It has been months since I last wrote a post on ‘book art’ but regular readers of this blog might remember my cover illustration posts on Madam, Will You Talk?, Wildfire at Midnight and Thunder on the Right. These are posts that I really enjoyed putting together and it was great to chat about your favourite illustrations – and I loved being sent photos of some of your own book covers to share on the blog!
So today I am writing a similar post on Nine Coaches Waiting, Mary Stewart’s fourth published novel, looking at the range of cover art in which the novel has been clothed since its first appearance in 1958. For clarity, I am writing this post using my own photos of the books that I own therefore this book art does not cover all editions released and it is UK-centric.
1958, Hodder & Stoughton, UK first edition: This is the last of the Mary Stewart first editions to be illustrated by Eleanor Poore. Does anyone have any information on just who this illustrator is/was? I’m not a huge fan of this cover although the enormous sign ‘VIN’ is quite amusing – and is the figure beside the sign wearing a sombrero or the world’s largest spectacles? The back cover comprises many quotes in small print praising Mary Stewart’s earlier books, topped by the heading ‘MARY STEWART writes well and she writes to excite’ but the dust jacket’s best feature for me is that there is a small author photograph on the inner back cover (photographer not known).
1961, Hodder paperback: I can never quite decide who Linda reminds me of here – Jane Wyman perhaps? And the Chateau de Valmy may be lurking menacingly in the corner but we all know that this illustration is dominated by Philippe’s hat: worn to the very back of the head, with that enormous pom pom, so red, and so incongruously wintry with a summer T-shirt!
1964, Hodder paperback: I like this edition. I think Linda might be sporting a pinafore dress, which seems to me spot on for the 60s and for teaching types, plus she has fab 60s hair and her stance shows she is protective of young Philippe. But it is the house that grabs attention because it looks so sinister – the light in three of the windows underlines how dark most of the house is, and there is definitely something creepy about the green tinge to the house and its surroundings. But no, I don’t know why anyone would choose that vicious shade of yellow with that thick black font…
1966, Hodder paperback: Is it a sign of Mary Stewart’s increasing popularity as a writer that the font is so large, with her name in particular standing out? I think Linda looks really young and defenceless here. She is wearing a clashing cardi/scarf combo but it’s fine because all book-lovers adore a cardi. Don’t we? And it has *pockets*! Minus points for the fact that the chateau looks like it has been built by a child with building blocks rather than any chateau I have ever seen…
1968 Hodder paperback: I’m not keen on the background colour but I quite like the font and I really like the illustration. I like the way Linda is gazing away pensively in her mini-dress; the man annoys me less than most representations of Mary Stewart heroes even if he does look like a rectangle-faced conservative pipe-smoker; and I am a fan of the sky colours, the shadows, the angles and the (mini)chateau.
1969, Hodder & Stoughton, Mary Stewart Omnibus 1: As discussed in previous posts, I am not a huge fan of this dated cover or title (does it even really qualify as a title?) but I absolutely love its gem of a four-page preface by Mary Stewart. A sample:
Nine Coaches Waiting is structurally different again. This is the Cinderella story, openly acknowledging its great model, treating that model with some astringence, but keeping and humanizing the strong line of the traditional love story. The framework of this story makes it possibly more appealing to women than to men. It is a very feminine story, and if any of its quotations would sum it up adequately it is the Shakespearian couplet in the last chapter:
‘Nor dare I chide the world-without-end hour / Whilst I (my sovereign) watch the clock for you.’
The theme superimposed on the romantic thriller plot is the classic dilemma of choice between love and duty.
1972, Coronet paperback: This is a nice example of the creamy Coronet covers that are a favourite of many Mary Stewart fans. I’m not too sure of the wisdom of illustrating the secondary figure in this way and I don’t get the significance of the garden chair behind Linda but she looks elegant. The chateau seems to be a redrawing of the same building featured on the 1968 paperback (two books above).
1979, Heinemann/Octopus omnibus: For completists only: no preface, no interior illustration, too bulky to read comfortably. Still, this publisher is awarded points for acknowledging cover design – the front cover photo is by photographer and film-maker Robert Golden. Plus there is a photo of Mary Stewart on the back cover, by Mark Gerson – it is the one where you can clearly make out her copy of Brewer’s, you can view this photograph in the Independent’s Mary Stewart obituary.
1992, Coronet paperback: I feel the font style and colours look a little cheap here. We are back to an enormous chateau but it looks as though it is bathed in sunshine so it is forbidding rather than sinister; I like the car only for the events in the book that it evokes. The outdoor scene is beautifully drawn, which seems only right given the high quality of Mary Stewart’s descriptive writing. I am very pleased that we have illustrator details – Gavin Rowe has illustrated many Mary Stewart book covers (see here and here for some info about Gavin Rowe).
2011, Hodder paperback: As I keep stating, I’m not hugely keen on the 2011 set of Mary Stewarts, I think the original Gerd Hartung fashion illustrations look much better with background and context – look here to see what I mean. This cover illustration is ©Robyn Neild, ©Gerd Hartnung/akg-images. I really dislike that baby-pink font – and the baby-pink Eiffel Tower. The dress pocket really is the only consolation here.
2017, Hodder paperback: I do like these most recent covers. This car looks really glamorous, the scenery is impressive, and the overall impression is of one of those fabulous vintage railway posters. And there is a bridge – given the story, I would have thought a bridge might have featured more often on covers of Nine Coaches Waiting…
So those are my Nine Coaches Waiting book covers, complete with my subjective opinions of them. Which one is your favourite? Do you have a different or better cover that you would like to share or describe? Please do get in touch and let me know!
Jerri and Linda have both described to me the details of their copy of Nine Coaches Waiting, the US hardback by Mill Morrow with jacket design by Charles Geer. Jerri has kindly shared scanned images for us to admire. Does anyone know who the photographer is of this gorgeous Mary Stewart photo? It is one I have never seen before and it is so good. If anyone knows where this photo was taken, or what the fancy car is, I would love to know.
Mary Queen of Plots 
Please don’t ever stop posting
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Thank you! 😊 I enjoy posting too much to stop
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Just discovered this blog (or rediscovered?) Anyway, thanks a lot. I have some catch-up reading ahead, I see. I love cover art retrospectives.
The fashionably miniskirted woman with anonymous businessman posing in the background seems typical of a number of 1960s cover art that popped up on various PBs of that era. Fontana’s D E Stevenson reissues were full of them, almost completely interchangeable, and invariably ignoring the time period of the book. (And occasionally the same pic was used for more than one author.)
I agree; the final cover is ideal.
Who does the figure on 1961 Hodder remind you of…. perhaps Trixie Belden?
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Hello Susan and welcome – or welcome back! I’m glad you enjoyed the post and yes there seem to be many interchangeable covers from that era that publishers thought fit the genre, sometimes with no attention to the actual story, protagonist’s hair colour etc. I didn’t know that there were instances of the same pic being used for more than one author – I think that is quite outrageous. Even worse, that illustrator names very often were not given anywhere on the book – that is my bugbear. Glad you like the 2017 cover too.
I have spent a happy 5 minutes googling Trixie Belden – I don’t think those books made it to the UK, I’m assuming they are similar to Nancy Drew mysteries? They look great. The 1961 Hodder cover makes me think of a Hollywood actress, but I can’t remember which one it reminds me of, someone like Jane Wyman (when she was blonde) but not her…
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I can see why Susan thinks the 1961 Hodder person looks like Trixie Belden. Some of the cover art I have seen for Trixie shows her with just that hair style. Trixie is younger than Nancy Drew and lives a more “normal” life style, baby sitting for her kid brother, doing dishes, weeding the garden, riding her bike (well, and sometimes a horse, this is wish fulfillment after all). I really enjoy the first 6 books, written by the originator of the series. After that the publisher had various folks continue the series for a long time. I have just finished listening to an audiobook version of the first Trixie Belden book from the library and am very much enjoying re-meeting this friend of my childhood.
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I am now looking out for Trixie, the books sound fun!
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I have to learn how to send or attach images. I have hardbacks with dust jacket art for the US editions of her thrillers, through the Gabriel Hounds, illustrated by Charles Greer (with the possible exception of Madam Will You Talk?, which looks like his style, but I can’t find an attribution for that one. Very atmospheric and far better than the normal run of US cover art for English novels. You don’t seem to have it for this lovely collection of Nine Coaches Waiting artwork (and I love seeing all the covers), and I haven’t seen many of them anywhere on your web site. Probably part of the issue with US editions not crossing over to England often, due to high postage, etc.
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Your covers sound lovely, others have pointed me towards a few Geer cover images in the past. And you are right, any US covers I have (none for Nine Coaches Waiting) are because they have turned up in UK bookshops – buying from the US is too expensive in postage and I don’t quite understand if I would have customs tax to pay on top.
If you have photos/scans of book cover images that you’d like to share on this blog, the easiest way might be to attach it in an email to me. Do you have the blog email address?
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I have tried to find an email address for the blog, without success. Is there some section of the blog where it is given?
And, no, I can’t find an attribution for the photographer, but will certainly include the photo, which shows Mary Stewart in a fairly heavy looking long coat sitting on a stone wall with part of the front of a car next to her, which helps “date” the book, as the car has separate headlight pod on the large fender, etc. You can almost read the license plate number! I am trying to determine if it is Scotland in the background or France or ??
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I had so much fun reading your post about one of my favorite Mary Stewart books. It was interesting to see the artists’ unusual ideas about French hats! I also enjoyed seeing the styles represented through the different time frames and what the publishers thought would appeal to readers. Regardless of the hits and misses, Mary Stewart’s writing shines through it all. My favorite NCW cover is from a 1958 American edition, showing Linda and Philippe running through the forest with the Château Valmy looming over them. Very stylish and with an understated 1950s appeal, I thought (it’s the one I have). The credit says “Jacket by Charles Geer.” I love the picture of Mary Stewart on the back cover, as well.
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Hi Linda, I’m glad you liked the post, it is great fun looking at book cover design over time, and changing clothes/hair/hat fashions. I like your point, it is so true that Mary Stewart’s writing shines through it all! Your cover sounds lovely – the same one Jerri mentions in this comments section, I think – and a Mary Stewart photo is always a major plus. Does the dust jacket mention the photographer?
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The copy I own is a trade paperback published in 2006. The cover is a very eerie sepia photograph of a large mansion. I love this cover!
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Oh, is that the Chicago Review Press one? It looks really eerie, it’s high up on my Mary Stewart editions wishlist! I’d love to have a copy of it – doesn’t it have a foreword by another author? I have the Chicago Review Press copy of Madam, Will You Talk? and it has a lovely foreword by Katherine Hall Page.
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I got quite excited when I saw a picture of Nine Coaches Waiting on a certain online shopping site – I had never seen it before. Then I realised it was not a book cover but an audio cassette cover (and cur rently unavailable.) I wonder who was reading it. I am going off at a tangent here I know – the picture certainly has its own style – not enamoured with it though -it seems more like a cover for a children’s book. I wish I had the technical expertise to copy the picture here|
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Hi Lucy, I just had to scuttle off to take a look, from your description I’m pretty certain I found it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=nine+coaches+waiting+cassette
and it has made me laugh – it really does have a style all of its own! Thanks for alerting me to this
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Yes Allison – that’s the one. I didn’t mean to be mean about the picture – I can’t draw for toffee! It was just the style was so different from the book covers! Keep up the good work with your blog – I do enjoy reading it.
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I think a cover like that one would be okay in other circumstances but it just doesn’t fit with Mary Stewart’s work – sometimes I wonder what instructions or book information illustrators are given…
Of course, my joy in collecting MS covers is so strong, I have no doubt that I’d have bought that cassette if I had seen it in a second-hand bookshop. Just because! Thanks for your kind comment about the blog, Lucy, I really enjoy writing it!
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The Coronet edition cover illustration is more likely by Gino D’Achille.
Hodder and Soughton’s editions of 66&68 – by Renato Fratini.
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Thanks again, I know Gino d’Achille illustrated her children’s book Ludo and the Star Horse, I’d never have guessed this cover might be by the same illustrator.
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I recently discovered your blog when I was searching for communities dedicated to Mary Stuart. I love her novels, and you have a real fount of useful and interesting information here. Thank you for your posts!
I am an artist, and I drew fanart-illustrations for “Nine Coaches Waiting”. I love it 🙂
“Fog and Valmi Bridge”, Linda and Raoul.
“Servants and gossips”
“Master of the old Château”
“…He could put his hand to anything, the Master.” She smiled reminiscently and a little sadly. “Miss Debbie always did say he’d break his neck one day. He was such a one for sport-all sorts, motor-cars, horses, speed-boats… fighting with swords, even. He’s got a shelf of silver cups for that alone.” “Fencing?” “That’s it. But cars and horses were the chief thing. ”
“Linda”
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Hello Darya, my blog is inactive currently but I am finally picking up the comments and questions left on here – I am sorry that it has taken me so long to reply to you.
Your drawings are simply wonderful, you obviously know the world and characters of Nine Coaches Waiting really well and you have huge talent! As soon as I opened the first drawing I was transported to the bridge at Valmy. I can’t convey how much I like these drawings and I am honoured that you are sharing your artwork on this blog. Are you a professional book illustrator or artist? Do you have a website showcasing your work? Thank you so much again.
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Alison, thank you so much for your kind words! I’m not a professional book Illustrator yet, I’m just learning (so many interesting books, and so little free time 🙂 But I’m doing my best. Some of my drawings are on this site:
https://virink.com/amimercredire
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And “Philippe Aubin Comte de Valmy”
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Hello again Darya, this is another super drawing, this is exactly how I see Philippe too. I am in awe of your talent!
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