Royal Escape from the Topic - for off topic chit chat Showing 101-150 of 2,839

[Jay-me (Janet)]

Tina wrote: "Is this group all nzers?"

No.

I live close to Bronte Country in NW England

[Jacquie]

I'm not-- though I would love to visit. I live in beautiful Vermont -- not a bad alternative!

[Critterbee❇]

Welcome Back, Carol!

I am not from New Zealand, but it does seem like there are many from there who love GH.

[Abigail]

California, USA!

[Karlyne]

Tina wrote: "Is this group all nzers?"

No, just the lucky ones. (heeheehee-I've always wanted to go to NZ)

[Louise Sparrow]

Tina wrote: "Is this group all nzers?"

If I understand you correctly... no.

I am from England

[Karlyne]

I live in Idaho, and friends who have been to NZ say that there are similarities. Except that we don't have any coast line...

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

Tina wrote: "Is this group all nzers?"

No I think I'm the only active member who is a Kiwi.

Edit; Critterbee is right - GH always had a massive following in NZ & Australia.

[Susan in Perthshire]

Live near Perth in Scotland; would love to visit NZ!

[Leslie]

Tina wrote: "Is this group all nzers?"

Not I! Massachusetts, USA here

[Critterbee❇]

Virginia, USA!

[Ginny]

North Carolina

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

Hi I'm posting from my local library as my router has just died hope to be online soon.

Could I just mention if wanting to post spoilers please use spoiler tags
<*spoiler>your text <*/spoiler> without the asterisks

Thanks a lot hope I'll be back online soon.

[MaryC]

Maryland, by way of West Virginia

[Critterbee❇]

Testing

(view spoiler)[Spoiled! (hide spoiler)]

[Karlyne]

Critterbee wrote: "Testing

[spoilers removed]"

Good job!

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

OK back now & seem to have improved internet speed as well as better connectivity! :)

[RaiRaiKen]

Hallo, ladies! I'd just like to ask if there are authors who write like Heyer you can recommend to me. I feel it'll be dark time if I've finally read all her Georgian and Regency novels.

[Andrea AKA Catsos Person]

Clare Darcy is an author who is described as "the best of those inspired by Georgette Heyer."

CD only wrote about 15 books and I think they are out of print. I've been forced to buy used hardcovers from AMZN. I hate hardbacks.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

Andrea, do you mind saying what you hate about hardbacks? We are having so much trouble shifting fiction hardbacks at my work (charity shop) & some of the new ones like by Bryce Courtney are huge! - so take up a lot of room.

I'm not keen on the big ones myself. I was reading W for Wasted by Sue Grafton as a hardback & I couldn't take it out with me.

[Karlyne]

I don't like hard bounds,either, generally (some of the old ones aren't so bad), because they're too big and heavy. You could get a concussion if one of them should fall on your head, and they break my wrists trying to keep them close enough to my eyeballs to read.

I remember Clare Darcy, Andrea! I'd forgotten all about her.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

Yes at work we had a sweet little copy of the Sea Hawk by Rafael Sabatini turn up in hardcover (with dust jacket) that would be OK, but I already had as a paperback.

RRK, if you like Beauvallet (GH's only Tudor romance) you should like Rafael Sabatini. His most famous book was Captain Blood.

If you like The Foundling you may like Jeffrey Farnol (I may not have his Christian name right) Some of books now free on kindle but his slang even denser than GH's.

As far as Regency romance goes I've read one by Mary Balogh I liked. Sexier than GH's stuff though.

[Andrea AKA Catsos Person]

I don't like hardbacks bec until eBooks changed my life, I always carried paper back in my purse or work tote bag.

Also, when I read at home, my fave thing to do is lie down on my bed and read. Hardbacks are cumbersome to read in bed. I don't lie on my back propped by pillows, but on my side. Paperbacks work better in my favorite position.

Also, they take up more shelf space.

Some could argue that hardbacks hold up better over long periods of time, but I handle books gently when I read, so my paperbacks are in good shape. However, I do have some out of print paperbacks that have paper that turned brittle and brown. But that has nothing to do with rough treatment and hard wear and tear but the poor-quality the publisher used.

Also, when I buy out of print old titles from an online used bookseller, I will bypass the hardback editions and look for paperbacks instead.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

What's really hard if we have a bunch of books turn up by one author. Like someone donated a large carton of Danielle Steele hardbacks & we already had quite a few of her's in paperback. I put them in a box for $10 but my boss had someone plead to just buy some of them. She was worried we wouldn't sell any so broke it up. No one interested in the others.
OTH someone donated about 10 Ellis Peters which are getting harder to find. The box barely hit the shelf. But they were paperbacks.
We are greener than we were so can't just dump. I've given one box to one rest home & have another boxed up for the other. I've given some to the free lending shelf at our laundromat. I'm going to ask hospital reception if they want some.

[RaiRaiKen]

☆ Ｃａｒｏｌ ☆ wrote: "Yes at work we had a sweet little copy of the Sea Hawk by Rafael Sabatini turn up in hardcover (with dust jacket) that would be OK, but I already had as a paperback.

RRK, if you like Beauvallet (G..."

Andrea (Catsos Person) is a Compulsive eBook Hoarder wrote: "Clare Darcy is an author who is described as "the best of those inspired by Georgette Heyer."

CD only wrote about 15 books and I think they are out of print. I've been forced to buy used hardcover..."

Thank you!

I think the bookstore I frequent has tons of books by these authors.

By the way, when did historical romance fiction become so "sexy"?

[Andrea AKA Catsos Person]

You won't find anything "sexy" in Clare Darcy anymore than you would in GH.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

I don't read much romance but I think it could be around the 1990s?

Jane Aiken Hodge & Hebe Elsna both wrote some period romance but I don't remember them being particularly good. I have a gothic Aiken Hodge in the house somewhere but I'm not likely to get to it any time soon.

WM Thackeray's Vanity Fair is a good read.

Anne Marie Selinko's Desiree about real life first love of Napoleon also very entertaining.

[Susan in Perthshire]

☆ Ｃａｒｏｌ ☆ wrote: "I don't read much romance but I think it could be around the 1990s?

Jane Aiken Hodge & Hebe Elsna both wrote some period romance but I don't remember them being particularly good. I have a gothic ..."

Oh what a shame you don't think much of Jane Aitken Hodge! I adored her books when I read them in my teens and 20s. Haven't read any for years but I think I might try one again to see how she has fared! One that I loved even more was Paula Allardyce - great stories, feisty, intelligent women and interesting men! Would certainly recommend that RaiRaiken gives those 2 authors a try.

[Karlyne]

I liked Jane Aiken Hodge's earlier works a lot, but I didn't much care for her late stuff. And I loved her sister, Joan Aiken, both her children and adult novels, but her stuff was weirder and quite quirky!

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

Howard wrote:"I just read Rondo Allegro, by Sherwood Smith.

This is an interesting regency romance written by an author known for her many fantasies. She does have another regency romance which I liked.

This book is interesting in where the action takes place.

It starts off with a very young Italian marrying an English captain at the request of Admiral Nelson. Both parties expect to quickly annul the marriage, but he goes off to sea, and she uses her training to sing with an Opera group (even though ladies don't do that), going across Napoleon's France and it's ally Spain (I'm also reading The Spanish Bride). She does have her mother's lady servant. And she grows into a woman.

Then she gets together with her husband aboard ship in time for Trafalgar, and takes care of wounded. He is wounded and hospitalized in Gibraltar as she goes to his home, where his brother recently died without heir, so she's a Lady (still a virgin). There's some politics and he makes it home with his eyes bandaged up for some months.

I don't need to go into the love stories (if you're into regency romances, you know what to expect) - but this review may attract some who are (like me) attracted by the backgrounds."

[RaiRaiKen]

☆ Ｃａｒｏｌ ☆ wrote: "Howard wrote:"I just read Rondo Allegro, by Sherwood Smith.

This is an interesting regency romance written by an author known for her many fantasies. She does have another regency romance which I ..."

That's sounds very interesting. Who's the author and what's the title of the book?

[Susan in Perthshire]

Karlyne wrote: "I liked Jane Aiken Hodge's earlier works a lot, but I didn't much care for her late stuff. And I loved her sister, Joan Aiken, both her children and adult novels, but her stuff was weirder and quit..."

Funny but I never liked Joan's books when I was young - apart from the haunting of Lamb House one. Might try reading them again now!

[Karlyne]

Susan wrote: "Karlyne wrote: "I liked Jane Aiken Hodge's earlier works a lot, but I didn't much care for her late stuff. And I loved her sister, Joan Aiken, both her children and adult novels, but her stuff was ..."

Her children's books haven't got an iota of sentiment in them, that's for sure (at least, the ones that I read didn't).

[Carolien]

Karlyne wrote: "I liked Jane Aiken Hodge's earlier works a lot, but I didn't much care for her late stuff. And I loved her sister, Joan Aiken, both her children and adult novels, but her stuff was weirder and quit..."

I enjoy the adult novels of both of them. I've only recently started reading Joan Aiken's children's books.

[Howard]

RaiRaiKen wrote: "☆ Ｃａｒｏｌ ☆ wrote: "☆ Ｃａｒｏｌ ☆ wrote: "Howard wrote:"I just read Rondo Allegro, by Sherwood Smith.

This is an interesting regency romance written by an author known for her many fantasies. She does have another regency romance which I ..."

That's sounds very interesting. Who's the author and what's the title of the book?" Sherwood Smith, Rondo Allegro.

[Ellen]

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken one of my all time favorite rereads. I have a 50 something year old copy that I got from the Weekly Reader Book Club. It is very grubby looking but still all together. Marry in Haste is my favorite Jane Aiken Hodge.

[Lori]

Karlyne wrote: "I liked Jane Aiken Hodge's earlier works a lot, but I didn't much care for her late stuff. And I loved her sister, Joan Aiken, both her children and adult novels, but her stuff was weirder and quit..."

Back in the 1990s I read a little announcement in the Chicago Tribune that Joan Aiken was speaking at an event called "The Jane Austen Society of North America." I bought a ticket so I could gush to Joan Aiken how much I loved her sister, Jane. She was pleased.

Jane Aiken Hodge is being produced on Kindle. Also on a couple Audibles. I just reread "The Adventurers," which had always been a favorite of mine. They are not funny but they are solid and intelligent. And I like how her couples fall in love over time.

By contrast, Mary Stewart's characters often fall in love quickly. Coincidentally, she herself had a whirlwind courtship, as well as a long and happy marriage.)

Mary Stewart is my favorite author; "The Moon-Spinners" is my favorite novel. My son is named for Mr. God-almightly Mark Langley. I love "This Rough Magic," too, and many of her early novels. I consider Mary Stewart my literary mother, because from age 16 on, I longed for witty conversation and when I began writing fiction I saw her witty, literary conversations as a worthy model.

It was harder for me to turn age 23 than 50. My favorite MS heroines were 22, and I thought my life must be over.

My claim to fame is that Mary Stewart once replied to my letter, "You make me want to go back and read my early novels. You obviously know them better than I do."

If you've never read Mary Stewart, my advice is to let her publication dates guide you. After her Merlin books (which were not the romantic suspenses I loved), her later books are no match for her early works, but that is my own humble opinion.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

Hi Lori - do you know there is a Mary Stewart group. Tadiana is the moderator & quite a few of us are over there.

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

[Karlyne]

Lori wrote: "Karlyne wrote: "I liked Jane Aiken Hodge's earlier works a lot, but I didn't much care for her late stuff. And I loved her sister, Joan Aiken, both her children and adult novels, but her stuff was ..."

Mary Stewart replied to your letter?!? Oh, my word, do you have it in a solid gold frame and insured for bazillions of dollars?!?

[Susan in Perthshire]

Lori wrote: "Karlyne wrote: "I liked Jane Aiken Hodge's earlier works a lot, but I didn't much care for her late stuff. And I loved her sister, Joan Aiken, both her children and adult novels, but her stuff was ..."

I love Mary Stewart too and The Moonspinners was one of my all time favourites as well. Have re-read several and they are still cracking reads!

[Abigail]

Me three on The Moonspinners!

[Lori]

I am glad Carol, Susan, and Abigail love "The Moon-Spinners." Mary Stewart told me she absolutely hated the movie(that it was a waste of a good story) and that Disney didn't even give her a ticket to the film's opening ("I had to queue up for a ticket along with everyone else"). But eventually MS saw that it brought her devoted readers like me. (I had told her how I found a new copy with Hayley Mills and Peter McEnery on the cover on a revolving rack in an otherwise dusty used bookstore on a trip to Florida when I was sixteen. I'd loved the Walt Disney movie when I was nine so I snatched up the paperback. I, of course, fell in love with the book and realized how ridiculous the movie was.)

As Mr. Beaumaris would say, "Nor do I regret it in the least, for if [Disney} had not set out on this most reprehensible course we might never have come much in one another's way again, after our first meeting, and I might never have discovered that I had found the very [story] I had been looking for for so long."

[Lori]

☆ Ｃａｒｏｌ ☆ wrote: "Hi Lori - do you know there is a Mary Stewart group. Tadiana is the moderator & quite a few of us are over there.

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/......"

Thank you, Carol. I have joined!

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

Just a small correction Lori - I think I read the Moonspinners but if I have it was a long time ago! It is the MS title I would most like to acquire though.

My favourite of hers (so far) is This Rough Magic

That is so cheap of Disney not to send her a ticket!

[Carolien]

I actually enjoy Jane Aiken Hodge's mysteries more than her historical novels. She is very good at creating suspense and doubt on the motives of the various characters.

[Andrea AKA Catsos Person]

I read this Rough Magic when the MS group did last at Tadiana's invite, but I didn't discuss bec everyone seemed to know everything, so I was a little shy.

I just loved it. Her descriptive detail was magnificent. I felt as if I could close my eyes and see what she described.

That romance at the end blindsided me. It seemed to crop up out of nowhere all a of sudden like a mushroom.

[Lori]

I do adore "This Rough Magic." I want to be Lucy Waring and marry into the Gale family.

I love the Shakespeare connection. I see Mary Stewart as an education. She was an English instructor at University of Edinburgh, and she was amazingly well-read. She was my portal to Keats, Shakespeare, Kipling, D. H. Lawrence (regrettably), Tournier, Gilbert White, to name the ones I can think of off hand.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

Andrea (Catsos Person) is a Compulsive eBook Hoarder wrote: "I read this Rough Magic when the MS group did last at Tadiana's invite, but I didn't discuss bec everyone seemed to know everything, so I was a little shy.

I just loved it. Her descriptive detail ..."

I wasn't a member of the MS group then. What blindsided me was how brave & capable this heroine was! At one point I looked down - & I was literally on the edge of seat! :D

I have copies of Touch Not the Cat & the Gabriel Hounds. I might read the latter before I go away. It does have a tenuous link with Venetia.

[Andrea AKA Catsos Person]

I forgot the heroine's name. She was no namby-pamby.

She managed to do some things "under pressure" that a lot of men might not have the mental steel to pull off.

[Susan in Perthshire]

I saw "The MoonSpinners" when I was 15 - and loved it! Probably Peter McEnery and the Greek scenery at Elounda! It prompted me to read the book, (and realise how rubbish the film actually was! ) I then started to read all her books and just loved them. I so agree that her descriptive powers drew you in to the world she created in each book and I always wanted to be the heroine in each one! I re-read Moonspinners, Rough Magic, Gabriel Hounds and Touch not he cat - quite recently. Must do the rest. Have just joined the Mary Stewart group so will look forward to that!