

[filkferengi]

_The Ivy Tree_ definitely had the Best Twist Ever. It's so vivid. But then, Mary Stewart often wrote good movies, didn't she?

[aged-crone.livejournal.com]

Ivy Tree does have a good twist, but for some reason I just don't like it that much. (A missing-heir-returns-or-maybe-not book that I do like is Brat Farrar (by Josephine Tey).

I like Madam Will You Talk, but more than that I like Nine Coaches Waiting. And in both cases it's partly because of the vivid descriptions of truly luscious-sounding food... :)

Never read her Merlin books. Never wanted to.

[filkferengi]

_Brat Farrar_ is excellent. Of Tey's books, _Daughter of Time_ is the only one I like better.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Good heavens, I had no idea Mary Stewart was still alive, and am now sad to hear she's not. I have stacks of her books around the house and, like y'all, I especially like The Ivy Tree and Madam Will You Talk. Haven't read the Merlin books but have meant to. Whenever I go to an antique store, I look for her books and Georgette Heyer's because I love those old 50s and 60s covers.

[filkferengi]

It's an occasion to revisit old favorites & see how many people we've been since last reading them.

[rosalui.livejournal.com]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. ;_;

I hadn't known about this! I adored her Merlin books.

I wrote to her once, when I was a teenager, and she (or one of her people) wrote me back and was kind enough to add that she 'wished me all the best with my own writing.' KBFKJBFKJEBJKE.

She will be sorely missed.

[filkferengi]

Classy authors are classy. Speaking of which, if it helps, picture her [very politely, of course] partying with Andre Norton. Since they both wrote gothics, Arthurian fantasy, & ya, they'll have lots to talk about.

[furem.livejournal.com]

Oh no! I didn't know this, :(. The Moonspinners is my favorite MS book, though her Arthur cycle is nothing to sneeze at. I'm so sad now. I might have to read QoA to get over it.

[filkferengi]

You might read _This Rough Magic_ or one of her other books set in Greece, to compare how the setting is written with mwt's books.

[furem.livejournal.com]

I actually have read it, and while I loved all the references to 'The Tempest' I liked it less than 'The Moonspinners', which takes place in Crete.

[filkferengi]

Similar corner of the Mediterranean, though. How did you like the Hayley Mills movie?

[furem.livejournal.com]

Love Hayley Mills; she's the reason I picked up the book in the first place. The book and the movie are completely different and yet I love both of them, :D.