Madam, want to talk about author Mary Stewart? discussion
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Thunder on the Right
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Thunder on the Right -- Chapters 11 thru 15
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(last edited Apr 10, 2014 06:22PM)
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Apr 10, 2014 06:16PM
Discussion for chapters 11 thru 15. Please comment on anything from these chapters, but remember to hide spoilers within a spoiler tag. Please note which chapter a spoiler is from so other readers will know if it is safe to "peek" or not. You do not have to wait until reading all of the chapters to comment, but please restrict your posts to content from chapters 1 thru 15. Enjoy!
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it's odd there isn't a lot to say about this section of the book because the plot really advances.Jennifer's suspicion that Foul Deeds are Afoot is confirmed when she wakes up in the middle of the night and ends up following Dona Francisca and over-hearing her ordering Pierre Bussac (the "muleteer") to get rid of Gillian.
The next morning , Jennifer lulls Dona F with a performance that would have shaken her mother "to the roots of her being". I love how we keep hearing about how mother and daughter don't know each other at all.
it really seems like this should be enough to take to the police, but Stephen thinks it's better to deal with it themselves.
this totally makes sense because otherwise the drama ends too soon. We learn the dead woman, buried as Gillian, is part of a gang of bank robbers.
at the end of chapter 15 we find out Gillian, as suspected, is alive at Busac's home.
Dona Francisca (where's the tilde on this keyboard?) is just too Gothic by half! Where does Jenny get all this Spanish Black Legend anti-Catholicism from? We know she's read Ann Radcliffe's novels, but her take on them seems to be ironic enough. Or was that simply what sheltered Protestant girls in fifties Britain were brought up to believe?
Any British Protestant brought up the fifties would know about the history of the Reformation, religious wars and the Spanish Inquisition, so yes, anti-catholic and a belief in Spanish cruelty would be built in and in certain households, continues to this day. I think it probably does reflect MS’s own upbringing. Her father was an Anglican vicar I believe. The history of the UK cannot be separated from the religious divides which have existed since the Reformation. It’s something to deplore, but it would be disingenuous to pretend it doesn’t exist.
Susan in Perthshire wrote: "The history of the UK cannot be separated from the religious divides which have existed since the Reformation. It’s something to deplore, but it would be disingenuous to pretend it doesn’t exist. "Thank you, Susan, for bringing this to mind, and for the background on Mary Stewart. That explains a lot, including where the solid values I appreciate so much may come from.
I think it’s those “solid values” that appeal to many American readers of British fiction. In our mostly rootless society, it’s very satisfying to read about people who hold certain truths to be self-evident. The common core of decency lends a sense of security. Though perhaps I’m speaking only for myself.
no, I think you have something there Abigail. I certainly crave that security especially the older I get.
