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Post by lemming13 on May 5, 2011 12:14:25 GMT
I just know there's a thread somewhere on this - dem, how about some kind of list somewhere of authors there's already a thread for? Alphabetical, rather than period or publisher. No need for links, if I find the name on it I can hunt it down myself as long as I know it's there. I'd volunteer to help, take on a particular sub-topic and list the authors in it so you could add them in without having to search them out (unless you have some arcane catalogue hidden away which already has lists of these things, and I suspect you do...) Anyway, I'm working my way through Gaskell's collection Curious, If True, and enjoying it more than I expected. The Old Nurse's Story is the opener, and that's familiar ground, but I hadn't read the others (to the best of my hazy and haphazard recollection). Bit long-winded here and there, but not bad at all. The rest are The Poor Clare, which is a nice take on the 'victim of curse' tale; Lois the Witch, which is a bit long but has the inevitability of a Greek tragedy as it unfolds the story of an English orphan seeking refuge with kinsfolk in Salem, Massachusetts; The Grey Woman, which I've liked least so far but which is still quite a nice Gothic thriller; and I'm just tackling the title story, Curious If True, so I'll add on a summary when I'm done.
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Post by lemming13 on May 9, 2011 10:18:51 GMT
Curious, If True turns out to be more of a fairy tale - traveller benighted in rural France spots a chateau and seeks refuge, only to be mistaken for an expected English guest. Too embarrassed to put them right, he becomes more and more puzzled as he meets his fellow-guests and finds them strangely familiar - the handsome lady who sleeps a lot; the charming lady who can't dance any more because she used to wear such tiny slippers when she was young; the nobleman with the peasant ways apparently in thrall to his servant, a growly fellow in oversized boots... The penny finally begins to drop when one lady shows her a portrait of her late husband, drawing attention to the unique colour of his beard and mourning her brothers' hasty and violent actions which left her a widow - and when he realises who the other English guest they were expecting is (Jaques le Geantquilleur). Rather nice little fantasy tale to round off with.
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