Ivy Tree Chapters 16 to the End

[[deleted user]]

Please discuss the events of chapters 16 to the end. Please mark spoilers with spoiler tags.

[Katy]

Finished the book. This is my new favorite of Mary Stewart's mystery romances.

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽, Moderator]

Katy wrote: "Finished the book. This is my new favorite of Mary Stewart's mystery romances."

Wow, that was quick reading! I still need to go dig out my copy. :)

[Katy]

I couldn't put it down.

[Karlyne]

I love the cleverness of some of the dialogue - "Annabel" and Donald's discussion of the relative merits of the Scottish, Irish, and English tongues, e.g.

[Bobbie]

Katy wrote: "Finished the book. This is my new favorite of Mary Stewart's mystery romances."

I said the same thing in my little review. This was my third reading and I enjoyed it just as much. I, too, believe now that this one is my favorite.

[Karlyne]

It's always in my top 3, although it jockeys for place at time!

[Susan in Perthshire]

No, it's not in my top 5 favourites - but I did enjoy catching up with this story again. One of the definite benefits of buddy reads is revisiting a book that you read donkeys years ago, had completely forgotten, and then rediscovering it and finding you did actually enjoy it!

[Teaqueen]

Just finished! Love this book! So much fab atmospheric gothic mystery.

However, Have 2 small issues about these chapters...which I know were needed for plot device but still...(view spoiler)[ When Annabel alerts the Fenwicks of the accident and she decides to return to Whitescar to let Lisa know so she can get some beds ready??? WHAT??? The love of her life is lying underneath a timber about ready to be squished and she's running off home to make beds!!! Annabel would have been racing back to the accident scene in a nano second. (But for plot device she needed to be back home so Con could kill her.)

And in the letter In the Ivy tree? Eight years ago when the postmistress gave Julie the letter… Wasn't this after Annabel had run away? This is the letter from London I'm assuming? If anything had arrived from Annabel… I think Julie would've given the letter to Adam right away not left it in the Ivy Tree. But it does make for a somewhat romantic ending… (hide spoiler)]

Again, this is one of my favorite Mary Stewart's. Different in the sense from her other books as we have a very flawed protagonist. And actually several flawed characters. Really like the Gothic feel of the novel. Especially all the con artist things going on and the past rising up against the present

[Karlyne]

But Julie didn't know Adam, and she didn't know it was important, just thought it was the romantic thing to do!

I do remember Annabel going back to the house, but I think it had to do with the horse and the route she had to take? I'll check when I get to my book!

[Karlyne]

Oops, I'm glad I didn't actually spoilerize - I thought we were in the spoiler thread....

[Anjali]

Teaqueen wrote: "Just finished! Love this book! So much fab atmospheric gothic mystery.

However, Have 2 small issues about these chapters...which I know were needed for plot device but still... When Annabel alert..."

I agree with your first point; it seems more of a plot device than the most natural action that (view spoiler)[ she would go back to the farmhouse rather than the to the accident site. MS needed her to be alone with the horse for the ending to work (hide spoiler)]

For the second, (view spoiler)[ Julie didn't realise that the letter was from Annabel. She says that she had seen Adam and Annabel putting notes into the tree and just assumed it was the thing to do, never realising that with Annabel gone, Adam would not check the tree again (hide spoiler)].

As you say, it makes for a beautifully romantic ending!

[Bobbie]

I just read Brat Farrar on the Retro Reads group and I would like to see exactly what Mary Stewart says about it in The Ivy Tree but haven't found it yet. Does anyone know where that reference is?
Thanks.

[Karlyne]

It's only in the U.K. version. There's a whole discussion about it in the Spoilerland thread, I think.

[Karlyne]

Bobbie wrote: "I just read Brat Farrar on the Retro Reads group and I would like to see exactly what Mary Stewart says about it in The Ivy Tree but haven't found it yet. Does anyone know where that reference is?
..."

Haha, Bobbie, I had just read a comment in the Chapter 1-5 thread, so I automatically though that was where your comment was, too. I'll see if I can find where the reference is!

[Karlyne]

I can't find it... Tadiaaaaana, where is that whole discussion of Brat Ferrar not being in the American version?!?

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽, Moderator]

I think most of the discussion about Brat Farrar and the deleted parts in the U.S. version of this book are in the thread for Chapters 1-5 of this book, right around message #76. It might have been discussed in some of the other Ivy Tree threads too, though.

[Karlyne]

Someone was kind enough to actually quote the Brat references from her copy (I cannot remember just who it was) this time around. It's not in the 1-5 section or this one. I'll check the other chapters in a minute (again...).

[Teaqueen]

FYI.... regarding the recent release of the Mary Stewart books on Kindle. It's the British version that is on this kindle release not The American version. The British version is 20 chapters. The American version is 18 chapters.