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Mary Stewart

annis
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Post by annis » Fri July 29th, 2011, 7:10 am

I loved MS's Arthurian books when I was younger, but never got really excited about her romantic suspenses. I do remember seeing a movie version of Moonspinners many years ago which I was quite taken with --

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Misfit
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Location: Seattle, WA

Post by Misfit » Fri July 29th, 2011, 9:58 am

[quote=""annis""]I loved MS's Arthurian books when I was younger, but never got really excited about her romantic suspenses. I do remember seeing a movie version of Moonspinners many years ago which I was quite taken with --[/quote]

One word of advice, don't watch that movie after reading the book. Just don't. :o :) ;)
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be

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Michy
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Post by Michy » Mon August 1st, 2011, 6:50 pm

I haven't read that many of Mary Stewart's books, but of those I have I like The Gabriel Hounds the best so far. It felt the least dated to me (the cigarette smoking notwithstanding), and I loved the dialogue and chemistry between Charles and Christy.

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Manda Scott
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Good reminder - thank you

Post by Manda Scott » Tue August 2nd, 2011, 3:16 pm

Gosh... why didn't I think of starting this thread? When I was young, one of my claims to (very distant) fame was that the old lady in the village where I grew up, who owned the barn in which we released the young barn owls... had been at University in her youth with Mary Stewart.

Her Arthurian series, particularly The Crystal Caves and The Hollow Hills, taught me how to write magic so that it feels real. I lived in awe of her and in hope of finding a real, live crystal cave. Those of you who have read "Dreaming the Bull" might recognise it in the cave where Valerius meets Mithras. And of course, my entire spiritual base, the foundation of my relationship with that god, stems from these books.

I still think Rosemary Sutcliffe's 'A Sword at Sunset' is the best Arthurian book ever written, (she does magic well too) but these are as close to second as it's possible to get.

thanks for starting the thread, and for reminding me.

m
*******************************

Bestselling author of
Boudica: Dreaming. INTO THE FIRE out in June 2015: Forget what you thought you knew, this changes everything.

[url=http:www.mandascott.co.uk]http:www.mandascott.co.uk[/url]

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Leyland
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Post by Leyland » Thu August 4th, 2011, 2:50 pm

[quote=""Ludmilla""]
Has anyone read her children's books? I never saw those in my local library, so never had a chance to read them.[/quote]

I finally read Walk in Wolf Wood a few weeks ago and totally loved it. That it sat in my TBR for several years was just wrong! Definitely worth a read by any Stewart fan, though it is geared toward tweens and early teens I would think.
We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams ~ Arthur O'Shaughnessy, Ode

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Misfit
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Post by Misfit » Thu October 27th, 2011, 12:29 am

At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be

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MLE (Emily Cotton)
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Interest in HF: started in childhood with the classics, which, IMHO are HF even if they were contemporary when written.
Favourite HF book: Prince of Foxes, by Samuel Shellabarger
Preferred HF: Currently prefer 1600 and earlier, but I'll read anything that keeps me turning the page.
Location: California Bay Area

Post by MLE (Emily Cotton) » Thu October 27th, 2011, 12:58 am

Thanks for posting! That was fascinating.

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Misfit
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Post by Misfit » Sat November 16th, 2013, 2:30 pm

Reviving an old thread today. Some of us are read in The Gabriel Hounds over at goodreads, and one one of our goals was to solve a bit of a mystery about the book. I used to cross post my reviews to Amazon UK, and I was constantly getting smacked with comments that the MCs were first cousins, not second as stated in my review. I think it was mentioned somewhere on this board that the US edition was slightly altered, since cousin loving isn't quite so common on this side of the pond. One of our buddy readers has a UK edition, so we were able to compare the two.

Answer to the mystery at this thread, I'll have to copy the two quotes later when I'm at the desk top. UK edition - their fathers were identical twins. US = second cousins.
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be

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Misfit
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Post by Misfit » Thu May 15th, 2014, 7:27 pm

R.I.P. and thanks for so many wonderful stories.
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be

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Madeleine
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Currently reading: "Mania" by L J Ross
Preferred HF: Plantagenets, Victorian, crime, dual time-frame
Location: Essex/London

Post by Madeleine » Fri May 16th, 2014, 8:30 am

Very sad, that's a lovely obituary and she lived to a wonderful age. Sad that she couldn't have children but she had a very full life, and it's nice that she saw her books recently re-issued for new readers to enjoy.
Currently reading "Mania" by L J Ross

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