Fans of Norah Lofts discussion
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Books For Potential Group Discussion Archived 2019
Sylvia - I have them all ( well, Brittle is supposedly "in the mail" so I could do any you choose.
Thanks, all, for responding. I have the impression that most of you are happy with a discussion of "The Brittle Glass." After a consultation with the moderators, we will set a beginning date, giving some of you time to order or borrow the book. I am waiting for a large print copy myself (from Abe Books).I made a mess of my former account when I re-registered under my new email. I should have made the change on the old acct. page, so if you notice that this new read was introduced by "deleted member" it is just me after deleting that new account. Many thanks to Werner for his advice in how to get back into my niche!
Great! Let us know as soon as you set the date. My Brittle should be here by the end of the week.
Yay likewise . Anytime is OK by me.
Glad I could help, Sylvia, and glad you've got your account back to normal!
Oh Joy! Oh Rapture! Two, count 'em 2 books by NL that I haven't read just arrived! (bound in one volume) Sorry folks, I will have to go ahead and read them, but I promise not to tell any spoilers.
A plethora of riches for Karyl! My Brittle has STILL not arrived! Waiting...waiting.......
Brittle Glass arrived today. I'm ready to begin when the group is.
STILL waiting for mine................
Sallie's book has arrived! I think most of us have copies in hand, so let's begin on Saturday, Nov. 1st!I have a very yellowed, barely holding together paperback of The Brittle Glass, if anyone wants it.
Just a 2015 HELLO! Well, we've discussed The Brittle Glass and then had a long rest. I found a major mistake I made on this thread back on message 286, and because of an email glitch I made, I can't correct it there. I said that "Here Was a Man" was NL's first book, but that is WRONG! Her first book was "I Met a Gypsy" which we have discussed. It was copyrighted in 1935, and "Here Was a Man" in 1936. It is about Sir Walter Raleigh, and we have not discussed it yet. There are several early titles we have not yet discussed from the 1930s and 1940s. Interesting reading ahead for us!
I just ordered "Here Was a Man" from an Amazon affiliate.
HELLO right back to you, Sylvia! :-) Back in messages 288 and 292, we'd broached the idea of reading Here Was a Man in March, when we'd possibly be reading it concurrently with the Fans of British Writers group (which does its annual common read in March). However, the poll in that group for picking the book is still up (it runs until Feb. 16), and at the moment Here Was a Man is running slightly behind another book, The Dark Horse by Rumer Godden.
Not a NL book BUT a must read! Fantastic murder mystery story - "The Girl on the Train" Paula Hawkins (I think) Schedule a big chunk of time because you won't be able to put it down.
The results are in from the Fans of British Writers group's poll, and The Dark Horse did edge out Here Was a Man. So, I'll be taking part in that read starting at the beginning of March. However, if it doesn't take more than a couple of weeks to read, and this group does read Here Was a Man in March, I might be able to join in during the latter part of the month (depending on how thick that book is; I'd need something I could finish by around April 1).
"The Dark Horse by Rumer Godden"? I didn't know there WAS such a book! Can you tell us more, Werner?
Like many of her novels, MaryC, The Dark Horse (1981) is set in British India, where Godden (1907-1998) was raised. (Actually, the part where she grew up is now in Bangladesh.) She wrote some 60 books (both fiction and nonfiction), and was well-regarded as a writer in her lifetime (and since). This particular novel is, I believe, set in Calcutta, and features both nuns (Godden was an adult convert to Roman Catholicism), and organized horse racing.
We have discussed doing a group read of "Here Was a Man," which was NL's 2nd published book (1936). Is there still any interest in this read? We've taken a long break, and I, for one, am anxious to discuss any of her titles. We do not have a thread or discussion on this early book, which is the life of Sir Walter Raleigh. Is anyone interested in leading this discussion? Please weigh in!
I'd be interested in discussing Here Was a Man, even if I can't find my copy to read along.
I can't find mine either and I KNOW I have one. I keep all my Norah's in one place. The gremlins have absconded with them, MaryC?
We have a copy of Here Was a Man at the library where I work; but my reading schedule is pretty well blocked out with definite or possible commitments until December.
hello, everyone - just joined the group after following a link from the Georgette Heyer group. I haven't read any Norah Lofts so far and am eager to start. looks like you are still discussing what and when to group read next???
does anyone have a recommendation where I should start?
thanks!
Jackie :-)
Welcome! Might start with the Town House trilogy. The Town House, the House at Old Vine The House at Sunset. So many good ones it's hard to pick. Enjoy.
Jackie, Bless This House is very good and there seem to be several copies available on used book sites or even used bookstores. Jassy would be good too.
Welcome from me, too, Jackie, and I agree with Sallie and Peggie that Bless This House or the Town House Trilogy are definitive NL reads. The book under consideration for a group read (Here Was a Man) is not, IMO, her best historical fiction, but hopefully a group read might give us some insights into NL's progress as an amazing writer.Werner, I had a feeling you would be overbooked by now, but maybe you could add some historical info. I read a shocker today, that when Walter Raleigh was beheaded, the head was embalmed, and his wife kept it in a bag, close to her, all her days (29 more years)!
Sylvia, even if the read isn't scheduled at a time when I can take part, I'll be glad to throw in any historical information I can for the discussion. Of course, I'm no expert on Raleigh or the Elizabethan era!I had no idea that Raleigh's widow embalmed his head and kept it in a bag! That goes to prove the adage that truth is very often stranger than fiction.
Have we ever discussed The Concubine?
Sallie, we had a brief one of 14 posts begun in 2010. Find it by going to the top of this page, clicking on "Discussions" and you will get a lis of topics. Way down the list you will find "Norah Lofts Royals" and under that the sub-heading "The Concubine." Comments may still be added to it.Werner, the site I was reading said that it was common in Eliz. Times to embalm a beheaded head, inferring maybe that beheadings were common.
I've been watching documentaries about Queen Elizabeth I, and it seems to be a common theory that she may have been a man, or even part male, part female, and is possibly why she never married and wore those ruffles around the neck. I wish the British could take a sample of her DNA, as they did with Richard I, and prove or disprove that point. That truth might be stranger than fiction, Werner!
Hmmm! A problem with TV "documentaries," on the History Channel and similar venues, is that they have a marked preference for sensationalism over facts. I've never encountered the theory that Elizabeth I was a man or a hermaphrodite, but it's the type of thing that I could see some of these shows devoting an episode to.Elizabeth's father, when she was born, was desperate for a legitimate male heir. I could imagine him trying to pass the girl off as a boy; it's impossible to imagine anybody in these circumstances trying to pass a boy off as a girl. The adult Elizabeth wore ruffles around her neck because that was the fashion; and her disinterest in marrying is much more plausibly explained as due to a reluctance to share or yield power to a husband in a patriarchal society. There's no actual evidence of any genital abnormality (and as an infant, her genitals would have been seen by a LOT of diaper-changing servants.)
Oh yes, The Concubine!! We only have 14 posts on the other thread you mentioned, Syb, and we've gained a lot of new members who mentioned this being one of their favorite books. What about The Concubine for the next group read? (not meaning to ignore the posts you and Werner are sharing about Queen Elizabeth - my little contribution is that since Henry was so desperate for a male heir, there would be no way he would even consider trying to pass a male off as a female.)
I am game to discuss any NL title, Pegs. It's been years since I read The Concubine, so it will be like new for me.Werner, the documentary I watched on Eliz. I was by the BBC. I always thought they were highly respected, but I'm sure they like to "dig up some dirt" whenever possible! They brought up several possibilities re: Eliz. being a male. A doctor made a statement to the effect that babies with the condition they named are formed like a girl, but the genitals change at puberty. Mention was made that in some of her portraits she looks masculine. One town near London has held up a theory all these years that Eliz. was staying at her father's hunting lodge in the village, fell ill and died, and the caregivers, to save their heads, replaced her with a male playmate - very hard to swallow, I admit. I think she remained an unmarried virgin because of her love for her childhood friend, Robert Dudley. Sorry for that tirade!
Thanks for the Draper site, Pegs.
Sylvia, nothing to apologize for; everything you shared is interesting! The BBC program you saw apparently drew heavily on the book The King's Deception, by Steve Berry, which advocates the "male imposter" theory. An Internet article that rebuts that theory can be found here: http://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/tha... . (Some of the points the writer makes would also refute other "man in drag" scenarios.) Berry's book, of course, is fiction, so (like The Da Vinci Code) it isn't a good idea to take it too seriously. :-)
As for History Channel programs, just keep in mind that this is the channel that airs MANY programs based on the idea that visiting ET's are responsible for many of our early civilizations.
MaryC wrote: "As for History Channel programs, just keep in mind that this is the channel that airs MANY programs based on the idea that visiting ET's are responsible for many of our early civilizations."Good point, MaryC! Sylvia, you're right that the BBC has a much better reputation overall for accuracy.
I see that there is a Kindle version of "Here Was a Man". If you do a group read I would like to try and keep up. Do you think you will do it on that book? Oh, I guess it doesn't matter if I know ahead of time since I can get it in an instant. I have read "The Concubine" but would enjoy reading it again. It's been ages. The only problem I have with NL's fiction about real people is that I view it as non-fiction. Whenever she writes about someone then to me that is how that person was. No matter what other people write, I can only believe in the NL version. Does that make sense at all?By the by, id NL write a book about Mary Magdalene?
Sylvia wrote, "I think [Queen Elizabeth I] remained an unmarried virgin because of her love for her childhood friend, Robert Dudley." Probably part of the reason, at least! I've read that she said that either she would "marry with" Robert Dudley or she would "marry with" no one. She also seems to have said that there was no man she could marry, because an Englishman would be a subject, and a foreigner would be an enemy. And Elizabeth Jenkins, in Elizabeth the Great, suggests that her father's marital history, particularly with her mother and her cousin, made her associate marriage with violent death. Enough to make a "maiden lady" of any woman!
Cassie wrote, "Whenever [NL] writes about someone [historical] then to me that is how that person was. No matter what other people write, I can only believe in the NL version. Does that make sense at all?" Cassie, that makes eminent sense to me!
As for an NL novel about Mary Magdalene, if only! Wouldn't that have been great?
She wrote Esther-could that be what you're thinking of, Cassie? Her characters/personalities are so well defined I can see them as they truly might have been, so real. NL did detailed research on her living characters so it's easy to picture them as she describes.
To Werner (post 334) - Thanks for the Buzzfeed article which expertly refuted the substituted boy for a dead princess theory!Cassie, I'm getting the impression that there might be more interest in doing a group read of The Concubine, as Peggy suggested in another thread.
Would love to do the Concubine, too. Hever is the best castle in England.
That works for me. I could read that again.The book I read was definitely about Mary Magdalene but must be by a different author.
It was 'The Galileans' by Frank Slaughter.
Cassie, I read that ages ago! (Don't you think NL would have given her story a better spin?) Have you also read Slaughter's Song of Ruth?
I'd participate in a read of either of the two books mentioned: The Concubine or Here Was a Man.
Maybe this is a good time to take a vote for the next group read. Will all participating members weigh in now, and post your preference for "Here Was a Man" OR "The Concubine" OR make your vote EITHER (as Donna did). If you don't have either book, you can probably order a used copy from Amazon, Alibris, Better World Books, etc for just a couple of dollars or pounds and have it in about a week or 10 days.
Does August 8 sound like a good starting date? Please vote on that, too - Too Soon, Too Late, Just Right.
Is anybody interested in leading the discussion? Thanks!
My vote is for Here Was a Man (because I have convenient access to a copy). And for me personally, Aug. 8 is too soon. But don't base much on my votes! Go with whatever options work best for the group as a whole; I'll take part if it works out for me, or sit this one out, as I sometimes do, if it doesn't.
59 minutes on my Kindle copy of Here Was. 10 bucks. Haven't read Concubine in ages so that's good, too. Either fine -whatever the group decides.
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Fans of Norah Lofts
Books mentioned in this topic
Here Was a Man (other topics)Here Was a Man (other topics)
A Rose for Virtue (other topics)
Crown of Aloes (other topics)
Crown of Aloes (other topics)
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The Brittle Glass
Requiem for Idols
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