Madam, want to talk about author Mary Stewart? discussion

Discussion for chapters 1 thru 4. Please comment on anything from these chapters, but remember to hide spoilers within a spoiler tag. Please note which chapter a spoiler is from so other readers will know if it is safe to "peek" or not. You do not have to wait until reading all of the chapters to comment, but please restrict your posts to content from chapters 1 thru 4. Enjoy!

Note: I am dividing the read into 5 sections, each 4 chapters long. I may adjust as we go, so check the chapter numbers for each section! :)

Thanks for getting the threads started.

I am happy to do so, and always hope that you don't mind! :) I'm looking forward to the read.

I'm just beginning chapter 3 and I love the descriptive prose already!

Jeannette wrote: "I'm just beginning chapter 3 and I love the descriptive prose already!"

I agree....the lemon trees, the graceful egret, the rocks and the sea....so poetic. Enjoying the first three chapters very much.

End of chapter 4, the stage is set. A place of ancient and menacing beauty, set amidst rocky crags, and shining water; a youth in peril, and the first stirrings of (view spoiler)[insta-love! "For no reason, except that it seemed the thing to do, I kissed his hair very lightly, and settled myself down to sleep." (hide spoiler)]

Here is a picture of the bay at Agios Georgios

Very nice.

Asphodels in western Crete

I hope I found the right pictures. If anyone knows the area, let me know.

Very nice pictures. I like!

After 4 chapters I must say Mary Stewart has wasted no time. She has set up the scene and the suspense right out of the gate. I am really liking these characters. You are correct in your spoiler Jeannette!

Thanks for the pics!

Diane Lynn wrote: "After 4 chapters I must say Mary Stewart has wasted no time. She has set up the scene and the suspense right out of the gate. I am really liking these characters. You are correct in your spoiler Je..."

That was a rather touching scene, wasn't it, Diane?

I'm glad everyone likes the pics. I couldn't find quite the correct Cretan garb, with bobbles, that Lambis describes.

Jeannette wrote: "That was a rather touching scene, wasn't it"

It was, the way (view spoiler)[ she cared for him and the concern she showed after having just met him and then the way he responded (hide spoiler)]. Seems very sweet.

I hope (view spoiler)[it's more than just maternal instinct. (hide spoiler)]

I wouldn't think so, she's too young for that and he's very close to her age.

He has been (view spoiler)[on his own for quite a while, being the man of the family, and all, but I am sure she is attracted to him for other reasons, too. I wonder how those two will get together with him being in hiding? (hide spoiler)]

Thanks for the pics Jeannette--my laptop screen died so I'm currently computer-less most of the time.

Linda wrote: "Thanks for the pics Jeannette--my laptop screen died so I'm currently computer-less most of the time."

You always have books!

I'm still in Chapter 3, so I'll skip looking at everyone's spoilers just yet. But a few thoughts so far:

* When Nicola goes after the white egret at the beginning of the book, was anyone else reminded of Alice and the White Rabbit? Pretty classic way to get the story going. :)

* Mary Stewart loves setting her books in countries other than her native England -- and particularly loves hillsides and cliffs as part of the setting -- doesn't she? (I say this from having read only three of her books: Nine Coaches Waiting, Wildfire at Midnight, and now the beginning of this one.) She must be one well-traveled lady to write of all these places so descriptively.

* Here again, like in Nine Coaches Waiting, we have a heroine who (view spoiler)[is fluent in the language of the foreign country but pretends not to know it, so that she understands others' conversations without their awareness (hide spoiler)].

* And on a similar note, all of these stories take place in a country other than the heroine's native land (with a slight difference in NCW being that (view spoiler)[Linda was back in her homeland of many years before and was passing as a foreigner). (hide spoiler)]

I was thinking the same thing last night, that mountains and cliffs are typically are part of her settings, as are bodies of water (usually a sea, or the ocean). She must have loved the water and the hills of her native Northumbria.

The Ivy Tree is set in England, and it involves a character returning home to her native land.

I didn't immediately think of Alice, as there are many fairy tales where the hero does follow a white stag, or some other magical creature into the forest, never to be seen again. But, the analogy to Alice falling down the rabbit hole is a good one, too.

I recently watched that interview with MS that Hannah posted and I recall MS saying she liked to recreate the places she had visited (places she had loved based either on their natural beauty or their history) as her settings. She would sometimes use a setting years after she had been there. What better way for her to recall her fond memories of the places she loved than to make them a setting for one of her books. Thereby sharing her love with all of us. So far in this book, the landscape has certainly played a big part and I expect it to continue to do so. I wonder if the water might also enter in like it did in This Rough Magic.

The interview is here in case anyone missed it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBm_ky...

Thank you all so much for the link to the Mary Stewart interview! What a pleasure it was to hear in her own words her thought-processes for creating her books. I found it very interesting that she had wanted to be an artist -- she certainly did use the gift of her words to recreate settings and create an atmosphere of suspense. A true artist!

Diane Lynn wrote: "It was, the way [spoilers removed]. Seems very sweet."

I loved the part in Chapter 3 where (view spoiler)[Lambis told Nicola she should just forget about him and Mark and go on to the hotel -- where she has a comfortable bed and will be safe -- and she replies, "And how well do you think I'll sleep then?" Her sense of responsibility to help these two strangers (at risk to herself) and not just leave them to fend for themselves is noble and touching (hide spoiler)].

It establishes her character right away. She's very compassionate.

This was the first MS I read. I was on a family vacation in Bermuda and had run out of books, and my mother found it at a bookstore for me in pb (she had a.ready read it). At 11 I did not appreciate Stewart's stage-setting skill but found Nicola a fun and engaging heroine (back then some adult heroines seemed ancient - no more). Still, rereading it a few years later when I was more mature was like discovering a completely different book with a vivid setting. And every place MS describes is instantly a place I want to visit. My brother has worked at an embassy like Nicola, and before he had kids also traveled as much as possible on weekends. Even a bad post has redeeming qualities if one can travel someplace better within reasonable time.

CLM wrote: "This was the first MS I read. I was on a family vacation in Bermuda and had run out of books, and my mother found it at a bookstore for me in pb (she had a.ready read it). At 11 I did not appreciat..."

Isn't it funny how our perspective of age (and what's old) changes? Nicola is around 20, which seems young to me now, but she strikes me as pretty grown up and worldly (worldly in that she works for an embassy overseas, and grown up in the way she relates to people).

Nicola is 22 and does seem very grown up, working at the embassy and going off on her own in the wilds of Crete.

I can't remember if I read this before I went to Crete for the first time, or after, but it is so atmospheric and true to the quieter parts of Crete. I first went there almost 30 years ago now, and even then one had to avoid the north to find the quiet places. I think even the south-west is busier now. But the stillness in the heat of the day, and the smell of the herbs, is very accurate. I haven't been early enough in the year to see the wonderful flowers MS describes.

It's interesting to have a younger hero, with Mark only a couple of years older than Nicola. I think I'm right in saying that he's the youngest hero we've gad so far?

One might be a little surprised at how well she copes with the situation, but then she did get herself to the embassy in Athens and has been exploring the country on her own at weekends.

Yes, I do believe Mark is the youngest hero I've encountered, if you don't count Philippe.

How many times have to been to Crete, Hj?

Three or four times. I loved it! But I have to agree with Mary Stewart/Nicola that Greek food isn't great, especially if (like me) you're not keen on salad or feta cheese. The first time I was in Greece I had lovely lamb souvlaki (not sure about the spelling) which was small chunks of meat on a skewer beautifully grilled over an open fire, but I couldn't ever get it again. I do remember the best orange juice ever, freshly squeezed, in Rethymnon in Crete, and Greek yoghurt with honey.

We used to go on the local buses and when you got to a village the ladies who had rooms to let would meet the bus. You had to choose the right lady because it was no good if you didn't like her place - the other ladies would be gone when you got back to the village square! I don't know if it's still like that anywhere now - I know that there's been a huge amount of tourism with some areas quite built up and developed.

What a funny story about the ladies! Most people get to see the room first; it must be hard to judge by the look and friendliness of the lady. ;)

It's wonderful to have food memories of a place. They are almost impossible to duplicate. We had the best chocolate gelato in Rome, and thin crust pizza they cut with scissors. In Germany we had home-made egg-grog at the B&B we stayed at. So nice on a cold night.

Loving it so far! Have to agree with everyone's comments on the prose and beautiful descriptions MS uses in her novels. Thanks for sharing pics...they are just as beautiful as described.

@ Hj That lamb souvlaki sounds great. I still remember eating some, in Montreal of all places, that was wonderful. I don't remember anything else I ate on that trip nor the name of the restaurant (it was 30 years ago), but I remember that souvlaki also grilled over an open fire.
I wonder if the bus you rode was anything like the one at the beginning of the movie The Moon-Spinners.

@ Jeannette What is in egg-grog? Sounds nice on a cold night. Wait, was it really cold, wasn't it summer?

It was November, and we were on the North Sea. Eiergrog is made by whipping egg yolks and sugar into hot rum. It's an art! If I tried to make it, it would come out as scrambled eggs, I'm sure. It's a specialty of the region, and it was the only time we sat down with our hosts.

It sounds good, is it a thick drink? Like a milkshake is thick?

No, it's just frothy, because the beaten egg yolks are thinned with hot rum. I think what I liked most about it, is that they made it for us, right there in their home.

This book makes me want to visit Greece. This is my first MS and I am very impressed so far. I was immediately drawn into the story and into what is happening with Mark and Nicola. One of my big beefs with writers is when they set up impossible situations to begin a story. I really liked this beginning and could picturing it happening in my mind (a very good sign for me).

The descriptions by MS are lovely and thank you for the pictures Jeanette!

You're welcome, Michelle! Vivid descriptions of place are one of the thing's Stewart does best. I'm really glad you are enjoying this read.

MichelleCH wrote: "This book makes me want to visit Greece. This is my first MS and I am very impressed so far. I was immediately drawn into the story and into what is happening with Mark and Nicola. One of my big be..."

She's the best :)

I read the first chapter this morning, and, since I've read it before, I took my time enjoying it instead of gulping it down. The way the scene is set in that chapter is absolutely gorgeous, and although I've never been to Crete I can see it and smell it. Lovely!

Oh, and the pictures that were posted above from the buddy read a couple of years ago fit right in with what I see in my mind's eye.

I finished the first chapter this morning also. I'm pretty sure I have never read this one. Love that very first paragraph, and the way Nicola feels at the end of the chapter; that sense of being right where the Universe wants her to be is very powerful.

I get that every so often down here. I can be out walking somewhere through farm fields, and suddenly magic wraps itself around me: THIS is MEXICO!! I know exactly how Nicola is feeling and I can't wait to see what happens next!

I don't have time to start this book until this evening, but your comments have made me itchy to start! I'm going to go to my downstairs bookshelf and fetch it up here right now. :) And just maybe read the first page, or five ...

The White Mountains of Crete (page 1):

Tadiana ✩ Night Owl☽ wrote: "I don't have time to start this book until this evening, but your comments have made me itchy to start! I'm going to go to my downstairs bookshelf and fetch it up here right now. :) And just maybe ..."

I like the cover you have. Hadn't seen that one before.

This one?


That's funny, I actually liked the old retro picture on the cover of my 1960's edition better:


But I found this new set of 4 MS books in a used bookstore last year and bought it. I sent Debbie Z. my old copy of this book. :)

Mary Stewart wrote such beautiful descriptions and created atmosphere so impeccably. Moonspinners was my first MS - read in 1963 when I was 14 and I still love it even though I can see some wrinkles now! I think she sets the scene to perfection and creates the characters with light brushstrokes. I remember my first visit to Crete 30 odd years ago and how I looked to find scenes I recognised in and around Elounda and absolutely loving it. Greek people are phenomenally hospitable and MS totally conveys this. Love it!

Tadiana ✩ Night Owl☽ wrote: "This one?


That's funny, I actually liked the old retro picture on the cover of my 1960's edition better:


But I found this new set of 4 MS books in a used bookstore last year and bought it. I s..."

Yeah, the gal in red. I do not recall seeing that around. MS does get some good vintage covers.