Madam, want to talk about author Mary Stewart? discussion
New member introductions and group read planning
Yes, Rose Cottage, Stormy Petrel and Thornyhold are known as the cottage books. Of the three, Thornyhold is the only one I really liked, and even that is a much more tepid like than the love I have for her older mystery/romances. I'm hoping the Thornyhold buddy read will give me a basis for adding stars to my previous rating for it. Hannah, do your best!
Tadiana,haha - Joanne and I are Thornyhold's cheerleaders. I can't promise that we'll cause you to up your rating (or anyone to adore it like we do), but we'll give it our best shot - right Joanne?
The thing about Thornyhold is that I realize it's not in the same league with her earlier, romantic suspense books. But I love it for the gentle, bittersweet, poignant journey it takes the heroine (and, by extension, the reader) on. I won't say I had the exact same experience growing up that our heroine Gilly had, but certain parts of her story resonate with me on a personal level, and I think the way the story unfolds and wraps up gives me a warm, wish-fulfillment feeling. Hard to describe, but we've probably all got books that affect us like that.
Welcome Teaqueen! I hope you will be able to join in the Thornyhold group read.My favorite Stewart's are (after Thornyhold):
Wildfire at Midnight and
This Rough Magic
but I like almost all of them to varying degrees. Personally, I thought Thunder on the Right was her worst, but even that one is better then what passes for "romantic suspense" these days!
Welcome Teaqueen! I was introduced to Mary Stewart by Hannah and Misfit. My first read was My Brother Michael. The buddy reads certainly add an extra layer of enjoyment to the read. Hope you can join in.
Welcome Teaqueen! This is a great group and it's so fun to read with everyone. I hope you are able to join in on Thornyhold. :)
Hoping to join in the Thornyhold read. My faves are This Rough Magic, Madam Will You Talk, and Airs Above the Ground.The cottage books seem smaller, simpler and quieter than her others. Thornyhold will be a reread for me.
All of my books are in boxes from a recent move, but I'm hoping to hunt down a copy at the local library. Though I do have a recorded version of it somewhere.
Hi, Teaqueen (and Judith, Tadiana, and Shelley, who I haven't participated in a read with yet)!
Thornyhold will be my first of the cottage books. So far, I've only read three of her mysteries, of which Nine Coaches Waiting is *by far* my favorite. (Loved that book!) Look forward to reading with you all!
Thornyhold will be my first of the cottage books. So far, I've only read three of her mysteries, of which Nine Coaches Waiting is *by far* my favorite. (Loved that book!) Look forward to reading with you all!
Looks like Thornyhold is shaping up to be another big group read - those are always fun!Welcome to all our new group readers :)
Hello to all of you! As I joined about a week ago I feel its high time I introduce myself. I am not a age long fan of Mary Stewart, (I only discovered her six months ago), but she has quickly become a favorite mystery author of mine.
So far my favorite book of her's is Wildfire at Midnight and I'm not sure yet but, I think Nine Coaches Waiting may be just as good. I am so looking forward to suggestions a group reads!
Tweety wrote: "Hello to all of you! As I joined about a week ago I feel its high time I introduce myself. I am not a age long fan of Mary Stewart, (I only discovered her six months ago), but she has quickly bec..."
Hi Tweety, glad you found us and found Mary Stewart. She's tops in my books.
Welcome to the group, Tweety! Nine Coaches waiting is one of my favorite Stewart novels.
Thank you for welcoming me Misfit and Jeannette! I can't wait to discus my favorite Mary Stewart books, and find others like her. So far NCW has a nice, dark mood to it.
Feel free to look through our buddy read threads, and add to the discussions. We just read Thornyhold this month, and we'll have another read in March.
Tweety, welcome and enjoy Nine Coaches Waiting! It's my favorite Mary Stewart book. I wish I were reading it again for the first time with you. Something about that book makes it a real comfort read for me, kind of like Thornyhold is for Hannah. It just pushes all the right buttons in me.
Hi Tweety, welcome. This is such a fun group, super nice people and all of us share a love for Mary Stewart's novels. The buddy reads are a lot of fun. NCW is very exciting, the setting is fabulous.
Tweety, did you notice that Jeannette's name is a variation of Giannetta's in WFAM?
BTW, ya'll, I found Wind Off the Small Isles on Abe Books in HB for a very reasonable price. I had set up a notification with them and bless their hearts, they found it for me. I ordered it today. Yea!!
Judith wrote: "Tweety, did you notice that Jeannette's name is a variation of Giannetta's in WFAM?"There's also cousin Gillian in Thunder on the Right, IIRC, which is a lot like Cousin Geillis in Thornyhold. I wonder if there was any particular reason that Mary Stewart reused variations of the same name.
Hey Tweety, and welcome to the fun.Wildfire at Midnight is my favorite of her romantic suspense books, too!
Good hunting, Judith! I love Abebooks!Welcome Tweety :)
Re names : I think we all just have favorite names. I have noticed the same thing. RT Stevens uses such similar (if not identical) names that its hard to separate the books sometimes. Did I read this already? But maybe the name does have some meaning for them, a family member or something. (or a villainous ex) lol
I will, thank you Jeannette! No, I didn't know that Judith! But, I like that name. I'm glad to hear you're all nice. :)With so many saying how good NCW is I just know it'll be good for me, Tadiana. The first time I read a soon-to-be-favorite book is always special.
Thank you Hannah!
Dorcas wrote: "Good hunting, Judith! I love Abebooks!Welcome Tweety :)
Re names : I think we all just have favorite names. I have noticed the same thing. RT Stevens uses such similar (if not identical) names th..."
Abe books will be my demise! Lol, I feel sorry for all the sellers I've bombarded with questions. One got so tired of me that they sent a mass email of pictures for every book with a cover by that author that they had. Sooo embarrassing!
Dorcas wrote: "Good hunting, Judith! I love Abebooks!"I love used bookstores, and I've never heard of Abebooks before. [Pause while I go off to Google Abebooks...]
It looks like a great website. I do quite a bit of shopping for used books on Amazon (whatever I can't get using my credits on paperbackswap). Are there any particular reasons why any of you like Abebooks better? Do you price-check both sites?
I love how this group is expanding my horizons!
I've ordered from Abe Books before. I'm usually lazy and just pick from the Amazon page, there are some sellers I recognize. Better World Books and Thriftbooks also have good service. I've shopped at the Tacoma Book Center, but they sell online through Abe and elsewhere. Can't speak for their shipping services, but damn that's one hell of a book store to visit. Floor to ceiling books. Michele and I found all kinds of HTF stuff, even some of the Angelique books. Reminds me, I haven't been there in a while...PS, don't miss the CSpan video they link to from their site, to get an idea how big the place is.
Another local (to me) used store is selling online also, but since they're just a couple of miles away I can't speak for their shipping. Finally Found Books.
Tadiana wrote: "Dorcas wrote: "Good hunting, Judith! I love Abebooks!"I love used bookstores, and I've never heard of Abebooks before. [Pause while I go off to Google Abebooks...]
It looks like a great websi..."
I like Abebooks for older and out of print books, and for the British editions, and they have good customer service also. I also use B and N and Amazon for older books, but they don't have as many choices as Abebooks.
Welcome Tweety! Glad to hear you are enjoying Mary Stewart. I only discovered her a bit over a year ago so I still have a few I haven't read yet. This is a very friendly and helpful group of ladies. Wildfire at Midnight, Nine Coaches Waiting, and This Rough Magic are all super in my book. But my favorite scene occurs in Airs Above the Ground. It is a wonderful scene!
Enjoy your reading. :)
Diane Lynn wrote: "Welcome Tweety! Glad to hear you are enjoying Mary Stewart. I only discovered her a bit over a year ago so I still have a few I haven't read yet. This is a very friendly and helpful group of ladies..."So good to know! Friendliness makes all the difference. :)
Which scene in airs above the ground? I think I know which one you're thinking of, (it was particularly memorable) I haven't read This Rough Magic yet, is it as suspenseful as Wildfire at Midnight?
The scene involves a horse, (view spoiler).I thought TRM was very suspenseful. It was my first by Mary Stewart. I love how she works animals into her books. TRM has a dolphin.
Then I must read it! Thankfully my library has it. I was thinking of another moonlight scene, but the one you thought of is beautiful, one of my favorites. :)
The dolphin from This Rough Magic is one of my favorite parts of that book!
Hannah wrote: "The dolphin from This Rough Magic is one of my favorite parts of that book!"Me too!
Diane Lynn wrote: "Hannah wrote: "The dolphin from This Rough Magic is one of my favorite parts of that book!"Me too!"
Same here
HI, everyone,I've been a Mary Stewart fan since I was 16 and first read The Crystal Cave. I then dug up every book I could find. While CC is very different than her other books, the magic runs through all of them. Her descriptions are incredible. Touch Not the Cat was one of my favourites. I recently re-read Crystal Cave after many, many years and found it as beautifully written as I had remembered it.
Welcome Cryssa! I haven't read CC but I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)
Tweety wrote: "Welcome Cryssa! I haven't read CC but I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)"Thanks, Tweety. I can't recommend it enough.
Welcome to the group, Cryssa. We did a buddy-read of The Crystal Cave in January, and I hope we'll read the other two of the trilogy at some point this year.
Jeannette wrote: "Welcome to the group, Cryssa. We did a buddy-read of The Crystal Cave in January, and I hope we'll read the other two of the trilogy at some point this year."I'll look forward to it.
Cryssa wrote: "Tweety wrote: "Welcome Cryssa! I haven't read CC but I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)"Thanks, Tweety. I can't recommend it enough."
That is good!
I have been a Mary Stewart fan since I was a teenager also. I just discovered this group from a post over in the Georgette Heyer group. The Crystal Cave is wonderful. Have you read its sequel the Hollow Hills? There is also a third book, the Last Enchantment written years later which I enjoyed but not as much as the first two. I think the word magic runs strongly in all of her books, her descriptions are wonderful.
Helen wrote: "I have been a Mary Stewart fan since I was a teenager also. I just discovered this group from a post over in the Georgette Heyer group. The Crystal Cave is wonderful. Have you read its sequel th..."Hi, Helen, I found the tone in the Last Enchantment full of loss and death but given the stage of Merlin's life, it worked for me. But I agree, really enjoyed the first and second more. If you haven't already read it, check out Wicked Day.
Misfit wrote: "I guess you could call the buddy reads a group read. Not an official Group Read, but more whoever wants to join in and read along. The threads from previous buddy reads are still there, so anyone c..."That's helpful to know! I'm having so much fun re-reading Mary Stewart after so many years. I just finished This Rough Magic and loved it so much--especially the dolphin. I think I am going to go for The Crystal Cave next since I'm on a historical fiction kick. I'll look forward to following along on the Buddy Reads (better late than never).
Hi, everyone! I'm new here :) Just joined actually (thanks, Jeannette!).Sadly (or happily, whichever way you want to look at it), I am just now reading my first Mary Stewart book, Rose Cottage - hope to check out the discussion going on about it soon.
I also picked up Thornyhold and already foresee myself making it a mission to read all of Mary Stewart's books - I feel like I've been missing out!
Beth wrote: "Hi, everyone! I'm new here :) Just joined actually (thanks, Jeannette!)."Welcome, Beth! If you're new to Mary Stewart, you're in for a treat. We debate here about our favorite MS books, but they're all (well, almost all) very good.
Hi Beth! I'm glad I saw your updates via Maria's "likes" in my feeds. This is the final "official" group buddy read, but watch this thread for future reads:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
There are plans for several more buddy reads/re-reads.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
There are plans for several more buddy reads/re-reads.
Tadiana wrote: "Beth wrote: "Hi, everyone! I'm new here :) Just joined actually (thanks, Jeannette!)."Welcome, Beth! If you're new to Mary Stewart, you're in for a treat. We debate here about our favorite MS boo..."
Yes, completely new! I grew up reading Dorothy Eden, Victoria Holt, and company, so I feel like I should have been reading Mary Stewart too. No matter, it's a lovely discovery all the same :) Do you have a favorite?
Hana wrote: "I'm looking forward to reading Rose Cottage with you all once my library copy arrives."
It's a lovely story, Hana! I hope you get your copy soon.
It's a lovely story, Hana! I hope you get your copy soon.
Beth wrote: "Do you have a favorite? "Haha! I get to be the first to indoctrinate Beth about the best MS books! Nine Coaches Waiting, for certain, with This Rough Magic and Madam, Will You Talk? not far behind. I also love The Moon-Spinners.
Hi Beth! I like Dorothy Eden and most of Victoria Holt's books (she does have a dog or two out there). Welcome.
Tadiana wrote: "Beth wrote: "Do you have a favorite? "
Haha! I get to be the first to indoctrinate Beth about the best MS books! Nine Coaches Waiting, for certain, with This Rough Magic and Madam, Will You Talk? ..."
I agree with you on 9 Coaches Waiting, and Madam Will You Talk! The other two are not so high on my list. ;)
Haha! I get to be the first to indoctrinate Beth about the best MS books! Nine Coaches Waiting, for certain, with This Rough Magic and Madam, Will You Talk? ..."
I agree with you on 9 Coaches Waiting, and Madam Will You Talk! The other two are not so high on my list. ;)
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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Hannah can answer about the cottage books, those are going to be new to me, starting with Thornyhold this weekend.