RIP Mary Stewart

[BenG]

I read the Merlin Trilogy in high school. The fourth book hadn't been published then. Also The Moon-spinners, because of the movie.

Did she write Jamaica Inn, or was that someone else?

[dandelioncottage]

Daphne du Maurier wrote Jamaica Inn, as well as Rebecca--another of my favorites.

Originally Posted by BenG

Did she write Jamaica Inn, or was that someone else?

[badgoodDeb]

Well Gosh! There goes one of my all time favorite authors! I adored the Merlin series; even the fourth (which not everyone cared for). And her mystery romances. Sigh. Great stuff!

[xstitchfan]

Originally Posted by Catlady

So now all three great romantic suspense authors--Victoria Holt, Phyllis A. Whitney, and Mary Stewart--are gone. R.I.P.

Hi all, My mother instilled my love of reading. While I was growing up, Mom and I went to the library every Saturday morning. Mom loved mysteries and I can see our 2 piles of library books on the living room end table. Mom adored Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt and Phyllis Whitney. The librarians would let Mom know when any of their new books were arriving. Mom usually got them right after the librarians read them. Mom read the entire mystery room of our local library. Often, she would forget which books she had read. It was my job to look at the covers and let her know if they seemed familiar to me. As a child I couldn't understand how you could forget what you read 2 years ago - now that I'm 55...... Happy Reading! Joan

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by xstitchfan

{...}
Mom usually got them right after the librarians read them. Mom read the entire mystery room of our local library. Often, she would forget which books she had read. It was my job to look at the covers and let her know if they seemed familiar to me. As a child I couldn't understand how you could forget what you read 2 years ago - now that I'm 55...... Happy Reading! Joan

My Grandmother had a system, she pencilled a circle round the page number (p71 IIRC).

[Little.Egret]

And here's Jo Walton's contriution - Mary Stewart, 1916-2014: An Appreciation

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2014/05/mar...n-appreciation
{extract}
Some of her romantic novels also edged into fantasy, especially Touch Not
the Cat (1976) which features hereditary telepathy. Many of her other
romance novels used fantastic elements quietly and without any fuss, even
though the books were set in the real world. Best of all these details were
used as if she found the elements of the fantastic exactly as appropriate as
any other elements to insert into the story she was telling. This isn't
uncommon today, when the presence of paranormal romance has encouraged
writers of romance to insert such things, but it was very unusual in her
time and generation. Stewart is also to be commended for how well she dealt
with the fantastic, and how seamlessly she integrated it with everything
else. There's a lot to be learned from her technique there. Being aware that
she would use the fantastic when appropriate made all of her novels more
enjoyable for me—she was prepared to open up the space of possible answers
to mysteries, even where the answers didn't go in that direction.
==

With links to her review of The Ivy Tree (she preferred Nine Coaches
Waiting.)

[cadele]

The first book I read of Mary Stewart's was The Little Broomstick which was given to me as a child. It was one of my earliest re-read books. I lost my original in a house move and it was out of print for years. When it was eventually re-printed I immediately snapped up a copy and also bought a couple for children of friends.

It is a wonderful little book which would appeal to Harry Potter fans. It is deliciously dark like the best old fairy tales. It is not available as an ebook alas, but I am going to convert my paper copy at some point.

Nine Coaches Waiting was the first of her romantic suspense novels that I read in my teens. It remains a favourite and I also have a soft spot for Madam, Will You Talk.

I have read the Merlin books but they didn't appeal to me as much. I am not sure if I will buy the ebooks to replace my paper copies.

I did buy most of her romantic suspense ebooks from Kobo earlier in the year - that magic Kobo code, sigh.

[Catlady]

My favorite Mary Stewart title is Airs Above the Ground. I love the setting of the story and the Lippizaner stallions. My second favorite is probably The Ivy Tree.

I'm not sure why, but I don't feel much desire to revisit the Merlin books. I never enjoyed the post-Merlin titles as much as the earlier books.

[issybird]

My favorite Stewart was Wildfire at Midnight. I suspect the backdrop of Hillary/Everest and the coronation added to the appeal. Next was Nine Coaches Waiting; The Ivy Tree rounds out my top three.