[Catlady]

Originally Posted by issybird

And yet, perversely, I liked the book for the portrayal of Lady de Winter, with her cunning and her refusal to accept the limitations of her position, both in particular and as a woman. She extricated herself from that convent, even from the hangman, and lived a large and powerful life. She was awesome. Events caught up with her, but so they did with Buckingham, as a real-life example. She still did very well by her time, when lives were short and brutish.

Yeah, I know we're supposed to find her evil, but I doubt the modern reader does.

This is a book that seems to need a female-centric retelling--especially Milady's story. Suppose the story she tells Felton is largely true. Suppose she's being persecuted not for anything evil she's done, but merely because she's fought back against cruel and stupid men. Why can't she be the heroine? Why can't there be a version of the story where she triumphs?

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

Yes, she is condemned to death by the vigilantes mostly on suspicion of misdeeds rather than because of any clear evidence. The only exception I think is her killing of Constance, and that was pure vindictiveness, so harder to forgive.

Originally Posted by issybird

She didn't have much choice when it came to Constance, in order to save her own skin. If Constance hadn't swooned at the critical moment (those women and their fainting fits!), Milady would have hauled her along. And as you pointed out somewhere upthread, Bookpossum, Constance did have to be killed off. It was hard to see her as moral when she was a married woman.

I think the main reason Constance had to be killed off was not that she was married (it would've been easy enough to have her husband conk out), but to show one clear crime that could be attributed to Milady and thereby justify her execution. We have only secondhand reports of her perfidy otherwise, I think.

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

I actually listened to David Clarke's excellent Librivox version. Don't be fooled by his first few sentences. His French accent and voices are great.

Thanks--I'll try that one when I'm fully recovered from The Three Musketeers!