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The Minerva Stone
rare
256 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1968
About the author
Anne Maybury
56 books21 followersEdith Arundel Buxton
aka Edith Arundel, Anne Maybury & Katherine Troy.
Her maiden surname was Arundel. Her ancestors were said to have come to England with the Norman Conquest and she was proud of the heritage which did seem to imbue her with a perceptive appreciation of history. The love of poetry which remained with her always was inherited from her father, a distinguished poet of his time. Her mother was a musician who died at an early age.
She was a writer of romantic suspense whose novels earned her world-wide acclaim and an enormous following. She was particularly popular in the United States. Her finest gift was for lyrical prose and she used her delight in colour and drama to such effect that the reader was immediately plunged into the story and held enthralled.
Her early novels were written also under the pennames of Edith Arundel and Katherine Troy, but it is as Anne Maybury that she will be remembered. She was a true professional who did not believe in wasting time. A promised deadline was adhered to and all social engagements regretfully cancelled. She developed early in life the profound interest in human behaviour and intrigue which was to prove a valuable asset to her writing. Also in good measure she retained the attribute so necessary to an author, a lively curiosity. She travelled widely and brought a sense of adventure into her books derived often from personal experiences of a bizarre kind. She seemed to attract excitement and used to say that she had met more than one murderer during her travels around the world. As a writer she was stylish, and this quality extended to her personality, which was full of vivid charm, lightened by a sparkling sense of fun.
Generous with her time to aspiring writers, she also loved literary chat with her peers. She was interested in new writing as well as the classics and read widely, keeping up with developments. She was a vice-president of both the Romantic Novelists Association and the Society of Women Writers and Journalists. Almost until his death she regularly attended meetings and gave time and care to helping the members and the causes in which they believe. She was a remarkable writer and a good friend and companion.
aka Edith Arundel, Anne Maybury & Katherine Troy.
Her maiden surname was Arundel. Her ancestors were said to have come to England with the Norman Conquest and she was proud of the heritage which did seem to imbue her with a perceptive appreciation of history. The love of poetry which remained with her always was inherited from her father, a distinguished poet of his time. Her mother was a musician who died at an early age.
She was a writer of romantic suspense whose novels earned her world-wide acclaim and an enormous following. She was particularly popular in the United States. Her finest gift was for lyrical prose and she used her delight in colour and drama to such effect that the reader was immediately plunged into the story and held enthralled.
Her early novels were written also under the pennames of Edith Arundel and Katherine Troy, but it is as Anne Maybury that she will be remembered. She was a true professional who did not believe in wasting time. A promised deadline was adhered to and all social engagements regretfully cancelled. She developed early in life the profound interest in human behaviour and intrigue which was to prove a valuable asset to her writing. Also in good measure she retained the attribute so necessary to an author, a lively curiosity. She travelled widely and brought a sense of adventure into her books derived often from personal experiences of a bizarre kind. She seemed to attract excitement and used to say that she had met more than one murderer during her travels around the world. As a writer she was stylish, and this quality extended to her personality, which was full of vivid charm, lightened by a sparkling sense of fun.
Generous with her time to aspiring writers, she also loved literary chat with her peers. She was interested in new writing as well as the classics and read widely, keeping up with developments. She was a vice-president of both the Romantic Novelists Association and the Society of Women Writers and Journalists. Almost until his death she regularly attended meetings and gave time and care to helping the members and the causes in which they believe. She was a remarkable writer and a good friend and companion.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 10, 2016
Not quite as good as Mary Stewart and Victoria Holt (despite the blurb on the cover), but still entertaining and worth reading. In true gothic fashion, Sarah Palfrey marries a man she barely knows and soon learns he has a lot of secrets, including a possible relationship with a mysterious woman named Alexandra. The title refers to a strange stone that Sarah and her siblings find when they are children. The stone is marked, "SEMPER. MINERVA." Forever Minerva. They call it the Minerva Stone.
Despite being married, Sarah is happier living in her family's home, a rambling castle named Guinever Court that is located near the sea. She lives with her father, Kester Palfrey, a famous artist, and her stepmother, Freda, a former opera singer. Sarah's oldest brother Penn lives nearby with his family, while her older sister Nina, a singer, spends a good deal of her time at Guinever Court, though she has her own apartment. Finally, Theo, who is just two years older than Sarah, works as a botanist in the nearby town of Launford. Also resident in the household is Kester's former wife, Polly Singleton, and her teenage daughter, Dido, who is confined to a wheelchair as the result of a strange, unsolved accident six years earlier. Spiteful and bitter, Dido is desperately unhappy and takes her misery out on everyone around her.
Though she has only been married a year, Sarah already regrets her decision to marry Niall Rhodes, a famous TV personality more than 10 years her senior. He is secretive and reluctant to share much of his life with Sarah. She has begun to realize that she knows very little about Niall, and he seems to want to keep it that way. Sarah finds she is still drawn to her former lover, Luke Ashton, who had broken her heart, though he doesn't appear to care.
Strange things begin to happen. Sarah receives a note that reads, "Ask Niall if he remembers the Italian Doll. Ask him if he dare answer that on his program." It is signed, "Alexandra." Niall denies all knowledge of "the Italian Doll" or Alexandra. Sarah asks Niall about it, but he denies everything. Then someone tries to run Sarah down and she barely escapes. And then there's the doll Sarah finds in her car:
An Italian Doll. Is the doll a threat or a warning? Is someone trying to kill Sarah and Niall or just terrify them? And who is Alexandra?
It took a little while to warm to the story. Sarah can be annoying at times. She's young and has a tendency to look to others for guidance, especially the men in her life. She married Niall on the rebound after breaking up with Luke. Despite being married to Niall for a year now, she knows little about him. She is easily manipulated and often clueless, though she is not stupid or unobservant. I also never liked Luke or Niall and have no idea what Sarah saw in either of them.
However, the writing is very good. Maybury does an excellent job with her descriptions and setting the mood. I was able to picture Guinever Court, Nina's singing performance, and many other scenes. The plot can get rather confusing at times and I had to reread parts to figure out what was going on. However, it was never dull and I never lost interest. I previously read Maybury's Green Fire, but I think "The Minerva Stone" is a better book.
In short, this is an entertaining book, and if you can find it, give it a chance.
Despite being married, Sarah is happier living in her family's home, a rambling castle named Guinever Court that is located near the sea. She lives with her father, Kester Palfrey, a famous artist, and her stepmother, Freda, a former opera singer. Sarah's oldest brother Penn lives nearby with his family, while her older sister Nina, a singer, spends a good deal of her time at Guinever Court, though she has her own apartment. Finally, Theo, who is just two years older than Sarah, works as a botanist in the nearby town of Launford. Also resident in the household is Kester's former wife, Polly Singleton, and her teenage daughter, Dido, who is confined to a wheelchair as the result of a strange, unsolved accident six years earlier. Spiteful and bitter, Dido is desperately unhappy and takes her misery out on everyone around her.
Though she has only been married a year, Sarah already regrets her decision to marry Niall Rhodes, a famous TV personality more than 10 years her senior. He is secretive and reluctant to share much of his life with Sarah. She has begun to realize that she knows very little about Niall, and he seems to want to keep it that way. Sarah finds she is still drawn to her former lover, Luke Ashton, who had broken her heart, though he doesn't appear to care.
Strange things begin to happen. Sarah receives a note that reads, "Ask Niall if he remembers the Italian Doll. Ask him if he dare answer that on his program." It is signed, "Alexandra." Niall denies all knowledge of "the Italian Doll" or Alexandra. Sarah asks Niall about it, but he denies everything. Then someone tries to run Sarah down and she barely escapes. And then there's the doll Sarah finds in her car:
"It was a doll dressed in peasant costume, a red skirt with bands of green around the edge, an embroidered apron and a little white blouse with short puffed sleeves.
As I picked it up, its head fell back, waving like a torn leaf about to fall from a tree. I saw that a piece of fuse wire had been tied so tightly round its neck that it had cut into the doll's stuffing."
An Italian Doll. Is the doll a threat or a warning? Is someone trying to kill Sarah and Niall or just terrify them? And who is Alexandra?
It took a little while to warm to the story. Sarah can be annoying at times. She's young and has a tendency to look to others for guidance, especially the men in her life. She married Niall on the rebound after breaking up with Luke. Despite being married to Niall for a year now, she knows little about him. She is easily manipulated and often clueless, though she is not stupid or unobservant. I also never liked Luke or Niall and have no idea what Sarah saw in either of them.
However, the writing is very good. Maybury does an excellent job with her descriptions and setting the mood. I was able to picture Guinever Court, Nina's singing performance, and many other scenes. The plot can get rather confusing at times and I had to reread parts to figure out what was going on. However, it was never dull and I never lost interest. I previously read Maybury's Green Fire, but I think "The Minerva Stone" is a better book.
In short, this is an entertaining book, and if you can find it, give it a chance.
November 2, 2022
Like Anne Maybury's earlier "The Night of the Enchantress/Farrowmonde," "The Minerva Stone" is deceptive. Although ostensibly romantic suspense--in this case, 20 year-old Sarah Rhodes trying to uncover who is behind a revenge campaign targeting her older TV presenter husband--it is really about relationships and what constitutes a healthy one, in multiple forms. Maybury contrasts Sarah's marriage with her delightfully eccentric extended family and with her earlier relationship to Luke, a brilliant researcher who must have his independence. None of these are necessarily as healthy of connections as they can be, and the reader gradually realizes that everyone in the novel has some growth they need to do as they try to solve their own mysteries of existence. "The Minerva Stone" thus pushes at the limits of its genre, wanting to be more than just an escapist read. Maybury's great affection for Sarah's noisy family and their chaotic, yet hospitable Dorset life, adds pleasure to the reading.
June 29, 2015
I did not like the characters in this book. I felt the heroine should have more respect for herself than she did. The guys in this book were selfish creatures whose ambitions were more important than people. They loved themselves and their careers more than they loved other people. The ending was unsatisfactory also, I won't go into detail but it left unanswered questions.
July 15, 2021
I thought this was ok as a Gothic. At least there was a good cast of characters, instead of just the heroine and loads of sinister suspects who may or may not be against her, she had a whole family of well-rounded characters. AND she was already married rather than a nervous newlywed. Odd title though, as the "stone" of the title only has a really slight relevance to the story.
September 7, 2024
Read years ago
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews