skygiants | (no subject)

At some point during my constant travels over the past three weeks I read Madam, Will You Talk, which was I think Mary Stewart's first Gothic?

In this one, Our Heroine is having a nice vacation on the French Riviera when she accidentally adopts a twelve-year-old on the run with his stepmother, whose father is an ACCUSED MURDERER and is HUNTING THEM DOWN.

My favorite part was probably the long car chase in the middle when Our Heroine is trying to escape from Accused Murderer Dad -- normally I'm quite bored with car chases, but I really enjoyed this one because it felt exactly like a long game of Milles Borne. She's pulling ahead -- WHOOPS, flat tire! Oh no, traffic! Oh good she got to play a 100-mile card, RIGHT OF WAY!! My family played a lot of Milles Borne when I was a child so this was all very pleasantly nostalgic.

My other favorite part was the heroine's BFF and travel buddy who spends the entire book Really Committed to being On Vacation and doing not one single useful thing, ever.

OUR HEROINE: I'm going on a perilous day trip with this endangered small child, want to come?
HER LOYAL SIDEKICK: Yeah, sounds fun, but I ... want to nap ........
OUR HEROINE: Sure, that's cool too! Enjoy your nap!

At one point, the Imperiled Heroine Currently Being Actively Pursued By A Hostile Murderer does think about calling her sidekick for backup!

...but then decides that instead she needs dinner first and the peril subsequently ramps up while she's wandering around looking for a nice cafe. While I sympathize with our heroine's priorities, I'm not sure I can support them as best practice in this situation.

It's fine though, because the accused murderer is in fact the misunderstood love interest! Nobody who has read a Gothic will be surprised by this, though he does come off as EXTREMELY sinister for the first 50% of the book. But I laughed quite a lot when the heroine -- pursued to the end of her rope by this Sinister Figure! -- faints in his arms, wakes up to him giving her a hot dinner after a whole! stressful! afternoon! with nothing to eat! and IMMEDIATELY realizes that she's gotten him all wrong and truly he's a noble and trustworthy soul. Once again, I question her judgment, but sympathize with her priorities! FOOD FIRST, SAFETY SECOND.

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From:

musesfool

I have nothing to say about the book, but omg, we used to play Milles Borne! I haven't thought of it in years, and have no memory of how to play, but we used to play it a lot. Coup-fourré!

From:

skygiants

Every time I go home we look at the pack of Milles Borne cards and consider pulling them out again, but next time I am definitely going to make it happen because I am suddenly SO NOSTALGIC.

From:

sovay

At some point during my constant travels over the past three weeks I read Madam, Will You Talk, which was I think Mary Stewart's first Gothic?

I believe it to have been her first published novel. It may also have been the first one I read. I have been sorry for years that it was never adapted for film, although I don't think I ever went so far as to fancast it.

faints in his arms, wakes up to him giving her a hot dinner after a whole! stressful! afternoon! with nothing to eat! and IMMEDIATELY realizes that she's gotten him all wrong and truly he's a noble and trustworthy soul.

(a) Since the novel was published in 1954, I am almost willing to bet this scene was written while Britain still had rationing; it has that Brian Jacques fantasizing about food feel.

(b) It permanently influenced my feelings about omelets.

Gur guvat jurer gur frperg ng gur urneg bs gur cybg eribyirf nebhaq n Ubybpnhfg ngebpvgl (naq bar bs gur ivyynvaf vf n Anmv jub'f qbqtrq uvf whfg qrffregf) jnf fbzrguvat V gbbx sbe tenagrq nf n lbhat ernqre naq gura fbeg bs er-abgvprq nf na nqhyg. V qba'g guvax vg'f onqyl qbar, ohg vg vf uvfgbevpnyyl napubevat va n jnl zbfg bs ure bgure abiryf ner abg, rkprcg sbe Zl Oebgure Zvpunry (1959), juvpu nyfb qrnyf jvgu hasvavfurq ohfvarff sebz JJVV. V qb yvxr gur rcvybthr gbhpu bs gur cnvagvat. < / rot13 >

Edited Date: 2018-04-16 06:09 pm (UTC)

From:

skygiants

I made Beth watch Charade with me last night on the principle that it's essentially a Mary Stewart Gothic in film form, so now I can't shake Audrey Hepburn as every Stewart heroine, even the ones for whom it would not actually be at all appropriate.

OH MAN I had not thought about rationing but you're absolutely right; thanks for calling that out because now I'm thinking about our heroine's Priorities in a whole new way. (And about Brian Jacques, come to think of it, although I think that will always be overshadowed by the horrors of The Meadowcream Debate which coincidentally reared its head again today.)

V qvq fbeg bs oenpr zlfrys jura jr tbg gung erirny -- gur aneengvir cnvq fhpu pybfr nggragvba gb gur yvggyr Wrjvfu cnvagre gung V unq n fhqqra ubeevoyr naq zbfgyl vyybtvpny srne gung va n Fhecevfr Gjvfg ur jnf tbvat gb ghea bhg gb unir fheivirq naq or bar bs gur ivyynvaf. Fb gur pbqn jr tbg jnf n terng eryvrs!

From:

sovay

I made Beth watch Charade with me last night on the principle that it's essentially a Mary Stewart Gothic in film form, so now I can't shake Audrey Hepburn as every Stewart heroine, even the ones for whom it would not actually be at all appropriate.

I would accept Hepburn as Charity at least. Probably also as Lucy, the actress heroine of This Rough Magic (1964) who has short dark hair and starts the novel having just gotten out of a West End play that flopped. (Her part is described as "What's-her-name, the girl who has those unlikely hysterics all over Act Two." I love that novel.) And I would certainly have been happier with her in The Moon-Spinners (1962) than Hayley Mills.

Charade really does work as romantic suspense Stewart-style, right back to the long-delayed aftermath of World War II. Less numinous, more screwball, but that's within her range.

thanks for calling that out because now I'm thinking about our heroine's Priorities in a whole new way. (And about Brian Jacques, come to think of it, although I think that will always be overshadowed by the horrors of The Meadowcream Debate which coincidentally reared its head again today.)

You're welcome! (Yikes.)

V qvq fbeg bs oenpr zlfrys jura jr tbg gung erirny -- gur aneengvir cnvq fhpu pybfr nggragvba gb gur yvggyr Wrjvfu cnvagre gung V unq n fhqqra ubeevoyr naq zbfgyl vyybtvpny srne gung va n Fhecevfr Gjvfg ur jnf tbvat gb ghea bhg gb unir fheivirq naq or bar bs gur ivyynvaf. Fb gur pbqn jr tbg jnf n terng eryvrs!

Ubarfgyl, gur Tbguvp vf gur bar traer jurer vg'f abg jrveq gb jbeel nobhg gung fbeg bs guvat. (Zbeny nyvtazrag? PUBBFR LBHE CNEGAREF, GUR QNAPR VF BA.) V'z tynq vg jnf abg gung!

From:

skygiants

I also really enjoyed This Rough Magic; "because we SAVED a DOLPHIN together" is maybe the best reason for an insta-romance realization in any Mary Stewart I've yet hit.

From:

sovay

I also really enjoyed This Rough Magic; "because we SAVED a DOLPHIN together" is maybe the best reason for an insta-romance realization in any Mary Stewart I've yet hit.

It's one of my favorites.

From:

sylleptic

Wait, what is The Meadowcream Debate? (If it's not too horrible to explain.)

From:

skygiants

The Meadowcream Debate rears its head on a semi-annual basis and begins as follows:

- mice do not keep cows
- therefore: what IS the oft-mentioned meadowcream?

There are two kinds of people in this debate: the kind who, in response to this, will say "perhaps meadowcream is derived from some kind of plant," and the kind who will turn to their neighbor in horror and say, "so then, who or what is being milked??"

(BADGER MILK)

From:

twistedchick

First published novel, somewhat dated, but I still love the chase scenes because they do have the feel of driving a powerful car with a shift stick -- and the book has always made me want to visit that part of France.

From:

skygiants

They're my favorite book car chase scenes that I can recall! I love all the clever maneuvering to get the other party stuck in traffic/trapped behind a train/etc.

From:

legionseagle

And the moment when Fur ernyvfrf gur (zvabe) ivyynva vf gbb raguhfvnfgvp nobhg snfg qevivat, naq gung fur unf gur rqtr ba uvz orpnhfr gung zrnaf ur'f ng gur rqtr bs uvf rairybcr naq fur'f whfg trggvat fgnegrq.

From:

skygiants

Yes! "Ohhh, you thought -- oh, you thought this was fast scary driving. Oh, man."

From:

genarti

He really is much meaner than her usual hero in the first half of the book! I actually was pretty sure he wasn't the love interest for a good chunk of it, because in any other midcentury Gothic thriller I would have pegged him as one, but usually her heroes aren't such jerks even in their jerk mode. (I would have minded less if her heroine had given him more guff for it after the reveal, instead of being like, "Oh, darling, never mind, I was the silly one!" If it was her first book I guess I can forgive it more, though.)

I really did like the driving chase scenes, though -- very physical, and much more interesting than the usual run of car chases! Even without a childhood of Milles Borne to add extra interest. And Mary Stewart really is good at charming characters and fascinating settings. I also loved that she was a widow, and that her happy ending doesn't lessen the real (if brief) happiness of her first marriage either; I feel like I rarely see that, these days.

From:

skygiants

As I told you, I never had any doubt that he was the hero from like the second chapter on, but that's almost certainly because I have read a lot of Gothics and most of them are a.) not by Mary Stewart b.) have asshole heroes.

I also liked very much that she was a widow!