Nice E-Mails from Alexis Harrington & Steven Saylor

After posting articles on the blog that featured the works of both Ms Harrington and Mr Saylor, I sent them e-mails advising them of the comments. Both of them visited the site and thanked me via e-mail for the articles.

It never ceases to amaze me how open authors are to corresponding with their fans! I think it is wonderful that we readers can interact on the internet with these talented people. This is generally not the case with many people in the public eye -- I once sent a fan e-mail to the artist of the comic strip "9 Chickweed Lane," and I was frankly disappointed that he never responded, but I also realize that these people do have many demands on their time. When I send a fan letter, I always make it brief and to the point, thanking the person for the many hours of enjoyment their books have have provided. I do not confuse a response with an invitation for regular correspondence, but if I enjoy their next work I do send a follow up e-mail at the appropriate time.

Time Magazine's List of 100 Best Movies - Pooh!

Time Magazine's List of 100 Best Movies excludes two of my favorites that normally appear on any list of classic movies: "Gone with the Wind" and "High Noon." The fact that another favorite of mine (although not one of T. Marie's!), "Tombstone," failed to appear is not a surprise. There is so much to be said about both "GWTW" and "High Noon" that I don't know where to start!

The outstanding performances of Clark Gable, Vivian Leigh, and Olivia deHavilland alone should have put "GWTW" on anyone's list of 100 best movies. The movie, as well as the book, depicts a mythical south that never existed in reality, the south that Mark Twain deplored as being under the influence of Sir Walter Scott and his romances....the preface of the movie makes this clear in the statement about gallant knights and their ladies who inhabited a lost world that will never come again. The horrors of slavery are pushed to the background and made to appear to be the result of hiring evil Yankee overseers. I personally think that this faux history is what makes "GWTW" so worthwhile viewing: 21st century audiences can see a perfect example of the myth of the old south, which is still alive and well in some quarters. But putting that aside, who can ever forget the burning of Atlanta, the famous long shot of the train yard with the wounded and dying soldiers spread out as far as the eye can see, Melanie shooting the Yankee looter, Rhett carrying Scarlett up the staircase....

"High Noon" is an almost perfect movie as far as I am concerned. And it is another movie that can almost be seen as pure myth: the gallant knight defending the weak, with the outcome not quite sure. "High Noon" IMO is a form of film noir, although it doesn't seem to be on the surface, particularly since it is a very "gray" film, with none of the visual darkness or the feeling of helpless despair at the end that is often characteristic of noir at its best. However, what it says about people is in many ways rather cynical: sometimes selfishness/self-interest trumps honor. Had it not been for Cain, so wonderfully played by Gary Cooper, darkness would have come back to the small mid-western town and settled in for a long stay. I don't remember how many times I have seen this movie, and it never seems stale. Shame on the critics that ignored this classic!

As to "Tombstone," well, it is an acquired taste. It has a cult following that includes yours truly, who marvel at the historical accuracy of costumes, sets, gun play, and grit. Val Kilmer was robbed of an Oscar for his outstanding portrayal of "Doc" Holliday -- from what I have read Kilmer's performance was probably the closest depiction of the real Holliday to ever make the screen.

I do not think that great movies are only a product of the United States, but almost half of the movies on the 100 Best Movie List were obscure foreign films that I personally have never seen, but were favorites of the critics who composed the list. They even admitted that their selections were subjective -- if a movie "spoke" to them it was included, if not, it was omitted, hence the disappearance of "GWTW," which neither man liked. Some selections were made by the flip of a coin. So, in my final analysis, I do not intend to take this list very seriously, since it is really just the opinion of two critics who seem to be biased toward the more obscure/artistic films.

What Is Your Idea of a Fluff Book?

Several weeks ago on the Republic of Pemberley boards, some of us started mixing it up (in the very genteel manner allowed on that web site) regarding what constitutes a "fluff book." The book that started the disagreement was "Little Women," which was dismissed by some as "nothing but fluff literature": it had no serious or worthy message, it was sentimental, easily forgotten, and the list went on. Many of us were appalled at this cavalier dismissal of a favorite book!

My contention was, and is, that "Little Women" has stood the test of time, and does not deserve to be called "fluff." I think that the book deals in a positive manner with finding one's vocation and way in the world, with friendship, with loyalty, with death, and with sacrifice. Hardly my idea of fluff -- I think of the word picture of loss that Alcott painted for us when Jo returns from New York to find Beth so frail and weak. Jo enters the parlor and sees the grief her parents are experiencing at the anticipatated death of their third daughter, and she joins them in their silent sorrow. At the end of the book, the surviving sisters find that they have each achieved a satisfying variation of the life they thought they wanted as young teenage girls.

What is your idea of a fluff book?

"Little Women, " by Louisa May Alcott, Modern Library Paperback Edition (Random House), 2000. ISBN 0-375-75672-8

FAVORITE HISTORICAL MYSTERY SERIES?

My favorite historical mystery series is not a romance series, rather it is a series written by Steven Saylor, and set in Ancient Rome. Saylor has created a wonderful character named Gordianus the Finder, who is almost like a modern-day skiptracer at the beginning of the series, but who over the course of several books becomes a skilled investigator.

The first book in the series ("Roman Blood") is set in 80 B.C., and involves a young Gordianus helping an equally young Cicero with a murder investigation. We meet our hero's Egyptian mistress, Bethesda, who is also his slave. Although Bethesda is uneducated and superstitious, she is not ignorant, and the reader knows before Gordianus that he is actually in love with her. This series is a little unusual in that whole decades are skipped between one book and the next, until the author reaches the time of the Roman Civil War (c.49 B.C.) and Julius Caesar, when there may only be months between the setting of one book and the next.

Be warned: this series is not for those who want history-lite, or demand a great deal of humor in their historical mysteries, although Gordianus is certainly not without a keen sense of humor, most of it being in the nature of dry, ironic wit. I love the stories of Lindsey Davis, who sets her Falco series in ancient Rome, but Saylor's series is much darker...sometimes almost too dark! The ending of "Roman Blood" disturbed me for several days, but did not deter me from reading the rest of the series (which is still a work in progress). I have also enjoyed the developing relationship between Gordianus and Bethesda, Gordianus and his two adopted sons, and the touching but prickly relationship he has with his biological daughter (his reaction to his brilliant teenage daughter's marriage to a muscle-bound "stud" is priceless!).

The Saylor novels are books to savor, and are not quick reads. The author gives the historical background in either a forward or afterword, but I do recommend a quick read of the on-line Wikipedia, or another historical web page, for additional information that may make some of the references less obscure.

What are your favorite historical mysteries?

First book in the series: "Roman Blood," by Steven Saylor. Published by St. Martin's Paperback, February 2000 (the original publishing date for the Ballantine Books editon is 1992).
ISBN: 0-312-97296-2

Real People in Historical Novels - a Problem?

On one of Romantic Times Magazine's message boards I recently engaged in an exchange with another reader of historical romances who doesn't believe that authors should include real people in their novels IF they have them interacting with the fictional characters. If I understand this woman's position, authors who include historical persons as characters are distorting history because these events "never happened!"

I think this is carrying the impulse for realistic historical romances too far. I think that most of us can distinguish between a work of fiction and a straight history or biography. There are wonderful fictionalized "biographies" out there, including the works of Gore Vidal, Diane Haeger, Anya Seton, and Irving Stone, as well as romance novels and historical mysteries that contain real people, which indicates to me that this can work and work well! Most authors include a disclaimer as well, indicating something along the line that while George Washington was a real person, the book is a work of fiction.

Thoughts, any one?

ULTIMATELY, A DISAPPOINTMENT

Last night I finished Loretta Chase's "Mr. Impossible," and realized that it had been a struggle on my part to get to page 312. The book had received wonderful reviews, and was a great favorite on the Romantic Times reader's message boards. I had started it with high hopes, due primarily to the setting (Egypt, during the early 1820s), the heroine (a scholar), and the hero, who appeared to be a dashing rake in the tradition of those portrayed by Errol Flynn or Stewart Granger. The cover art and the back cover blurbs didn't hurt either. Miss Chase obviously researched the historical background, the plot seemed fresh, if slightly too convolunted, the dialogue was realistic, the romance was..romantic.....so what was the matter with me?

I thought about this last night and this morning as well, and came to at least one conclusion: the h/h were in many respects interchangeable with the h/h of Miss Chase's last novel, "Miss Wonderful." Both women were beautiful scholars who lead reclusive lives; felt they had to hide their intellect;one had a dotty father, and the other had a brother who was not the brains of the family; one was messy and the other hid her charms in widow's weeds (when she wasn't dressing as a Middle Eastern male); and both were determined to stay single (Daphne Pembroke in "Mr Impossible" was a widow, but at age 29 she had decided not to repeat the unhappy martial experience). Both heroes were rakes...but not really. These brothers were raised by parents who have mantipulated them into marriage by threatening to punish them economically if they don't mend their ways. Both heroes are introspective; have no interest in marrying "suitable" women; and are instantly attracted to the "unsuitable" heroines (there is a twist at the end of both books regarding the "suitability" of the two women, which I won't reveal). Since it is clear at the end of "Mr Impossible" there are two more brothers to go (Benedict and Darius) , I hope that in the next two books we readers get more of a twist to the characters than we have been given in the first two books.

Okay, am I too picky? I am willing to suspend disbelief and accept that the "magical" mongoose Marigold somehow got on board the "Isis" in her search for Daphne's brother (a man who had given her a fish to eat in the hours before he was captured by the baddies), but I can't accept two almost identical sets of h/h..how logical is that? The book was far from a total loss, however. I did enjoy the setting and plot, even if the book as a whole seemed derivative of the Amelia Peabody mysteries. Daphne's inner conflicts regarding her feelings toward marriage and her attraction to Rupert were appropriate, although I did get tired of her wanting to be loved only for her brain, and thinking she could never find someone who could "love her for herself alone and not her yellow hair"...my apology to William Butler Yeats!

"Mr Impossible, by Loretta Chase. Berkeley Sensation (Berkeley Publishing Group), March 2005. ISBN: 0-425-20150-3

Researching and Reading

Do you like to do additional research after reading an especially interesting historical romance or novel? I find that I frequently will turn to an on-line encyclopedia or go to the library looking for reference materials on some aspect of history that caught my fancy. To me, that is one of the great things about reading accurate historicals -- the author may pique your interest into doing further research.

I especially enjoy the classes from The Teaching Company, a Virginia-based company that sells college level courses taught by outstanding professors. The professors are nominated by students and former students, "auditioned" by the company, and, if they pass, ultimately produce a lecture series on their academic specialty. The classes are available on DVD, VHS, CD, and audio tape. My two favorite classes are a 36- lecture series on Victorian England, and a 24 -lecture series on Classical Mythology.

There are so many worthwhile resources that I can only name a few in this post. Please feel free to add your own favorites.

Jane Austen and her world www.pemberley.org

On-line encyclopedias: www.wikipedia.org and www.britannica.com

The Teaching Company at www.teach12.com

Tudor History at www.tudorhistory.org

Victorian Era at www.victorianresearch.org and www.victorianweb.org

What Book or Author is a "Comfort Read" for You?

Actually I should have written "books" or "authors," as I have several. From childhood on, "Little Women" has been my number one comfort read. I love the interaction among the sisters (as an only child I have little true understanding of the bond between siblings), the fact that the book is true about life, and about making one's way in the world to try to achieve your heart's desire, and that there is loss as well as love along the journey.

My other comfort reads are also not romances, but rather contemporary women's fiction and one non-fiction. I love to read the earlier works of Nancy Thayer ("Nell," "Three Women at the Water's Edge," and "Bodies and Souls"), because I can always find someone with whom to identify in her works. In "Three Women at the Water's Edge," I have, as I have grown older, stopped identifying so much with the two daughters, and now identify with the mother, who in her 50's reinvented herself. Because the books are not romances, the endings are not predictable, but they are always appropriate.

My non-fiction comfort read is the classic "When Bad Things Happen to Good People." Rabbi Harold Kusherner makes so much sense that I want to give copies of the book to all my friends!

Any thoughts to share?