When I read Danielle's post about Mary Stewart a week or two ago, I had the urge to revisit that writer whose work I haven't read since I was in my teens. I hope you won't feel I am being too self-indulgent when, after a bit of thought and 'research', I decided to choose a book of hers for our group read for next month.
Such memories as I have of those books from so long ago are good ones, and I hope that will bode well for this choice, but what really decided me was watching this interview with Lady Stewart* - I took to her, and felt it's time to rediscover her books. According to Wikipedia, she reached her 96th. birthday three days ago, and she lives here in Edinburgh; although she has not published a book for some years, I hope she is in good health and still taking pleasure from the things she loves. She certainly has a fair old following as her books have all been bestsellers on both sides of the Atlantic and are currently available in smart new paperback editions.
A writer of romantic suspense and historical fiction, Mary Stewart is known for her "skillful storytelling and enchanting prose", and Danielle describes picking up a book of hers as "like sitting in a cozy overstuffed chair in front of a roaring fire with a cup of hot chocolate in hand" - that's good enough for me!
I've chosen Touch Not the Cat
"After the tragic death of her father, Bryony Ashley returns from abroad
to find that his estate is to become the responsibility of her cousin
Emory. Ashley Court with its load of debt is no longer her worry. But
there is something odd about her father's sudden death . . .
Bryony
has inherited the Ashley 'Sight' and so has one of the Ashleys. Since
childhood the two have communicated through thought patterns, though
Bryony has no idea of his identity. Now she is determined to find him.
But danger as well as romance wait for her in the old moated house, with
its tragic memories . . ."
This Saturday (the 22nd.) we'll be talking about Ann Patchett's Bel Canto, but let's get together to discuss Mary Stewart's book from Saturday, 27th. October, and remember the group is very informal and open to all who'd like to join in - whether you stick with us month after month or just drop in now and again, you'll be very welcome.
*In the same series, I've watched the programmes featuring Dorothy Dunnett and Rumer Godden.
