It is Day 14 of my Mary Stewart Advent Calendar. As I did yesterday, I am quoting a few fragments from an early version of a Mary Stewart novel, scraps that were excised from the final version of the book but are still of interest (I think so anyway!). So – which book are these quotes from?
Opening line: Herr Hauptmann Wagner, of the German Air Force, looked out of the window of the railway carriage and sighed to himself.
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I have neither a good head nor a good palate. I like my drinks sweet, for preference, and I can’t tell one from the other. J__ used to laugh at me a lot about it. But I had discovered that Cinzano was safe, and I stuck to it.
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It was at that moment, I think, that I first realised that something really was going to happen… I do not mean that I got the faintest inkling of what was actually going on, but I had the fantastic impression that I knew this man already very well. It was as if, momentarily, the bonds of the future tightened before their time.
Okay, who thinks they know what the novel is? And who is the man referred to in the third quote?
Mary Queen of Plots 
I am going to wildly guess that it’s Madam, Will You Talk? mostly because of the second excerpt, which has that nostalgic air.
I’d nearly memorized her books, so haven’t read them in a long time. Time to start over!
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Hi Ann,
You’re right! In this early manuscript the novel is called ‘Murder for Charity’, but it is indeed ‘Madam, Will You Talk?’ – the story was originally longer and began with Richard and Tony as prisoners being escorted by a German officer called Wagner.
Would you care to guess our mystery man from the last quote? – it is not Richard.
It’s good to hear you are a Mary Stewart reader and planning to re-read some of her books – you’re welcome to share your thoughts on her writing here!
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i am baffled about the third bit It has been a very long time since I read it. I do remember, as a wishful 14 year old, getting up early to watch the dawn in our very un-French backyard and trying to live into that scene.
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Ha, I love that 14 year old you did that! Reminds me of me.
It may be baffling because the excerpts I quote didn’t make it to the final, published version of Madam Will You Talk. The man in question isn’t a romantic interest or anything to do with her maternal feeling for David – Charity feels a (sinister) premonitionary connection with Paul Very…
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Yeah, I was thinking it had to be the bad guy, if only because there are so few characters in the book. I very seldom remember characters’ names, but can describe scenes in minute detail. Going to have to find my old copy!
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It’s always a good idea to dig out a Mary Stewart book!
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