Madam, want to talk about author Mary Stewart? discussion
New member introductions and group read planning
Thanks for the invite Misfit i have not read any of Mary Stewart however that will be changing soon. I browsed through your list of her books and I'm going to indulge in the Merlin books, they look great. Thanks again.
Hi Nona, be careful we'll start you on a new book-buying habit :)
OOOOO! Love that illustration!I read all the Mary Stewart I could get my hands on in high school. In recent years I found some of the books on tape in my library. My two oldest daughters love MS too. Recently my baby, 14-yr-old Gloria, has found them. She has been a slow reader, just catching up to her age mates in the last couple years. This is the first author (besides Nancy Drew) to catch her fancy. That thrills me! Nine Coaches Waiting is my favorite by far! I'm not a big fan of her Arthurian novels and I have Rose Cottage somewhere in this house to read for the first time.
Enough exclamation marks for now.
**scratches head***I'm trying to figure out how some of these new members found the group so quickly. I know I sent out some invites but still...
Welcome everyone. I'm on Touch Not the Cat right now. Quite different (in a good way).
My book fairy is Constance from the Maud-L discussion group, known as CLM on Goodreads. I would guess that she is inviting all her book friends who love Mary Stewart. Constance and I have Maud Hart Lovelace, Elswyth Thane and many other authors in common.
Ahh, now I know who the culprit is. So who remembers having a waistline like the one above in their younger days? I might have been thin, but not like that.
Thanks for the invitation! This is an excellent excuse to reread all the MS books I have. I remember liking Nine Coaches Waiting, but not exactly why. The only ones I recall with much detail are The Moon-Spinners (the first one I read) and Wildfire at Midnight. Oh, and My Brother Michael and The Ivy Tree!!
Hello Misfit, hello everyone - I AM the card carrying Mary Stewart virgin but that will be a-changing as soon as I have seen off my current reads. This is a vert cosy corner of GR isn't it, far nicer than the main stream.:O)
oh odd you say that Misfit I watched Taboo on NGC channel and it was about altering your body, the main thing was corsets and how woman kept themselves thin enought to wear them. The things they went through!
Nona wrote: "oh odd you say that Misfit I watched Taboo on NGC channel and it was about altering your body, the main thing was corsets and how woman kept themselves thin enought to wear them. The things they we..."I would die if I ever had to strap myself into contraptions like that. Bras are bad enough :)
lol, they showed a couple who made them and showed how to properly lace up a corset. She had to hold onto a bar above her and suck in her breathe and try not to release it untill he had her laced, he used his knee for leverage to draw it tighter and lace as he went. If my husband ever suggested such a thing I would have to retink the boundries of our relationship, lol.
Bettie wrote: "Hello Misfit, hello everyone - I AM the card carrying Mary Stewart virgin but that will be a-changing as soon as I have seen off my current reads. This is a vert cosy corner of GR isn't it, far nic..."A Mary Stewart Virgin. This should be an interesting adventure then eh?
I'm here Misfit. I've never heard of her books(you're not the only virgin Bettie) but I will try her books starting with Nine Coaches Waiting. I'm also a King Arthur and Merlin fan.
Remember the 1964 Disney adaptation of the Moonspinners? That's what got me hooked. Madam Will You Talk is my most favorite, I had visited the Riviera, so the setting rocked for me. Other special faves: Ivy Tree, Nine Coaches Waiting, Rough Magic too, all those Tempest references. . . and of course Airs Above the Ground, natch I had seen Disneys show about the Lipizzaner horses escaping the Russians, I've just reread Thunder on the Right, My Brother Michael and Wildfire at Midnight.
Interesting none were ever filmed. . . I can't count Hayley Mills and that butchered script. . . ah, the book is always better.
Moonspinner? Film?this is really all unknown territory for me - should I put on the map "Here Be Dragons"? lol
YES I LOVED that film as a kid. I remember thinking the hero was very hot. :)
Faves: Nine Coaches Waiting, Moonspinners, Airs Above The Ground.
I read all the MS books our library had when I was a teenager, and then bought as many as I could later - and re-read most of them in my 20s. I loved the adventures in exotic places (and still long to visit Greece, etc!) with feisty heroines. So how am I going to fit in reading them yet again when I have shelves full of unread books that are also crying for attention, as well as Daphne du Mauriers I haven't read for decades? *lament*
Susan C wrote: "I'm here Misfit. I've never heard of her books(you're not the only virgin Bettie) but I will try her books starting with Nine Coaches Waiting. I'm also a King Arthur and Merlin fan."I enjoyed her Arthurian books. If I recall the first three are from Merlin's POV starting when he was a young boy.
Bettie wrote: "Moonspinner? Film?this is really all unknown territory for me - should I put on the map "Here Be Dragons"? lol"
That's all right. I knew there was a film but I've never seen it.
So far in my rediscovery I've read Nine Coaches waiting (Raul *sigh*), The Gabriel Hounds (what fun!) and I'm working on Touch Not the Cat. I also have Moon Spinners out from the library. I hear Madam Will you Talk is her best so I'm saving that for last.
Lol, I won't mention names but after I sent out invites I got a PM from a member titled get thee behind me satan. Too many books, too little time.
I must reread the King's General again soon, my fave du Maurier
Airs Above the Ground, Touch Not the Cat, Madam Will You Talk? -- so many of hers I really liked -- hard to choose one. Hello all. I will have to find out how many of my Mary Stewart books I still have -- I THINK I gave away a bunch of them when I cleared out books in my packing not long ago. Sigh. Maybe the used book store will have better copies anyway if I decide to restock - sh, I didn't say that.
Hi Misfit - thanks for the invite! I have not read any Mary Stewart books, but it looks like I will have to start really soon. The novels sound wonderful!
Andrea wrote: "Hi Misfit - thanks for the invite! I have not read any Mary Stewart books, but it looks like I will have to start really soon. The novels sound wonderful!"
Andrea, I'm finding them good fun. And like Dottie I had a bunch of them once upon a time and gave them away. Lucky for me I can get them again from the library and save space :)
Susie wrote: "I must reread the King's General again soon, my fave du Maurier"
I loved this one. Susie, there is a D du M group if you ever want to wander over.
I'm here from the Daphne du Maurier group. I've never read any Mary Stewart, but she sounds like she's right up my alley, so I'm game. It's kind of hard to know where to start though. I'm thinking either "Nine Coaches Waiting" or "Thornyhold," just because the descriptions looked interesting.
Hi Toni. I haven't read Thornyhold yet, but Nine Coaches Waiting to me was a perfect comfort book. She really sets a good scene, man that creepy broken down palace in the high Lebanon in The Gabriel Hounds with rusty nail falling to break the silence. I've got about 50 or so pages left on Touch Not the Cat. Very different with the telepathy bit she's thrown into the story.
Greetings! I am a huge MS fan, having been introduced to the books by my mother. I read most of them for the first when I was in junior high, although she was still writing then so a few I read when they were brand new. Sadly, the more recent books are a bit thin (literally and figuratively). My favorite is Madam Will You Talk (I own three copies so I can lend it), This Rough Magic, The Moonspinners, Airs Above the Ground and My Brother Michael. I also own a biography, which I will try to take a look at to see what it says worth sharing.
Toni wrote: "I'm here from the Daphne du Maurier group. I've never read any Mary Stewart, but she sounds like she's right up my alley, so I'm game. It's kind of hard to know where to start though. I'm thinking..."Hey everyone!
Misfit was so awesome to provide a MS forum for us - thanks Misfit!!!
I loved Stewart as a teenager and have recently been
reintroducing myself to her books in the last few months. My personal favorite is Thornyhold, which isn't one of her "romantic suspense" books but rather one of her "cottage" books that she wrote in her 70s. Lovely, lovely book. I can't recommend it enough!
As for her romantic suspense novels, I like Wildfire at Midnight and This Rough Magic the best, although it's hard to really choose a favorite. I can say that I think Airs Above the Ground is my least favorite in her romantic suspense books.
Hi Hannah, glad you're here and enjoyed your vacation. My Brother Michael is next for me. I'm going to watch the last of The Moon Spinners movie, but the first half hour I must say is leaving me cold. Why must they always change the story from the book. Why?
Misfit wrote: "..."I've never seen the movie The Moonspinners, but have read reviews of it and most say it is a travesty of the book and bears little resemblence to it. It is sad when some movie adaptations veer so far off from the book. I little change is understandable, but a complete departure is stupid -- why even title the movie with the same name as the book?
I've got My Brother Michael on my wish list at Amazon. I don't think I've read that one before. I can't wait to do so.
I still watching the mail for Nine Coaches Waiting and from paperbackswap.com I have the first Merlin book coming.
Susan C wrote: "I still watching the mail for Nine Coaches Waiting and from paperbackswap.com I have the first Merlin book coming.Hey Susan!
I look forward to hearing what you think of the first book in Stewart's Merlin trilogy!
"
I'll let you know Hannahr. My husband and I, for over 15 years, have been getting a classic book from Eston Press each month. We bought their King Arthur trilogy. I really do enjoy the topic.
I just finished My Brother Michael and I loved it. Her descriptions of Greece made me want to travel there and see for myself. bookcloseouts.com has new copies of at least 2 of her trilogy books on Arthur...I think $4.99 or $5.99.
Hi, I'm Annie from Salt Lake City. Mary Stewart is probably my favorite author of all time outside of Jane Austen. I read every book my high school library had of hers (which wasn't all that many at the time), but I've followed her through the years. I love all of her books. I think my favorite is whichever one I happen to be reading at the time. It was her King Arthur series that got me hooked on the King Arthur legend and I have now read just about every book published on the subject (that I've been able to get my hands on, that is!). Truthfully, I think my favorites are Madam will you talk and Touch not the cat. Although,I really like Moonspinners, and This Rough Magic, and the Ivy tree (I've read that one probably 5 times now)and...OK I like them all! My least favorites are Thornyhold and Stormy Petrel. Both good stories, but not the gripping mysteries the others are. These are gentler romance stories. However you slice it though, Mary Stewart is the best!
And if you like her books, try out Jane Aiken Hodge as well.
Hi Annie, welcome. I'll have to check out Hodge, except not for a while. Still have to get through Stewart's back list :)
Misfit wrote: "Hi Annie, welcome. I'll have to check out Hodge, except not for a while. Still have to get through Stewart's back list :)"I hear you! When you get around to Jane Aiken Hodge, try Marry in Haste, the Winding Stair and Runaway Bride. They are my favorites. Her stories are usually Victorian era, Regency/Napoleonic era.
Sigh, so many books so little time. Susan Howatch is another author who wrote a few romantic suspense novels that I want to check out. No use wasting time on today's crap.
I completely agree. Susan Howatch is another one I love. and Anya Seton, and Norah Lofts (How Far to Bethlehem is probably in my top 10 favorite books of all time) and Victoria Holt, and Phyllis Whitney and Daphne du Maurier, and let's see, anyone else? I rarely even start with today's authors, especially the romance writers. They just don't know how to write a good story anymore--they're too involved in titillating the audience to concentrate on the story.
Annie wrote: "Misfit wrote: "Hi Annie, welcome. I'll have to check out Hodge, except not for a while. Still have to get through Stewart's back list :)"I hear you! When you get around to Jane Aiken Hodge, tr..."
ohhh dear, another author to go through...thanks Annie and welcome to this group.
I can't agree more, reading Du Maurier's back list over the last few months (and now Stewart) is forever spoiling me for these newest and greatest releases. It's all just coming across like drivel - although there are a few exceptions.
Misfit wrote: "....is forever spoiling me for these newest and greatest releases. It's all just coming across like drivel ..."I agree also. DuMaurier and Stewart were masters of the intelligent suspense novel. Their descriptive prose and nail-biting plotlines are truely a cut above recent suspense writers, who as Annie so aptly put it, are "too involved in titillating the audience" (good one, Annie!).
The only "modern writers I've found that can somewhat come close are Barbara Michaels and Susannah Kearsley, and while I like their books very much, they still fall short of the brillance that DuMaurier and Stewart possessed in spades.
It's funny, but I have a book I'm reading now (it's not a contemporary) and while good I keep thinking what Du Maurier could have done with the same thing - turn a 3-4 star story into something freaking fantastic.
Well, good as Mary Stewart? Maybe not, but I enjoy these two modern series quite a bit:Maisy Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James Novels by Deborah Crombie
You'll definitly want to start with the first book of each series because the "detectives'" own personal sagas are half the fun of the books.
Hannahr wrote: The only "modern writers I've found that can somewhat come close are Barbara Michaels and Susannah Kearsley..." Yes! I like Barbara Michaels very much as well, but I picked her first novel sometime in the 70s it seems like. It was "Ammie, Come Home" and Mom got it in a Reader Digest version. Boy, talk about a scary book! I loved it though, its still my favorite of hers.
I've never heard of Susannah Kearsley; what are her books like?
Annie wrote: ...Yes! I like Barbara Michaels very much as well, but I picked he..."Ammie, Come Home is my fav Barbara Michaels - and yes, very, very spooky. Susannah Kearsley's books are difficult to get a hold of (at least I've found it so). Like Barbara Michaels, Kearsley favors suspense plots tinged with the supernatural. I just finished re-reading "The Shadowy Horses" and have orderd "Mariana" from Amazon. The Shadowy Horses is about an archeologist who travels to Scotland to participate on a dig to uncover the reputed fort of the vanished Roman 9th legion. There's a handsome black haired Scotsman who makes up the love interest, an engaging young boy who has the "sight", and the spirit of a Roman sentinel who roams the field and tries to communicate with our heroine. I'm partial to those kinds of things, so I really enjoyed it.
Hannahr wrote: "Annie wrote: ...Yes! I like Barbara Michaels very much as well, but I picked he..."Ammie, Come Home is my fav Barbara Michaels - and yes, very, very spooky. Susannah Kearsley's books are diff..."
Oooh! Sounds good. I'll those to my to-read list and see if I can get my hands on them. I'm always looking for new GOOD authors.
Madam, want to talk about author Mary Stewart?
Books mentioned in this topic
My Brother Michael (other topics)The Moon-Spinners (other topics)
Rose Cottage (other topics)
Rose Cottage (other topics)
Frost on the Window: Poems (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Mary Elgin (other topics)Mary Stewart (other topics)
Katherine Wigmore Eyre (other topics)
Katherine Wigmore Eyre (other topics)
John Buchan (other topics)
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I know I read Mary's books when I was a teen ohhhhh so long ago but I only recall the Arthurian books, so I'm on a new reading adventure to rediscover those wonderful treasures. She really can set a great scene, it's like being there.
First up for me was Nine Coaches Waiting and I just loved it, and I just finished The Gabriel Hounds, jolly good fun. Here's an image from the Ladies Home Journal edition of Nine Coaches courtesy of the Mary Stewart blog,
Oooh, I'll take that Raul. No problem.