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Simon (Highwayman)
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Jul 01, 2012 02:32AM
http://www.amazon.co.uk/To-Grave-Gene...
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I loved this book. It was particularly good for me as, living in Leicestershire during the week, I recognised a lot of the locations. Mind you, I'd have enjoyed it anyway.
It was really more about the people than the places, although it's always a bit exciting to think, 'I've been there!' I enjoyed the way we, through the flashback scenes, knew more than Jefferson Tayte at times and we watched him catch up. I thought that was particularly clever.
I thought that was clever! I cried buckets for Danny's letter to Mena.... She never knew that he was willing to be with her and bring up the baby as his :-(
That letter will haunt me forever. I wept as well.I always smell oranges when I think of this book...
Yes, burying that letter got even the hard Ignite by the throat. It could have been made awfully schmaltzy but it was carefully, tastefully and movingly done (and I'm NOT his mum!)
I thought many times that this story was just too sad. I wanted more for Mena and thought readers would too, but my research certainly reminded me that life doesn't always come with a happy ending. In the end I thought it would be okay if Tayte felt the same way as I did and no doubt as many readers did, and we saw some glimmer of happiness towards the end of her life, which lifted it a little. I still get emotional when I think of Mena and what could have been. Mena is a character I really got to know and care for myself - perhaps more than I know JT yet, but that's not a bad thing as hopefully we still have many books to go before his story is told.
I was really happy that we learnt a little more about JT's origins. Is that sneaky peek going anywhere any time soon? ;)
That's a good question mum - sorry, I mean Ignite of course. ;o)Well, I always figured that when Tayte finds out who he is and why his mother had to abandon him that the JT mysteries would be at an end. Not knowing is the thing that drives him to do what he does and to try to be good at it. So in many ways I feel that getting to his story would effectively be killing him off and I don't want to do that just yet. Something very big and is going to happen in the next book though that will take JT closer to the answers he's looking for, although the next story isn't going to be about that, but there will be lots of Tayte in the next one and some other developments I think you'll like. I was thinking about a six book series so I plan to add a little more about Tayte each time and then the last book or two will be all about his own story. That's the plan at present, subject to change. :o)
The Letter did it for me too, I wonder who really suffered for the rest of their lives in similar circumstances? You couldn't help but become fond of Mena, she was so very real, with real feelings & real reactions, we all knew a Mena when we were young.I also enjoyed seeing a bit more of JT, he is the right person in the right job. I really loved the WW2 chapters & was tranported to the dance with Mena, I could even hear Glen Millers wonderful music.
STEVE, wash your mouth out, six books is just not enough.
Don't worry Anita. That's just for the first series. :o)I loved that dance at DeMontfort Hall too. Loved writing it. I really felt like I was there. I was really into the wartime era while I wrote it. To stay in that timeframe I wrote all of the wartime narrative in one go, rather than jumping in and out from Mena to JT. It was a better way to do it I think. I'd play swing and big band music to get me 'in the mood' too. Excuse the pun. I loved that song, "I know why".
Have a listen. The singing starts just over a minute in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0o2rr...
Makes me tingle all over again as I picture Mena enchanted as she was by the lady in the silver dress just before Danny appears. Ahh, I'm back there now. Who wants a dance, lol?
Here you go. Get it playing in the background and read a bit of the scene over again... She turned back to the stage and quickly lost herself again as the tempo shed a hundred beats and 'I Know Why' began to play. A moment later a woman in a long silver gown came onto the stage for the vocal and was met with warm applause. She had an unlit cigarette poised between her fingers. So glamorous, Mena thought, and as soon as the woman began to sing, Mena wanted to be her; wanted to look like her and to sing like her; wanted to travel the world with a big swing band and never look back. The woman seemed to look right at Mena. Perhaps it was that bold emerald dress that drew her eye, or because she was standing by herself. Either way, Mena felt as if she were singing just for her.
“Why do robins sing in December?” she began. “Long before the spring-time is due. And even though it’s snowing, violets are growing. I know why and so do you...”
The woman turned away and Mena willed her to come back. But another voice suddenly demanded her attention, breaking the spell.
“Excuse me, ma’am.”
You've got the touch Steve.I've been having a long, slow think about your 'origins of JT' thing. You said you felt that he would no longer be driven in the job if he knew his own origins (or something to that effect). I, on reflection, think he (and we) might be of the opinion that because he knows what drives the seekers, he can put himself in their place and feel the thrill of discovery, likening it to his own. Have I made that clear? You're the writer, not me!
Maybe that's series 2 eh? ;)
Ignite wrote: "You've got the touch Steve.I've been having a long, slow think about your 'origins of JT' thing. You said you felt that he would no longer be driven in the job if he knew his own origins (or something to that effect). I, on reflection, think he (and we) might be of the opinion that because he knows what drives the seekers, he can put himself in their place and feel the thrill of discovery, likening it to his own.."
There is always something more to discover - I'm sure he would want to go further back, discover grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, great grandparents and more distant relatives. I've been actively researching my family for something like 14 or 15 years now, & I've still got no further back than great grandparents on one branch, but have found & contacted distant cousins in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, America - (& Yorkshire ;) ) Only this week I've found out some more about an uncle of my dad's and last year got a load of photos and newspaper cuttings from another recently found distant cousin.
Just to add...
Saying I've only reached great-grandparents on one branch - that is one line that I am stuck on & can't get further back. I have got further back on several other branches & have ancestors from Scotland, Wiltshire, Somerset, Gloucestershire, Yorkshire and Lancashire; as well as family members who lived at some time in Wales, London, Cornwall, Northumberland, Cumbria,Warwickshire........
Ignite wrote: "You've got the touch Steve.I've been having a long, slow think about your 'origins of JT' thing. You said you felt that he would no longer be driven in the job if he knew his own origins (or som..."
I think he does put himself in their place now, and knowing how they must feel (certainly Eliza Gray) makes him want to help if he can. I'm not sure whether that would ever really leave him now after he's been doing what he does for so many years, but I think it's also the need to fill the void inside him - to find his own answers - that drives him to be good at what he does. I see it a bit like he's always trying to prove he's good enough to himself. He's helping others, but deep down I'm not sure he's doing it for them and I wonder whether, if he did ever find his own answers and fill the void inside him, would he lose the drive he needs to be so good at what he does? I honestly don't know yet. it could be catastrophic for him on some level. I think I'm still finding things out about JT and I'm guessing at things like this along with the readers. I don't really know what he'll do about anything until I'm there in any given situation with him. We're very much on this journey together, my friend JT and me. :o)
Ooh, Janet! You've got me thinking now... If JT does ever find his own family, of course he would want to go back and research all his ancestors. I could write a whole series on the skeletons he might find in his own ancestral closet. You've set me thinking along another line now too, but I'll keep that to myself for now. :o))I think I'm going to have to look after myself so I can keep writing well into my dotage if I'm ever going to finish Tayte's story.
Janet, if you don't mind me asking, how did your distant cousins react to be contacted out of the blue?
Steve wrote: "Janet, if you don't mind me asking, how did your distant cousins react to be contacted out of the blue?"Some contacted me having seen questions I'd put on a genealogy website (possibly Curious Fox or Roots Web)
I contacted my dad's cousin because of finding their details on ancestry, so they were researching the family themselves.
I could tell you some stories about my ancestors!!!
Not really 'out of the blue' then. I was just imagining what that would be like. Different for pretty much everyone I suppose.
My Dad(deceased) had an elder sister who emigrated to America before he was born and the family had no contact with her,one day her son turned up on our doorstep having tracked him down through an Irish branch of the family.Dad was shocked and emotional about the whole situation. I think because this sister was the eldest of 8 others and Dad actually had nephews almost the same age as he was he didn't think this sister's absence from his life meant as much as it ultimately did. When he found out she was dead he was quite devastated and then kept revisiting the fact that now he would never meet her.
Philip (sarah) wrote: "My Dad(deceased) had an elder sister who emigrated to America before he was born and the family had no contact with her,one day her son turned up on our doorstep having tracked him down through an ..."Aw Sarah, that is really very sad!
My Great Grandad doesn't have a father on his birth cert and his mother disappears off all records (no death record even for her). It look alike he was bought up by his Grandparents and his grandfather is on his Marriage cert as his father. I would love to know what happened there. We think his father may have been another staff member in the house she worked in or indeed the Lord of the Manor. There is a whole line of my family (My Nan included) who go by the Mothers Maiden name!! If the father had been named they would have a whole other surname!
My Great-grandad was a foundling. Story ends there. It's amazing wondering who you might be related to.
No wonder there are so many genealogists out there and that it's growing in popularity. I expect my maternal g-grandfather is dead by now. My mum says she'd like to find out more if she can, but I think her fear of the unknown - of what she might find - is holding her back. Some heartache, that's for sure.
Steve wrote: "Here you go. Get it playing in the background and read a bit of the scene over again... She turned back to the stage and quickly lost herself again as the tempo shed a hundred beats and 'I Know ..."
Sigh.........................,
thank you Steve, enjoyed that very much.
My pleasure Anita. I enjoyed revisiting it myself. :o)
As I was sorting the house here, I found a bit of paper I've carrying around for years...The name and address of one of my father's first cousins. No idea if she's still alive.
I'm reticent about making contact as it really would be out of the blue.
Any groupites from Tottenham, we may be related!
Sorry that I am late to this discussion - I don't have time to go online much lately.
I absolutely loved this book and enjoyed it even more than Steve's first book. I meant to re-read it for the group discussions but didn't get round to it. However, on just one reading there are still lots of scenes and impressions which I strongly remember - shows how much impact the book had on me! I was totally lost in the story. I was happy to be one of the band of proof readers - but by the end of the tale I forgot all about checking for mistakes! Got so caught up in the story - don't think I'd make a living out of proof reading then!
Mena's tale is certainly haunting. I'm glad that she found a little happiness at the end. I was so angry at her family - her mother was awful and as for her sister..! Once she found out that Mena had been raped, why didn't she rescue her from that place instead of just leaving her there? Especially as she had killed Mena's love!! What motivated Margaret? It certainly couldn't have been love for Mena otherwise she wouldn't have left her to rot in that institution. I can see where some of the ruthlessness of her decendents came from.
I only found out recently that such institutions existed and they are a terrible blot in our history.
The style of Steve's writing is also of a very high calibre. At times it is beautiful and he certainly knows how to spin a gripping yarn!
You're created a band of demanding followers now, Steve - we'll be holding our breath for the next JT adventure now!!
;0)
I absolutely loved this book and enjoyed it even more than Steve's first book. I meant to re-read it for the group discussions but didn't get round to it. However, on just one reading there are still lots of scenes and impressions which I strongly remember - shows how much impact the book had on me! I was totally lost in the story. I was happy to be one of the band of proof readers - but by the end of the tale I forgot all about checking for mistakes! Got so caught up in the story - don't think I'd make a living out of proof reading then!
Mena's tale is certainly haunting. I'm glad that she found a little happiness at the end. I was so angry at her family - her mother was awful and as for her sister..! Once she found out that Mena had been raped, why didn't she rescue her from that place instead of just leaving her there? Especially as she had killed Mena's love!! What motivated Margaret? It certainly couldn't have been love for Mena otherwise she wouldn't have left her to rot in that institution. I can see where some of the ruthlessness of her decendents came from.
I only found out recently that such institutions existed and they are a terrible blot in our history.
The style of Steve's writing is also of a very high calibre. At times it is beautiful and he certainly knows how to spin a gripping yarn!
You're created a band of demanding followers now, Steve - we'll be holding our breath for the next JT adventure now!!
;0)
