A Last Observation On Mary Stewart’s “Madam, Will You Talk”: So What Does Date It, Then?

I’ve now completed three posts on Mary Stewart’s Madam, Will You Talk, on March 5, 19, and 20th respectively — and have argued that despite being published in 1955 it stands the test of time pretty well.

There is one element that really does date it though, dear readers — and I wonder if you guess even before you read on…

Absolutely everyone smokes. It’s pretty much a universal given in the story that at moments of stress, reflection or simply as a matter of course, every character will light u...