Mary Stewart, Libraries of Yore, and the Joy of Literary Suspense

A few months ago, I was offered the chance to read a book in manuscript by mystery writer Julia Buckley. The book's title intrigued me: A Dark and Stormy Murder. When I read a description of the plot, and that it had to do with a young writer working for a famous writer of romantic suspense, I had to read it. I read it -- in one sitting. I loved every page of it, and I was happy (as Miranda James) to give the book a blurb. Then I asked Julia (we're on first-name terms now) if she would like to write a blog for the Femmes in time for her book's on-sale date of July 5th. (Take my advice--reserve your copy now!) Here is what she wrote.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my youth, I loved visiting the local library. It was within walking distance, and my sister and I would take tote bags to the little building—a house that had been transformed into a library—and fill up the bags with our treasure. That was in the days that big chunky hardbacks dominated the shelves, and you didn’t find only recent books, but ALL the books that an author had written over twenty or more years.

This was how I discovered authors who had published books decades before I was born, and how I came to love that 20^th Century triumvirate of romantic suspense: Mary Stewart, Phyllis A. Whitney, and Victoria Holt.  All of these women wrote novels that transported the reader to faraway, often exotic places, along with a young heroine who was generally out of her element (as was the new Mrs. DeWinter in Rebecca—and Daphne du Maurier’s books were in fact the predecessors to this sort of novel) and who was flung, against her will, into a world of danger and intrigue.

One of the reasons Stewart was considered the best at romantic suspense—indeed, to have essentially created a new genre for subsequent generations—was because she combined a beautiful prose-writing style with a gift for writing about setting, a talent for creating ingenious plots, and a literary sensibility that made the reader feel enriched beyond the story itself. Mary Stewart enthralled her readers on many levels, and her books have always been my favorite in the world.

A great example of her literary suspense can be found in her novel THIS ROUGH MAGIC.  Stewart brings her love of Shakespeare and The Tempest not just to the title (taken from Prospero’s vow that “This rough magic I here abjure"), but to the epigraph at the beginning of every chapter, which always has thematic relevance to the contents of the chapter.  The story is set on Corfu, in the same Mediterranean Sea where Prospero’s magical island was located. Stewart’s criminal is eventually revealed to have the primitive motivations of a Caliban, while the dolphin that the heroine befriends is a lovely modern Ariel, a creature of air and water who seems to herald good fortune. In addition, a retired actor lives on the island, and he is most famous for his role as—what else? Prospero in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

Stewart’s intertextuality makes her readers feel literate even while they are being drawn into a darn good adventure tale.

Readers of Stewart know exactly what I mean, and a quick glance at Amazon reveals that her books are still selling, two years after her death at age 97, and long after her retirement from writing. Not only are the books selling, but her ratings are almost solely in the five star range, because she is simply that good.

So why am I writing about Mary Stewart?  Well, because I like to do it.  But also because I wanted to create a mystery series that could somehow pay homage to her. So in my new novel, A Dark and Stormy Murder, my heroine is a young woman who idolizes a Stewart-like writer named Camilla Graham. Since I cannot begin to write as well as Stewart, I decided I could at the very least create a character who could. My heroine, Lena London, goes through a series of serendipitous events that allow her to live with Graham in her house and become her writing partner.

I suppose this is what they call wish fulfillment, and I imagine all writers do a bit of it. And why not? The joy of writing is that you can transport yourself to whatever place your imagination chooses.

Comments

[Juliabucks]

Thank you for hosting me on the blog, Dean! And I appreciate your kind words about the book, too!

[Avis]

I still reread Mary Stewart often, after discovering her in my teens. Nine Coaches Waiting is my absolute favorite, followed by Airs Above the Ground (Autocorrect just turned that into Airstream!), and The Moonspinner, with its adult heroine, not the teenager from the film.

I feel the first chapter of Nine Coaches Waiting is a perfect example of how to start a story, introducing the main character, placing her in time and location, giving us back story and the physical and emotional transformation of her moving from her past and present into the future.

I will definitely be picking up A Dark and Stormy Murder!

[Margaret Hamilton Turkevich]

great premise for a book! Like many others, I came of age reading Stewart, Holt, Whitney and MacInnes.

[Kristopher]

Oh wow, this book sounds excellent. I am off to pre-order.

I grew up reading Stewart, Holt, and Whitney and they have certainly influenced my love of modern domestic suspense. These romantic suspense tales took me on a reading path. From them, I took the dual trails of reading both Mary Higgins Clark and Jackie Collins.

I wish I had more time to revisit those Stewart books, I remember them being so very good. I might need to take a respite from my blog reading one afternoon this summer and enjoy at least one of them.

[Julia Buckley]

Avis, you are so right, and I miss the days in which you could take your time getting into a story, and authors could spend a luxurious amount of time establishing setting (as Stewart did so well), entering a wonderland and slowly stumbling upon plot.

Nine Coaches Waiting is also one of my favorites, along with Madam, Will You talk?

Margaret Hamilton, I was a big Helen MacInnes fan! In fact I wrote a blog essay once in which I theorized that her books were the predecessors to books like THE BOURNE IDENTITY.

[Amy]

Thanks for sharing ! I'm adding your book now to my book store list of books to get this month.

[Jacki YORK]

And I'm on vacation that week! I know where I will be on Tuesday- the bookstore!

I loved all of them and Barbara Michaels as well. And when I found out that she wrote under Elizabeth Peters also- heaven!

[Charlaine Harris]

Mary Stewart was so fantastic. And Phyllis A. Whitney . . . I had the astonishing experience of meeting her. She was a tiny cricket of a woman. Barbara Michaels, Victoria Holt, Daphne du Maurier; they all led me into Mary Roberts Rinehart, Agatha Christie, and beyond. What a wonderful education in writing they were.

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

Oh, how fabulous. It sounds wonderful! Congratulations on a brilliant idea.

And confession: somehow I missed that phase..I went straight to Christie, Tey, Allingham, Sayers etc.

Do you think I should try them now? WHich ones, everyone? (I've read Rebecca of course…wait. Have I? It feels as if I know it so well, but maybe that's movie-fantasy.)

Or maybe I'll start with you! xoxoo

[Susan Neace]

One of the most memorable lines of dialogue in This Rough Magic after the astonishing event at the end of the book. From Adonis to his girlfriend. "I have cooked it for you". Despite that line, Mary Stewart is directly responsible for my decision to eat in local restaurants when I travel.

[Mark]

I've got to say, I love the title of this book as well. My love of Snoopy's failed writing career might have something to do with it.

[Elaine Viets]

Welcome to the Femmes, and what an intriguing idea for a new series. Congratulations.

[Julia Buckley]

Thank you for posting all these great comments! I just got out of work, so I will get back to our dialogue:

Kristopher, I recommend it! It's just the problem of which to choose, like being faced with a box of delicious chocolates.

Amy--thanks! Every sale is appreciated, but I also hope you enjoy the story.

Jacki and Charlaine, there is such nostalgia in looking back at these writers and the way they influenced our reading and our writing. That's where this book was born.

Hank, I'll bet anyone on this list could give you recommendations for the best book with which to begin, but I am totally cool with you starting with mine. :)

Susan--you are so right! A powerful line. She clearly got absorbed into her own fictional worlds, because she felt these emotions with her characters.

Mark--too funny! I also love Snoopy and all of his literary aspirations.

Elaine, thanks for your kind welcome.

[Kristin Lundgren]

You brought back memories of my local library. Not quite as close, and built into a round bldg, stuck into the side of a small hill, with wraparound windows on half. But it's on those shelves, and my older sister's, that I discovered that same triumvirate of RS writers, and several more. I have all the books of those three, at least up to a certain period, and a box full of lesser well known gothic writers, but they are dear to me. Thanks for brining back some delightful years, when they did carry an author's backlist, all if it. It's a complaint that I still talk about. For those of us who have only a small budget, books or anything else, the library is a necessary resource. Money should go into book space, not design.

[Juliabucks]

I so agree, Kristin. And libraries are also the way to help raise children who read. Our culture should encourage books in every way, and that means libraries for those who can't afford bookstores.

There was a time that I would go to our yearly used book sale at the public high school where they sold hardbacks for a dollar and paperbacks for fifty cents, and I would buy every Mary Stewart hardback they had, with the cool old covers, even if I already owned them. They're harder and harder to find, so when I see one, I snatch it up. It's like treasure to me.

[catriona]

I want to read this book and live in that house!

[Juliabucks]

You can! Thanks to the IMAGINATION, as Spongebob would say. :)

[Mary S.]

Really looking forward to this one. And doesn't it have a beautiful book cover? Congratulations, Julia and thanks for sharing this today!

[Julia Buckley]

Thank you, Mary!!

[Mimi Musick]

It is like hearing magic words, "written like Mary Stewart"
and I am so ready to read the book. I still own them all, and will be ready to collect this new author.

[Julia Buckley]

Mimi, I can't claim to write like Mary Stewart, but hopefully if you read the book you'll find it to be an appropriate homage to her.

[Kathy Reel]

I so enjoyed this post, Julia, and I love the title of your new book. I'm headed to Amazon now!

[Marlyn]

Julia, I'm in the midst of reading DARK AND STORMY right now. I knew it was an homage to Mary Stewart the minute I saw the first epigraph.

It's one of those books I want to read really quickly so I know what will happen, but also really slowly because I don't want it to end.

[Pamela Oughton]

I do wish that they would put Mary Stewart books on audio books. I did find one with cassettes but not a lot of use these days. Please please. I reread her greek books at least once a year.