Hello to all Mary Stewart fans, I’m starting 2017 with a request for your input please.
I am fascinated by Mary Stewart’s effortless-seeming success in a number of writing genres. Her earliest published books were suspense / romantic suspense / thrillers / romances / Gothic fiction / adventure thrillers (no-one seems to agree on the best classification). She followed this up with her Merlin books, often classified as historical fiction or fantasy, and has also written wonderful children’s fiction and poetry.
What I would like to find out in this poll is which genre you like best.
You can see that I have divided the suspense novels into early and late – I have done this because I have seen and read so often that readers differentiate between Mary Stewart books in this way. Mary Stewart herself divided her suspense books according to whether they were written before or after The Crystal Cave (1970) but I find that readers tend to categorise Touch Not the Cat (1976) with her earlier suspense novels. NB The Prince and the Pilgrim (1995) is classed as a Merlin novel because it too is set in the world of Arthur’s Britain.
I’d love to hear your views – so please vote and I’d love it if you left a comment too. Thank you!
The Categories
Suspense – early (1950s to 1970s)
Madam, Will You Talk? / Wildfire at Midnight / Thunder on the Right / Nine Coaches Waiting / My Brother Michael / The Ivy Tree / The Moon-Spinners / This Rough Magic / Airs Above the Ground / The Gabriel Hounds / The Wind off the Small Isles / Touch Not the Cat
Suspense – late (1980s and 1990s)
Thornyhold / Stormy Petrel / Rose Cottage
Merlin / historical / fantasy
The Crystal Cave / The Hollow Hills / The Last Enchantment / The Wicked Day / The Prince and the Pilgrim
Children’s
The Little Broomstick / Ludo and the Star Horse / A Walk in Wolf Wood
Poetry
Frost on the Window and other poems
Mary Queen of Plots 
Now that I see it, that division makes a lot of sense. My favourites are the early ones, surprisingly. I love Arthuriana in general, but wasn’t the biggest fan of Stewart’s version.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi,
I’m glad you agree with this division – I love all her books (as you’d guess since my blog is all and only about her!) but I enjoy her later suspense books in a totally different way, compared to the joy I have in the roller-coaster ride of the earlier novels.
While I’m not generally a huge fan of Arthurian fiction, I love and admire the Merlin series – I guess you and I approach those books very differently! Mary Stewart’s suspense novels keep first place for me, perhaps in part because those are the books I discovered first.
Thanks for getting in touch, it’s great to hear your views.
LikeLike
I’ve enjoyed reading your interesting blog, discovered through a link on Cornflower books. I look forward to more of your posts about each book in writing order. I’ve read all the adult books (mostly several times) and have Ludo and the Star Horse, but must look out for The Little Broomstick. My favourite is Airs Above the Ground. That scene in the meadow with old Piebald makes me tearful every time! I once found The Wind from the Small Isles in a library but I hardly remember it so must get a copy now it’s reprinted. Great to see some of the original book jackets too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Sylvia,
Welcome to the blog and thank you for your lovely comments! I follow Cornflower books on twitter and like exploring the Cornflowers site, it is full of interesting info and discussion.
Airs Above the Ground is wonderful: have you listened to/read Mary Stewart’s explanation of what inspired her to write it? She talks to Jenny Brown in a programme called Off the Page. You can watch it on YouTube- or if you watch here on my blog, https://marystewartreading.wordpress.com/2016/08/21/interview/ you can read the discussion of Airs in my transcription of the interview.
LikeLike
Thank you Allison. I saw the interview a few years ago and enjoyed watching it again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is such a charming interview
LikeLike
Thank you for this ‘gathering place.’ My Brother Michael and the Moon -Spinners are my co-favorites, I re-read them annually! And Madam, Will You Talk and Nine Coaches Waiting aren’t far behind, with This Rough Magic right in there somewhere. I’m not surprised in the least that this period of Mary’s writing rates so highly in your poll.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Jim,
Thanks for getting in touch. I like your taste in reading! Those books are all amazing. I love everything Mary Stewart has ever written in all genres but my especial favourites are Madam, Will You Talk? and probably The Ivy Tree. And every time I read any one of her books it becomes my favourite too…
Thanks for dropping by, I hope you’ll share more of your thoughts or comments.
LikeLike
While I adore Mary Stewart’s early works, i thoroughly enjoyed her Merlin series. Because of her history background, I felt the books offered an authenicate take on an ancient story.
LikeLike
Hi Terry! Thanks for commenting. I agree that the Merlin books feel authentic: Mary Stewart seems to have done thorough research on the subject – combine that with her flair for setting, suspenseful action and character and you get, I think, books that are vividly written for the reader to step into.
It’s good to chat to another admirer of Mary Stewart’s writing, please drop by again!
LikeLike
Hated to have to pick between Early and Late Suspence. I’m re-reading the late suspence books AGAIN (to celebrate my 50th birthday) and identify so much with them–the gardening, the pace, the values– but couldn’t pick them above the early suspense favorites that I grew up reading over and over. Thank you so much for keeping her spirit alive. So glad I found your website!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Em! Thanks for getting in touch, I really enjoy hearing from fellow admirers of Mary Stewart’s writing.
I feel your pain about choosing a favourite genre, I have decided that it is early suspense for me but I love all of Mary Stewart’s books so it was not an easy decision for me either. The reason I split early and late suspense is because, unlike you and me, some readers are not very keen on the later books so it didn’t feel quite right to treat all her suspense novels as one category.
I’m glad too that you have found this blog, and I hope to hear from you again. Finally, happy birthday! I hope you have/had a wonderful 50th.
LikeLike