Madam, want to talk about author Mary Stewart? discussion

This is not one of my favorite Mary Stewart books, as far as mystery/suspense goes, but I loved the lovely descriptions of Austria and the amazing Lipizzan stallions.

I do plan on reading this, but another friend of mine from Amazon wasn't too fond of it either.

It's my least favorite Stewart.

I have a soft spot for this one, I think it was one of the first one of hers I read and I have been fond of it ever since - reminds me more of some thrillers I read from the library when I was in my teens, they were set in Portugal, and I can't for the life of me think of the author!

There were a lot of things I really liked about this book. The verbal exchange between Vanessa and her 17 year old traveling companion was charming and the scene where she and old Piebald were alone in the field and the circus music began...really heart warming. Learning about the Lippizzan stallions training and their background was very entertaining.

I guess the only thing that bothered me was the over-long tedious chase that took place. I was exhausted reading through it, but maybe that was what Mary intended. I guess I just wanted the book to continue on at a slow easy pace and learn more about Austria, the horses and the traveling circus.

I don't know which books you are referring to, Carol, but maybe someone who comes on here will know.

I like Airs Above the Ground, although my favorites are Madam Will You Talk, This Rough Magic, Nine Coaches Waiting, and The Moonspinners.

Carol, perhaps you are thinking of The Winding Stair by Jane Aiken Hodge? I love her books, and several were set in Portugal. About 15 years ago I came across a beautiful book of Portuguese tiles and sent it to her with a fan letter, and got a lovely response which I treasure.

I've always liked Airs above the ground as well. But then, despite living in city (or maybe because of it), I've always enjoyed books about horses.

I really appreciated the book even more after I saw the Lippizzaner Stallions when they were on tour. They performed one show in my city and it was amazing. I went home and reread Airs the next day. After seeing the stallions in person it made the performance of the old horse so much more real and meaningful to the story because I understood more what the moves looked like.

CLM - it is funny you should mention Jane Aiken Hodge writing books about Portugal. When I was younger I was a big fan of her sister Joan Aiken who has written a series of YA books set in Spain. I wonder if the two of them lived on the Iberian peninsula at one time.

Have remembered the author I mentioned above - it's Ann Bridge and the particular books I was thinking of were The Episode at Toledo and THE PORTUGUESE ESCAPE. They were written in the 50s and I read them in the 70s as a teenager, not sure how they would read if I read them again now.

Oh, lucky you, Laura. I would love to see a live performance. I remember seeing them in a televised version years ago and can imagine how more breath-taking it would be in person.

Glad you remembered your author, Carol :)

Pat wrote: "Oh, lucky you, Laura. I would love to see a live performance. I remember seeing them in a televised version years ago and can imagine how more breath-taking it would be in person.

Glad you re..."

Oh, I'd love to see them. Moonspinners and Nine Coaches are still my favorite but I haven't finished them all yet. Keep getting side-tracked.

I have the Jane Aikens Hodge book mentioned somewhere. That will be my first.

Carol wrote: "Have remembered the author I mentioned above - it's Ann Bridge and the particular books I was thinking of were The Episode at Toledo and THE PORTUGUESE ESCAPE

I've read and loved Peking Picnicand Illyrian Spring by Ann Bridge. But I think they're a very different type of book from those you mention; the author biog on GR says she wrote "novels which take as the background of their protagonists' emotional lives a serious investigation of modern historical developments", which is what the ones I read are like, and also "thrillers centred on a female amateur detective", which sound more like yours.

I love this one for the lyrical descriptions of the horses, it is really as much a horse story as anything.

This is probably the reason I love this book, having first read it as a horse-crazy teenager. :)

Louise wrote: "I love this one for the lyrical descriptions of the horses, it is really as much a horse story as anything."

does this happen to anyone else? when someone posts a new comment on a thread I have read, then ALL the posts on that thread show up as new.

sorry for the off topic!

Jackie wrote: "does this happen to anyone else? when someone posts a new comment on a thread I have read, then ALL the posts on that thread show up as new."

I"ve seen a lot of odd things on GR, but not that particular odd thing!

What Tadiana said!

Hi everyone! I really like Airs above the Ground because of the beautiful descriptions of the Austrian landscape. But I am here this morning because there was an article in the newspaper about a dissertation about Lipizzaners. It sounds really interesting, but it is in German. Here is the link to the dissertation:
https://d-nb.info/1256091588/34
It tells how the Lipizzaners were saved after World War II.

Wish I could read German! I believe my riding instructor, Egon Mertz, may have had some involvement with that effort. Thanks for posting, Katinka.

Wow, Katinka, this is fantastic! I've had a look, and what do you know, apart from a stunning frontispiece of Neapolitano Nima doing a Levade, the thesis includes a three-page summary in English (p. 80, scroll down). Egon Mertz is not mentioned, though, Abigail.

Thank you for checking, Elizabeth! I know his brother was one of the trainers and he had a Lipizzaner who failed out of the school. He was an old man when I knew him in the 1960s, and his family had worked with them for generations.

i love Airs above the Ground. Always wanted to see the Lipizzaners irl, would be a dream come true. then theres the scene where Lewis shows up in her hotel room, it always delighted me, esp when he got caught out