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Bless This House
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Bless This House
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Hi Marianne, we 'met' at another site when you asked the question about Merravey's original site. How nice that you are here too, you will love it. I posted your question on Allreaders Norah Lofts board too.
PS, go to the neverending quiz while you are here too, lots of NL questions





Janice




http://www.stokepogesparishcouncil.go...

When I picture Merravay, I always see it in the shape of an E, which I believe was Jon's plan for the house in honor of Queen Elizabeth.

( I have a , I think, Pan pb of LAU with the most awful cover , two attenuated creatures, apparently in a gale - well must be two gales as his cloak is blowing one way and her mass of scarlet hair and indescribable green garment the other. ...)


Chris Brown.

Could either of the women be Lady Alice? Pity no clothes to give us a hint!





I could not be one of those adventurers who travel the world looking for haunted castles and other spots, but aren't there whole clubs of them?

AND the enigmatic "6 people" cover to your Isis pb of BTH. I think as below, but could be dead wrong.
I agree with you that the man on the far left is Tom Rowhedge, (if portrayed a touch old, as we are told he died " untimely, gored by a bull" ) But I think the be-hatted person next to him is not a woman, but is Jon Borage himself; it looks like a rather effete youth to me, such as I imagine Jon to have been . The man next to him, ie the third from the left is a Cavalier/Restoration type don't you think? So maybe Charles ( Lady Alice's son) looking rather drawn and harassed, as well he might when you consider how the battles were going ! Next to him in wig and cravat, maybe Mr Roger the early slave abolitionist whom Luke Fulger killed...? The woman with the ringletted hair I'm more unsure of. Could it be Luella with whom Luke was in love ? Or maybe Olivia Sandell, the daughter of the awful Mr Sandell the Indian nabob. I'm sure the portrait on the far right is him.
The house looks beautiful just as I imagined it.
Below is my Flickr photostream, I have added the picture to it, I do hope the link works. (and that I haven't violated any copyright law!) I also added a copy of my Corgi pb cover , pretty obviously Tom and Elizabeth don't you think?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26017829...

I also have to admit that even though I've read this book at least 3 times, I have everybody confused after the first part. You're probably spot on, Barbara, but Robert might be right, too. Isis may have told the artist to paint characters from this, this, and this time period, and none of them represent anybody! LOL


" Jon is the deeply sympathetic foundational character whose sad story permeates Merravay through time"
I think that is lovely succinct observation don't you ? Thank you John, hope it was OK to copy your words here .
Merravey is one of my very favourites though I say that a lot about NL......

" Jon is the deeply sympathetic foundational character whose sad story permeates Merravay through time"
I think that is lovely succinct observa..."
Thank you, Barabra, delighted you found it accurate and appreciate you saying so. It is wonderful to connect to others who appreciate NL after so many years of re-reading BTH and the Old Vine Triliolgy, her absolute best works I think. There has been something for me in these at every period in my life and she taught me something important to my work as an historian: nothing in the past is ever fully known by us in the present---we may think we know what happened or why but we only have part of the story.
John
When queen Elizabeth gives Thomas Rowhedge the Merravay estate it is where there is a ruin of a castle that "hasnt been inhabited since Norfolk went to the tower", they then build the Merravay house.
Gran is convinced that she read a book about the castle when it WAS inhabited - ie a prequel to Bless This House. Does anyone know what it might be called?
Im so pleased to find so many other people who appreciate this fantastic author!