skygiants | (no subject)

Pretty much immediately after finishing Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell I went to get The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories out of the library! I don't know if I would have loved the stories so much if I wasn't already invested in Clarke's world and the way she uses anecdotes within context to further develop the scope of it; on the other hand, I don't know that I wouldn't have, either, because honestly the stories are delightful and I don't think there was a single one that didn't work for me.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu: The most direct link to Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell; three respectable country ladies have a very nineteenth-century problem (an impoverished officer who is the only guardian to a pair of tiny heiresses) and achieve for themselves a suitably creepy magical solution. Jonathan Strange cameos, and is confounded.

On Lickerish Hill: A spirited young sixteenth-century lady confounds her abusive husband with the assistance of a fairy and several confused natural philosophers, in my new favorite version of Rumpelstiltskin.

Mrs Mabb: A very Austenian fairy tale, in which a young lady is jilted in favor of the mysterious Mrs Mabb, who is probably not human, and then goes on to rescue her love interest anyway despite the consternation of her harried and sensible older sister and the rest of the community.

The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His Horse: It's in Faerie. The Duke of Wellington is not prepared to cope. This story is cute but there's not much to it.

Mr. Simonelli, or The Faerie Widower: Mr. Simonelli, a wildly rude and arrogant young scholar with generally good intentions, a Mysterious Past, and a minimum of self-awareness, accidentally makes the acquaintance of a fairy gentleman and must resort to Schemes to rescue several local young ladies from becoming the fairy's next kidnapped wife. Simonelli is awful and I love him. HE TRIED HIS BEST.

Tom Brightwind, or How the Fairy Bridge Was Built at Thoresby: The introduction explains that (in the context of JSMN-verse) this is just one of a whole tradition of 'Tom and David' stories about earnest Jewish doctor David Montefiore and fairy pal Tom Brightwind Having Adventures and Arguing Ethics and I want to read every single one of them.

Antickes and Frets: Mary, Queen of Scots attempts to use magic tapestries to overthrow Queen Elizabeth, which goes about as well as you'd expect for any scheme put together by Mary, Queen of Scots.

John Uskglass and the Cumbrian Charcoal Burner: The introduction (and a footnote in JSMN, if I remember correctly) explain that this is a common example of the kind of folk tale beloved by peasants, in which the great and powerful are comically embarrassed by their social inferiors. I, a humble peasant, also enjoy watching great and powerful magician-kings be comically embarrassed by their social inferiors.

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From:

amelia_petkova

I love those stories. "The Ladies of Grace Adieu" is my favorite but everything else is tied in second place.

Just, the moment in the first story when the woman who followed the awful officer says "I never thought" and trails off about her situation and one of the ladies (the governess?) says "You probably weren't brought up to it." She's not completely unsympathetic but damn, what a burn. Also when the narrative says that people thought the governess odd because she never smiled unless she found something actually worth smiling about.

From:

skygiants

As a story in and of itself it's not my favorite in the collection, but the characters are so good! I also love the governess especially -- that line about not smiling unless it's worth it is such superb characterization.

From:

sovay

The introduction explains that (in the context of JSMN-verse) this is just one of a whole tradition of 'Tom and David' stories about earnest Jewish doctor David Montefiore and fairy pal Tom Brightwind Having Adventures and Arguing Ethics and I want to read every single one of them.

I bounced off most of the stories in The Ladies of Grace Adieu the first time around and in consequence want to re-read the collection, but I remember really liking "Mr. Simonelli, or The Faerie Widower" (it's actually a retelling of a particular folktale, but with twists galore) and "Tom Brightwind, or How the Fairy Bridge Was Built at Thoresby." Agreed on wanting the rest of the Tom and David stories.

From:

skygiants

The ones you list were my favorites! That, and "On Lickerish Hill," which won me over by virtue of the strength of its voice. I didn't realize "Mr. Simonelli" was a retelling of a specific folktale as well -- the voice in that one likewise carried me away so much I was happy to just be along for the ride.

From:

sovay

That, and "On Lickerish Hill," which won me over by virtue of the strength of its voice.

I'll pay attention to that one!

I didn't realize "Mr. Simonelli" was a retelling of a specific folktale as well -- the voice in that one likewise carried me away so much I was happy to just be along for the ride.

It's a very elaborate version of a story that is usually called "The Fairy Midwife" or "The Fairy Nurse." [edit: Here are a bunch of variants. I did this with it. That story is thirteen years old.] Simonelli accidentally granting Dido the gift of fairy sight by cleaning her eye with the licked tip of his finger is also from folklore, but I am very frustratingly blanking on where. I have encountered it in fiction before.

I am very fond of Mr. Simonelli.

Edited Date: 2017-09-05 02:25 am (UTC)

From:

skygiants

[Yours is a very cool take! Do I spy some Labyrinth influences in there?]

Mr. Simonelli is a delight and I wish to read every one of his thoroughly biased journals.

From:

sovay

[Yours is a very cool take! Do I spy some Labyrinth influences in there?]

Oh, jeez, I didn't think so when I wrote it, but I had seen it by then: it's entirely possible. Or I just incline toward characters with that kind of hair.

(If the gentleman with thistle-down hair is not in dialogue with Jareth, I will go out and buy that hat I put off eating.)

[edit] It's an amazing what the internet can find.

Mr. Simonelli is a delight and I wish to read every one of his thoroughly biased journals.

Agreed!

Edited Date: 2017-09-06 03:23 am (UTC)

From:

asakiyume

OMG that Bowie pic!!

From:

sovay

OMG that Bowie pic!!

I love it so much!

From:

misslucyjane

"Mrs. Mabb" sounds like a Tam Lin retelling, which I always enjoy. Oh, man, my TBR pile...

From:

skygiants

It's a short book! Too short really, I was sad to see it end.

From:

ekaterinn

It's been so long since I read this that I forget most of the details - but I remember loving the titular story. (I am also trying to remember if the Duke of Wellington's horse cam back...changed).

From:

skygiants

The title story is fantastic! All of them are, really. (I think Wellington comes back more changed from his adventures than the horse does; as far as I remember the horse is fine.)

From:

ekaterinn

I should re-read it! And perhaps JSMN as well, though the size is daunting... (I am glad the horse is fine. I have ridden a couple of horses who I would not be surprised to find they have sojourned in Faerie; the experience is, shall we say, an interesting one.)

From:

lacewood

I should really get around to reading these, your summaries have increased my interest 100%. I mean, I would also THEORETICALLY like to reread Jonathan Strange one day, but it's so daunting... and difficult to carry around...

From:

ekaterinn

I was just saying I need to re-read JSMN as well as Ladies. However, when I first read it I was a bored barista in a bookstore. I'm now in my first faculty position - finding time and focus to take on the project seems a lot harder now!

From:

qian

I'll always have a soft spot for the Cumbrian Charcoal Burner, because it was the short story Susanna Clarke read when she came to a meeting of my university's SFF society. (And I didn't dare talk to her!!! Kicking myself, I'll probably never have the chance again.) But it was great, one of those rare readings where it's better being read to than just reading it yourself. I love the saints!

From:

skygiants

The long-suffering saints are so good! (I don't know that I would dare talk to Susanna Clarke either! I feel like after a conversation with her I would always be half-braced afterwards to find myself summed up with devastating clarity in one throwaway line.)

From:

asakiyume

Is this the story where they peer out from windows in the sky, in heaven? I loved that.

From:

qian

Yes!

From:

asakiyume

Yes! Yes, reading this is making me remember the other ones in the collection that I liked. The fairy bridge one was definitely one--in fact, I wrote a whole essay on it for Apex Magazine (unfortunately no longer available online)--I love the infrastructure of faerie!

From:

sovay

The fairy bridge one was definitely one--in fact, I wrote a whole essay on it for Apex Magazine (unfortunately no longer available online)

Repost to your journal? That sounds brilliant. (And I don't think I read it the first time around.)