Mary Stewart is one of the people to whom I think we should dedicate a national holiday. Along with Julie Andrews and Angela Landsbury. Because they're just so lovely. (Unlikely to happen considering they're all English, though.)
I agree with everything Jennie said in her homage to Mary Stewart, but need to list out my own favorites, since Jennie has just got them all out of order. So here are the novels ranked Julie-style:
- Nine Coaches Waiting
- This Rough Magic
- Touch Not the Cat
- Wildfire at Midnight
- My Brother Michael
- The Moonspinners
- Airs Above the Ground
- The Gabriel Hounds
- The Ivy Tree
- Thornyhold
- Madame, Will You Talk?
- Thunder on the Right
- Stormy Petrel
- Rose Cottage
Nine Coaches Waiting must come first because it's set in France and the hero's name is Raoul—both very good reasons to give it the top slot despite the novel's rather mousey and useless heroine. And I put Wildfire at Midnight near the top because it is deliciously scary, while Mary Stewart's other novels are just mildly suspenseful. And sometimes you just need a little bit of delicious scariness.
Reading a Mary Stewart novel is like getting a hug from my Mom or eating some Grandma rolls. Steeped in nostalgia, cozy as all get-out, and good for curing all manner of ills.
2 comments:
Linda Martin's not mousey and useless! What are you on about? She totally saves Philippe and the skerverells. She's no Lucy Waring, but she's got some guts.
She basically drags Philippe all across the countryside, stowing him in weird hideaways and quivering with fear. If she had any guts she'd have DONE something. Like push Leon, wheelchair and all, off the nearest mountain.
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