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The Spell of Mary Stewart: The Ivy Tree/This Rough Magic/Wildfire at Midnight
Omnibus edition containing The Ivy Tree; This Rough Magic; Wildfire at Midnight)
701 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1964
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217 people want to read
About the author
Mary Stewart
92 books2,896 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Lady Mary Stewart, born Mary Florence Elinor Rainbow, was a popular English novelist, and taught at the school of John Norquay elementary for 30 to 35 years.
She was one of the most widely read fiction writers of our time. The author of twenty novels, a volume of poetry, and three books for young readers, she was admired for both her contemporary stories of romantic suspense and her historical novels. Born in England, she lived for many years in Scotland, spending time between Edinburgh and the West Highlands.
Her unofficial fan site can be found at http://marystewartnovels.blogspot.com/.
Lady Mary Stewart, born Mary Florence Elinor Rainbow, was a popular English novelist, and taught at the school of John Norquay elementary for 30 to 35 years.
She was one of the most widely read fiction writers of our time. The author of twenty novels, a volume of poetry, and three books for young readers, she was admired for both her contemporary stories of romantic suspense and her historical novels. Born in England, she lived for many years in Scotland, spending time between Edinburgh and the West Highlands.
Her unofficial fan site can be found at http://marystewartnovels.blogspot.com/.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 19, 2022
The Spell of Mary Stewart is a volume of three separate novels by Mary Stewart. The first is one of my favorite repeat reads, This Rough Magic. The second is The Ivy Tree, a book I read once in a while (and after this reading probably won’t again maybe ever) and the last is Wildfire at Midnight. This is the earliest published novel: 1956. The other two are 1960s novels. Despite that, the books can still be enjoyed as contemporary romantic mystery/thrillers. Stewart is an excellent writer and sets the scene thoroughly for each novel. The characters are relatable and fairly well-developed and the mysteries (for the most part) still hold up.
In This Rough Magic, Lucy is a young English actress who decides to take a break from her not-going-so-great career to join her sister, Phyllida, on the Greek island of Corfu. Phyllida married into a wealthy Italian banking family and has gone to the family home on the island for the Easter holiday break to rest while pregnant with her third child. The Forlis own three homes on the island and the other two are rented out: one to a photographer, one to a classical pianist and his mysterious (yet famous) father, Sir Julian Gale, the stage actor. Not long after Lucy arrives, a local boy, Spiro, drowns at sea. A few days after this, a body washes up on the beach; not Spiro, but local fisherman. Lucy accidently gets drawn into a murderous plot and has to use all her acting techniques to keep the murderer from guessing that she knows what he’s done.
That’s a crap summary, but it’s really such a good book. The Greek setting is wonderfully described and I can picture the beach and the countryside every time I read the book. The plot of the book is tied up with the Shakespearean play The Tempest; the story isn’t a rewrite of the play, but the play is discussed throughout the novel by Lucy and Sir Julian. The characters are very compelling and I like Lucy. She’s just your average person but is very brave and does what she has to to save her friends and family. The pace clips along fairly quickly and the suspense is good. This book is one of my favorite comfort reads; I’ll often pick it up and just read specific scenes from it (usually the end) because it’s just so damn good. The romance is subtle without any of that romance novel, fluttering eyelashes and heart melting nonsense. It’s a wonderful world to revisit because justice is handed out in the end, and it’s a very Shakespearean justice as well.
The Ivy Tree is more problematic for me. It’s been a while since I’ve reread the whole novel and I can see why it’s not one of my favorites, even though it has a very interesting twist. Mary Grey has decided to move to England from Canada and is spending a lovely afternoon in Northumberland, enjoying the view near Hadrian’s Wall, when she is accosted by an Irishman. He’s calling her Annabel and yelling at her angrily. Mary is very frightened, especially when she can see that he is very close to physically attacking her. She finally manages to get him to understand that she doesn’t know him. The Irishman eventually calms down and introduces himself as Connor Winslow, the cousin of Annabel—the person he mistook her for. They eventually part ways, but Mary is soon visited by Con’s half-sister, Lisa. They want Mary to come back to Whitescar with them and pretend to be Annabel, the missing (and presumed dead) heiress to the Whitescar property and money. Con wants the inheritance for himself, but is worried that Annabel’s grandfather will leave it to Julie, another cousin, because he sees Con (as an Irishman and only distantly related) as an “outsider.” The scheme is to trick Annabel’s grandfather into believing that Mary is Annabel, and when he dies and leaves everything to her, she will sign the property and money over to Con (after getting a healthy slice for herself). It’s a pretty repulsive scheme, particularly as Mary sees fairly on that Con will stop at nothing, including murder, to get what he wants. Mary eventually agrees, but the scheme is complicated by Annabel’s past romance with a (then) married man who returns to the area. Mary has to decide how far she will go along with Con’s plans, particularly if they include killing off anyone who gets in his way.
I disliked this one a good bit. One, the author goes way overboard on the descriptions. Everything is described in intricate detail and it gets exhausting wading through all the words and slows down the plot. Also, this being a 1960s novel, everyone smokes a lot. It’s distracting. I keep thinking how bad their clothes and breath must smell. Mary herself is annoying as hell. She keeps having these emotional scenes and keeps excusing Con’s behavior and covering up for him. She also describes herself as being a “silly woman” or says things like, “well, it’s a woman’s reason, which may not be reasonable at all” and that type of “women are emotional irrational creatures” nonsense irritates me. Granted, this is a 1960s novel, but Lucy of This Rough Magic didn’t think of herself as silly. This book is also full of emotional scenes between characters—it’s a lot of hashing and rehashing of past feelings, romances, jealousies—it’s exhausting as well. Since I’ve read this novel before, I know the twist and I can see how cleverly Stewart wrote Mary’s dialogue so that it can have different meanings. And while the twist is interesting, it makes Mary look even worse: The two characters I liked the most in the book are actually Julie, who is a bit flighty, and her boyfriend, Donald. Donald is actually the best character in the book. He’s interesting and likes cats. There’s a very convenient end to the book but that’s okay. If you like good twists, you may enjoy this one.
In Wildfire at Midnight, Gianetta Brooke is a divorced twentysomething English model. After an exhausting schedule of modeling, she decides to escape London ahead of the chaos of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Her parents recommend she go to the Isle of Skye, a remote island off the northwestern coast of Scotland. However, her plans to relax and enjoy the company of her fellow hotel guests is shattered by the unexpected appearance of her ex-husband, the writer Nicholas Drury. Adding to Gianetta’s discomfort is the tense atmosphere in the hotel due to a recent murder of a local girl. The crime is still unsolved—and the hotel guests are suspects. Looming above the human anxieties is the surrounding jagged mountain range called the Cuillen. It has its own moods and mysterious legends—and some of the guests are more in tune to the old legends than they let on. When two hikers disappear, Gianetta worries that she knows the murderer…intimately.
This is a typical Mary Stewart novel in that the prose is elegant and the descriptions of the physical surroundings are stunning. I did a certain amount of Googling while reading this book to view pictures of the Cuillen mountain range and Isle of Skye (looks amazing). I also wanted to learn how to pronounce the Scottish place names used throughout the book. The setting on the Isle of Skye is present in almost every scene and I’d say often overpowers the story itself, which is relatively simple. However, Stewart muddies the waters by bringing in lots of emotional turmoil and unresolved feelings between Gianetta and her ex, Nicholas. The romance is rather slight and you wonder why the hell Gianetta is even still in love with him—because, c’mon, she is—as he really comes off as an arrogant asshole. He’s nasty almost every time he speaks to her which wouldn’t make my heart go pitter patter, but I guess maybe it’s a 1950s thing? So Nicholas is kind of a wash as a romantic lead and Gianetta (I love her name even if it gives her more drama than she actually has) isn’t all that exciting as well. She does help the police at an important part in the story, but in the end she unfortunately succumbs to the poor helpless scared female syndrome. Sigh.
All in all, this isn’t one of Mary Stewart’s best novels. I’d say Madam, Will You Talk?, Nine Coaches Waiting, The Moon-Spinners, and This Rough Magic are the best—the last two being the ones I reread the most often. However, Wildfire at Midnight has a fantastic setting (who doesn’t love Scotland?) and the plot zips along quickly, if only sometimes bogged down by the extensive descriptions of the fantastic setting. If you are new to Mary Stewart, this is a worthy introduction.
In This Rough Magic, Lucy is a young English actress who decides to take a break from her not-going-so-great career to join her sister, Phyllida, on the Greek island of Corfu. Phyllida married into a wealthy Italian banking family and has gone to the family home on the island for the Easter holiday break to rest while pregnant with her third child. The Forlis own three homes on the island and the other two are rented out: one to a photographer, one to a classical pianist and his mysterious (yet famous) father, Sir Julian Gale, the stage actor. Not long after Lucy arrives, a local boy, Spiro, drowns at sea. A few days after this, a body washes up on the beach; not Spiro, but local fisherman. Lucy accidently gets drawn into a murderous plot and has to use all her acting techniques to keep the murderer from guessing that she knows what he’s done.
That’s a crap summary, but it’s really such a good book. The Greek setting is wonderfully described and I can picture the beach and the countryside every time I read the book. The plot of the book is tied up with the Shakespearean play The Tempest; the story isn’t a rewrite of the play, but the play is discussed throughout the novel by Lucy and Sir Julian. The characters are very compelling and I like Lucy. She’s just your average person but is very brave and does what she has to to save her friends and family. The pace clips along fairly quickly and the suspense is good. This book is one of my favorite comfort reads; I’ll often pick it up and just read specific scenes from it (usually the end) because it’s just so damn good. The romance is subtle without any of that romance novel, fluttering eyelashes and heart melting nonsense. It’s a wonderful world to revisit because justice is handed out in the end, and it’s a very Shakespearean justice as well.
The Ivy Tree is more problematic for me. It’s been a while since I’ve reread the whole novel and I can see why it’s not one of my favorites, even though it has a very interesting twist. Mary Grey has decided to move to England from Canada and is spending a lovely afternoon in Northumberland, enjoying the view near Hadrian’s Wall, when she is accosted by an Irishman. He’s calling her Annabel and yelling at her angrily. Mary is very frightened, especially when she can see that he is very close to physically attacking her. She finally manages to get him to understand that she doesn’t know him. The Irishman eventually calms down and introduces himself as Connor Winslow, the cousin of Annabel—the person he mistook her for. They eventually part ways, but Mary is soon visited by Con’s half-sister, Lisa. They want Mary to come back to Whitescar with them and pretend to be Annabel, the missing (and presumed dead) heiress to the Whitescar property and money. Con wants the inheritance for himself, but is worried that Annabel’s grandfather will leave it to Julie, another cousin, because he sees Con (as an Irishman and only distantly related) as an “outsider.” The scheme is to trick Annabel’s grandfather into believing that Mary is Annabel, and when he dies and leaves everything to her, she will sign the property and money over to Con (after getting a healthy slice for herself). It’s a pretty repulsive scheme, particularly as Mary sees fairly on that Con will stop at nothing, including murder, to get what he wants. Mary eventually agrees, but the scheme is complicated by Annabel’s past romance with a (then) married man who returns to the area. Mary has to decide how far she will go along with Con’s plans, particularly if they include killing off anyone who gets in his way.
I disliked this one a good bit. One, the author goes way overboard on the descriptions. Everything is described in intricate detail and it gets exhausting wading through all the words and slows down the plot. Also, this being a 1960s novel, everyone smokes a lot. It’s distracting. I keep thinking how bad their clothes and breath must smell. Mary herself is annoying as hell. She keeps having these emotional scenes and keeps excusing Con’s behavior and covering up for him. She also describes herself as being a “silly woman” or says things like, “well, it’s a woman’s reason, which may not be reasonable at all” and that type of “women are emotional irrational creatures” nonsense irritates me. Granted, this is a 1960s novel, but Lucy of This Rough Magic didn’t think of herself as silly. This book is also full of emotional scenes between characters—it’s a lot of hashing and rehashing of past feelings, romances, jealousies—it’s exhausting as well. Since I’ve read this novel before, I know the twist and I can see how cleverly Stewart wrote Mary’s dialogue so that it can have different meanings. And while the twist is interesting, it makes Mary look even worse: The two characters I liked the most in the book are actually Julie, who is a bit flighty, and her boyfriend, Donald. Donald is actually the best character in the book. He’s interesting and likes cats. There’s a very convenient end to the book but that’s okay. If you like good twists, you may enjoy this one.
In Wildfire at Midnight, Gianetta Brooke is a divorced twentysomething English model. After an exhausting schedule of modeling, she decides to escape London ahead of the chaos of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Her parents recommend she go to the Isle of Skye, a remote island off the northwestern coast of Scotland. However, her plans to relax and enjoy the company of her fellow hotel guests is shattered by the unexpected appearance of her ex-husband, the writer Nicholas Drury. Adding to Gianetta’s discomfort is the tense atmosphere in the hotel due to a recent murder of a local girl. The crime is still unsolved—and the hotel guests are suspects. Looming above the human anxieties is the surrounding jagged mountain range called the Cuillen. It has its own moods and mysterious legends—and some of the guests are more in tune to the old legends than they let on. When two hikers disappear, Gianetta worries that she knows the murderer…intimately.
This is a typical Mary Stewart novel in that the prose is elegant and the descriptions of the physical surroundings are stunning. I did a certain amount of Googling while reading this book to view pictures of the Cuillen mountain range and Isle of Skye (looks amazing). I also wanted to learn how to pronounce the Scottish place names used throughout the book. The setting on the Isle of Skye is present in almost every scene and I’d say often overpowers the story itself, which is relatively simple. However, Stewart muddies the waters by bringing in lots of emotional turmoil and unresolved feelings between Gianetta and her ex, Nicholas. The romance is rather slight and you wonder why the hell Gianetta is even still in love with him—because, c’mon, she is—as he really comes off as an arrogant asshole. He’s nasty almost every time he speaks to her which wouldn’t make my heart go pitter patter, but I guess maybe it’s a 1950s thing? So Nicholas is kind of a wash as a romantic lead and Gianetta (I love her name even if it gives her more drama than she actually has) isn’t all that exciting as well. She does help the police at an important part in the story, but in the end she unfortunately succumbs to the poor helpless scared female syndrome. Sigh.
All in all, this isn’t one of Mary Stewart’s best novels. I’d say Madam, Will You Talk?, Nine Coaches Waiting, The Moon-Spinners, and This Rough Magic are the best—the last two being the ones I reread the most often. However, Wildfire at Midnight has a fantastic setting (who doesn’t love Scotland?) and the plot zips along quickly, if only sometimes bogged down by the extensive descriptions of the fantastic setting. If you are new to Mary Stewart, this is a worthy introduction.
March 19, 2018
The Ivy Tree - 4 stars
I find Mary Stewart's books rather quick to read, as well as comforting pieces of escapism, which balance wonderfully with heavier thesis-applicable tomes. The Ivy Tree was the next of these on my to-read shelves, and I was pulled in immediately. The plot here is markedly interesting, and manifests itself well; it is perhaps my favourite from what I have read of her work to date. Partly, this is because the story - whilst largely unlikely - deviated in some ways from what I have come to expect of her an author, and added a couple of surprises into the mix. The pace here is marvellous, and The Ivy Tree is definitely a page-turner.
This Rough Magic - 4 stars
The Corfu setting of Mary Stewart's This Rough Magic is strongly evoked, and from the first page the narrative voice which she has crafted feels authentic. The entire novel is well plotted, immediately absorbing, and skilfully written. I found the fact that the entire story weaves around The Tempest rather clever and effective. Culturally, This Rough Magic is rich and interesting, and I found it rather difficult to put down once I had reached the halfway point. A great and entertaining novel, if rather melodramatic at times!
Wildfire at Midnight - 3 stars
I did not find Mary Stewart's Wildfire at Midnight immediately gripping, as I often do with her novels, but the story did improve somewhat. However, I found the occurrences of the plot rather convenient, so much so at times that it was rendered quite unbelievable. The sense of place was not as well built as I was expecting, and nor were the characters, but it was a relatively quick read that kept me mildly entertained whilst waiting for a flight.
I find Mary Stewart's books rather quick to read, as well as comforting pieces of escapism, which balance wonderfully with heavier thesis-applicable tomes. The Ivy Tree was the next of these on my to-read shelves, and I was pulled in immediately. The plot here is markedly interesting, and manifests itself well; it is perhaps my favourite from what I have read of her work to date. Partly, this is because the story - whilst largely unlikely - deviated in some ways from what I have come to expect of her an author, and added a couple of surprises into the mix. The pace here is marvellous, and The Ivy Tree is definitely a page-turner.
This Rough Magic - 4 stars
The Corfu setting of Mary Stewart's This Rough Magic is strongly evoked, and from the first page the narrative voice which she has crafted feels authentic. The entire novel is well plotted, immediately absorbing, and skilfully written. I found the fact that the entire story weaves around The Tempest rather clever and effective. Culturally, This Rough Magic is rich and interesting, and I found it rather difficult to put down once I had reached the halfway point. A great and entertaining novel, if rather melodramatic at times!
Wildfire at Midnight - 3 stars
I did not find Mary Stewart's Wildfire at Midnight immediately gripping, as I often do with her novels, but the story did improve somewhat. However, I found the occurrences of the plot rather convenient, so much so at times that it was rendered quite unbelievable. The sense of place was not as well built as I was expecting, and nor were the characters, but it was a relatively quick read that kept me mildly entertained whilst waiting for a flight.
April 8, 2015
The spells of Mary Stewart are very engaging!
The second story with Annabel & Adam Forest is by far my favorite among the three! I never expected mary to actually be Annabel & actually live Adam and actually knew how to ride Rowan, who ended up saving her life!
I've always been one who preferred old writing compared to the new. There is so much more detail and emotion and metaphor. All the characters are interesting and I found myself rooting for every couple I knew would get together- but had to be a fan girl about it anyway. My favorite part of each and every one of these novels is not only the gruesome and twisted murdering plots, but also the heroines. They are strong, courageous, intelligent, and independent. Every quality I find myself wanting to be! <3
The second story with Annabel & Adam Forest is by far my favorite among the three! I never expected mary to actually be Annabel & actually live Adam and actually knew how to ride Rowan, who ended up saving her life!
I've always been one who preferred old writing compared to the new. There is so much more detail and emotion and metaphor. All the characters are interesting and I found myself rooting for every couple I knew would get together- but had to be a fan girl about it anyway. My favorite part of each and every one of these novels is not only the gruesome and twisted murdering plots, but also the heroines. They are strong, courageous, intelligent, and independent. Every quality I find myself wanting to be! <3
September 25, 2012
"The Ivy Tree" is my second favorite of Mary Stewart's books (Thornyhold is number one), and I like the others, too.
October 3, 2023
This book contains three unabridged novels by Mary Stewart: Wildfire at Midnight, This Rough Magic, and The Ivy Tree. I don’t usually like reading from omnibus editions, but I bought it for the dust wrapper art, didn’t I. 😉
I have posted more in depth reviews of each of these books under their individual titles, which you can find under my recent reads or click the link for each book.
Wildfire at Midnight 4⭐️
Gianetta Brooke needs a holiday, somewhere quite to recharge from her hectic modelling career and get over her painful divorce from writer Nicholas Drury. She goes to the Isle of Skye in the Scottish Hebrides. But when her ex appears followed by a few dead bodies, Gianetta gets the feeling she would have been better off staying in London. The setting gets 5⭐️, but aspects of the romance in this one felt dated and detracted from my overall enjoyment.
This Rough Magic 4.5⭐️
Set on the Greek island of Corfu, this is a captivating read with an enchanting hero. Lucy Waring makes friends with a dolphin, gets shot at, and two local men die in quick succession. Are the drownings coincidence or is there something more sinister afoot? Thrilling read, but dragged a touch in places.
The Ivy Tree 5⭐️
On a June afternoon in Northumbria by Hadrian’s Wall a case of mistaken identity is turned to advantage. My favourite Mary Stewart thus far. She just keeps ratcheting up the tension in this one until all you can do is clutch the book and read faster and faster until you get to the end.
I have posted more in depth reviews of each of these books under their individual titles, which you can find under my recent reads or click the link for each book.
Wildfire at Midnight 4⭐️
Gianetta Brooke needs a holiday, somewhere quite to recharge from her hectic modelling career and get over her painful divorce from writer Nicholas Drury. She goes to the Isle of Skye in the Scottish Hebrides. But when her ex appears followed by a few dead bodies, Gianetta gets the feeling she would have been better off staying in London. The setting gets 5⭐️, but aspects of the romance in this one felt dated and detracted from my overall enjoyment.
This Rough Magic 4.5⭐️
Set on the Greek island of Corfu, this is a captivating read with an enchanting hero. Lucy Waring makes friends with a dolphin, gets shot at, and two local men die in quick succession. Are the drownings coincidence or is there something more sinister afoot? Thrilling read, but dragged a touch in places.
The Ivy Tree 5⭐️
On a June afternoon in Northumbria by Hadrian’s Wall a case of mistaken identity is turned to advantage. My favourite Mary Stewart thus far. She just keeps ratcheting up the tension in this one until all you can do is clutch the book and read faster and faster until you get to the end.
June 17, 2018
Loved this omnibus. Mary Stewart really does weave a spell.
December 18, 2025
3 stars for this rough magic. other two stories are dull.
July 4, 2021
Enjoyed re-reading, though Ivy Tree is still the best (Persuasion principle). The prodigal daughter-come-home story includes the outwitting of evil (at great cost), restoration of romance, and a sideways affirmation that character is greater than pride or wealth. Rather a poor understanding of the importance of the Two Summary Commandments though.
Wildfire at Midnight: Still loathe Nicholas & think Gianetta gave in to his high-handed ways far too easily. A long spell of trust-building would be far better than to give in to the arrogant adulterous wretch. Plus Gianetta's brand of helpless femininity just grates on the nerves; Mary/ Annabel has far more brains and spunk.
Any Shakespeare fan will enjoy This Rough Magic! The main character has enough fire to retain interest, and Max is a nice gloomy recreation of Mr. Rochester. Re-reading it again (7/3/2021).
Wildfire at Midnight: Still loathe Nicholas & think Gianetta gave in to his high-handed ways far too easily. A long spell of trust-building would be far better than to give in to the arrogant adulterous wretch. Plus Gianetta's brand of helpless femininity just grates on the nerves; Mary/ Annabel has far more brains and spunk.
Any Shakespeare fan will enjoy This Rough Magic! The main character has enough fire to retain interest, and Max is a nice gloomy recreation of Mr. Rochester. Re-reading it again (7/3/2021).
May 30, 2010
I'm a big Mary Stewart fan, but I felt that the three books compiled in this volume were not her best. The last one was probably the best of the three. The three books this volume contains are This Rough Magic, The Ivy Tree, and Wildfire at Midnight.
August 15, 2014
I cannot say enough good things about Mary Stewart. She's my absolute favorite author. I have read every.single.one of her books and was never disappointed. A little adventure, a little suspense and a little romance all go a long way.
October 22, 2009
Easy reading without too much thought involved. I enjoy mysteries. This is a copyright 1968...discard book from the library. Currently reading.
Read
January 20, 2018Collection of 3 stories by Mary Stewart, This Rough Magic - a little slow to get through, but an interesting story. The Ivy tree - has a good plot twist and held my interest a bit more. Wildfire at midnight - interesting story, but the ending was anti-climatix and not really how i would have liked it to go..
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews