Since I began writing this blog I have been delighted and thankful for all the lovely comments I have received about Mary Stewart, by email and on the blog itself: a community of Mary Stewart readers is a thing of beauty! I rather got out of the way of blogging, for various reasons, but I am so heartened by the response to the two recent/recent-ish info posts, and by Suzanne’s offer of a guest review (Guest Review of This Rough Magic) to help keep the blog going. These recent comments have reminded me of all the reasons I enjoyed blogging so much, and of all the wonderful discussion, support and contributions – of reviews, opinions, taking part in surveys, reading aloud snippets of Mary Stewart’s work, and more – that have been given so generously by Mary Stewart readers from the beginning of Mary Queen of Plots. Thank you all so much.
I hope that this doesn’t read as a mawkish farewell – actually, it is intended as ‘hello again’. I have looked out my copies of My Brother Michael in preparation for a ‘Book Art’ post and I am trying to think how on earth to mark the anniversary of Mary Stewart’s death (9 May) and what would have been her birthday on 17 September. Suggestions most welcome!
Today is World Poetry Day, so here are a few lines from Mary Stewart’s poem Persephone, from Frost on the Window and other poems:
I am the Maiden, the Mother, The goal, the quest, Tyrant, beloved, desired, The hated, blest, Who brings with comfort, rebellion, With rest, unrest.
Happy World Poetry Day!
Mary Queen of Plots 
Thank you for your blog and for the reminder of World Poetry Day. I still remember how thrilled I was to find a US first edition of Frost On the Window, in like new condition, complete with DJ on a Library Book Sale shelf. I can see the shelf along one wall of the room. It has been too long since I looked at it. I admit to being the most fond of the poems she wrote for the Merlin books. But, for this day I will share the last verse of one titled “To Blaise”. The years 1975-1988 are under the title, so I am assuming he was her cat. The final verse runs:
Old cat on the sill,
Sleep in the sun,
Dream, for the golden day
Is almost done.
This has special significance for me since our current dog is slowing down and one can foresee the end.
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How funny, Jerri, that is exactly the verse I picked to begin with! And I was going to use a photo I took yesterday, of my cat on the windowsill next to a vase of flowers – but like your dog, my cat is slowing down, she is 15 and barely set a paw outdoors this winter, so I decided against it in the end. And yes, Blaise is a cat, MS mentions him in the author info section of the UK Reader’s Digest edition of Touch Not the Cat. It is a lovely verse, Mary Stewart’s love for her pets shines through in her cat poems, doesn’t it?
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Interesting that there is mention of MS’s cat Blaise in the UK Reader’s Digest edition of Touch Not the Cat. I was inspired to check out my edition of Touch, and while I can’t find any mention of Blaise, the back of the DJ has a photo of Mary with a cat, and below it says “Jacket illustration by Robert McGinnis courtesy of Reader’s Digest Condensed Books. But the photo credit is “Ringer Swiss Illustrated. In any case, it is a lovely looking black and white cat, apparently reaching for a treat. The photographer must have had a lot of patience (and Mary and Blaise also!) At least I assume the cat is Blaise, due to the timing. I would never have thought, in my search for “completeness” that one would need a Reader’s Digest Condensed book version to get information like about her cat(s)!
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Thanks for this, Jerri, it is a Mark Gerson photo of Mary Stewart on the back cover of the UK first edition. I believe the cat in the US photo is Troy, and it is strange indeed the items that become “must haves” over time! š
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Thank you SO much for coming back! I found your blog a couple years ago and was so sad it was not still active. I gobble up every post.
If you are looking for blog post suggestions could I add a request? Iād love it if you did a more detailed one about locations/settings. I know you said MS changes geography a tad to fit her plot in The Ivy Tree, but Iām sure everything she writes about must be a real place sheās actually seen. I love looking up places she describes in her books. Do you know what town she based The village of Soubirous off of in Nine Coaches Waiting? And the Chateau Valmy? Also the places in This Rough Magic? The White Scar farm in the Ivy Tree? The way she describes the roads and houses and landscape just MUST be real. What do you think?
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Thank you Sally. I will give your suggestions some thought, I’d need to put in some research to have a chance of answering those questions of setting accurately! I agree that MS writes so vividly that her settings must surely be real and known very well by her. Chateau Valmy was within walking distance of Thonon-les-Bains on Lake Geneva, was it not? – I have been to Geneva and gone up the cable car at Mont Saleve just into France but haven’t explored near Thonon-les-Bains. I wonder if anyone reading this knows more?
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Love these posts about the wonderful Mary Stewart. Regarding settings for her books, I understand that she used to accompany her husband Sir Fred on his geological expeditions and would write her books while waiting for him to do his work. So she really knew what she was writing about whether it was Crete, Mull or other Geological hotspots.
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Hi Fiona, thanks for your comment – I’m sure you’re right, I remember Mary Stewart wrote somewhere that she and her husband had ‘explored every inch’ of Skye, and I remember in one of the newspaper articles posted when The Wind Off the Small Isles was re-issued that Jennifer Ogden, Mary Stewart’s niece, spoke of the couple’s exploration of Lanzarote. I believe that Mary Stewart also took some holidays with her friend Elizabeth Manners when her husband was tied up in university work. So yes, I agree, Mary Stewart knew what she was writing about. And she certainly knew how to write!
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Welcome back!!! One of my favorite authors and your blog is a real treasure trove of information and fascinating commentary on her work. More guest blogs? Iād be interested to hear other readers take on her work. And more biographical info about Stewart!!!!
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Thank you so much, that is very kind! I’d be delighted to host guest posts, I love reading other perspectives on Mary Stewart’s writing. Are you volunteering for this? š
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I am thrilled to know there are other Mary Stewart fans out there. I discovered her in high school so many years ago and they are still my go-to books today when I need something good to read. Thank you!
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Hello Norma, welcome to the blog! Yes, it’s lovely to know how well-loved Mary Stewart’s books remain, isn’t it? So many of us seem to have discovered her young, and find that her magic doesn’t fade.
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Hello again! Iām looking forward to seeing your art post.
I did have a suggestion for those anniversaries – how readers first discovered Mary Stewart? I have both my grandmothers to thank
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That is a great suggestion, Laura, I really like that idea. And what fab grandmothers to have!
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Welcome back! Nothing to please me more than to hear you are blogging again! We have missed you so much!
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Ah, thank you so much! āŗ
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I second (third, fourth, etc.) everyone else in saying how much I appreciate this blog and the community you’ve created. I’m so glad you’re feeling inspired to come back to it, and so grateful for the chance to make a small contribution!
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Ah, thank you! š
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So pleased you’re back! I looked up the blog because Iāve just read Nine Coaches Waiting for the first time and was thrilled to see the cover art post. I’ve now read all MS’s novels – took me 40 years with a big gap in the middle – and I now feel I need to reread the ones I havenāt read since I was a teenager.
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Hello Lyn, thank you so much. I hope you enjoyed Nine Coaches Waiting, it sounds as though you did if you are ready to embark on a re-reading journey!
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