As usual I am late to the party – if only I’d spotted this on Tuesday! – but in the spirit of “better late than never” I am taking part for the first time in The Broke and the Bookish Top Ten Tuesday which is this week on anything to do with fandom. As I am a Mary Stewart megafan, I am going to look at what any self-respecting fan wants needs in the way of Mary Stewart-related stuff…
10. Merlin Calendar (1984) – I spotted this about 10 years ago and bought it. Just because. Apparently this calendar comes into its own, matching day and date, every 28 years, so it would have worked fine for 2012 you know. Who knows, I might use it in 2040.
9. Mug – this is a very recent acquisition, I had some blurb on Mary Stewart from a 1950s magazine printed onto a china mug by zazzle (tip: look out for special offer discounts).
8. Bookmark – it was a lovely surprise when I bought my first edition copy of The Little Broomstick and this bookmark was inside. Everyone should have at least one Mary Stewart bookmark.
7. Mary and the Witch’s Flower bag – I don’t have this. I am longing to find out when the Studio Ponoc animated film of The Little Broomstick is being released in the UK and I really really really want this bag.
6. Customised tote bag – still, at least I have this bag. Again, this was made to order at zazzle, I think it was about £6? A fandomtote (that ought to be a word) is surely a must-have item.
5. Customised locket – I adore my gorgeous locket so much I have blogged about it already, here. It is from Etsy shop The Locket Library.
4. Painting – I don’t know if any of Mary Stewart’s paintings or drawings have ever been sold but I feel sure I’d be delighted to have some of her artwork on my wall! As a schoolgirl she ‘had drawings hung in Junior Exhibitions at Burlington House’. Yes please – can someone exhibit her work now? Thanks.
3. Yellow jade figurine – If you have everything else and have pots of cash, this bixie figure belonged to Mary Stewart and just might still be on the market, if it didn’t sell at auction earlier this week. I believe it was valued at about £300,000-£400,000. I posted about auctions of books and jewellery from Mary Stewart’s estate here and here.
2. House – well, if you’re wealthy enough to buy the figure, what is stopping you from buying Mary Stewart’s Argyllshire house? Actually it has now been sold but perhaps if you put in an absolutely enormous offer… And yes, I blogged about the house. Here. I really hope that it has been bought out of sheer fandom!
1. The Enchanted Journey – and here we move from the expensive to the priceless. Mary Stewart’s first book was children’s book The Enchanted Journey. It has never been published. Yet. Oh please let this be published.
Mary Queen of Plots 
How very charming: I adore the house, manor, estate—-good grief.
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Lovely – and massive – isn’t it? I believe it was partly at least the garden that Mary Stewart fell for. 🙂
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Your list is fabulous!! Loved looking at the house! How gorgeous!!
I have nothing of Mary Stewart except books…but my real fan girl obsession is Jane Austen and Nancy Drew. (Think address books, Christmas ornaments, notecards, puzzles etc) If those two ever decide to team up and do a YouTube video, I will seriously scream!!! 😂😛
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Haha that list I made is a mix of the sublime and the ridiculous! Agree the house is lovely – and all that space, wonderful.
Got to love some Jane Austen! Haven’t read any Nancy Drew in many years but that is where my pocket money went when I ran out of library copies to read – how many Nancy Drews are there? And was it Sarah Jessica Parker who played Nancy on tv or am I dreaming?
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Many Nancy Drew books out there, all penned by multiple authors under the name Carolyn Keane. My favorites are the early ones as those are the books I grew up with. All time fave and I read it every year: #2 Nancy Drew and the Mystery of the Hidden Staircase. A wonderful moment was a few years ago I was talking books with a young we’ll read friend (she was about 11 years old) and that was her favorite Nancy Drew as well and I was sooooooo pleased!
There was a ND tv show that starred a young actress but don’t think it was Sarah Jessica. Several years ago there was A movie called Drews Clues and it started Emma Roberts, Julia Roberts
Younger sister. I thought it was a cute film.
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Oh I never ever laid my hands on that one! I liked a Larkspur Cottage or Lane one, and the first one I read had an old stagecoach in it? I can picture an illustration from it right now.
I was totally wrong with SJP – but, hey, Pamela Sue Martin is 3 words too…
I haven’t seen the film but I’m glad if they made a good job of it.
Now I’m remembering how grown up I felt to be reading books about girls who drove and had boyfriends 🙂 But what I really loved were all those clues and secrets waiting to be found! Hidden trap-doors and stairs and letters: fabulous!
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