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Post by humgoo on Jun 11, 2020 17:03:20 GMT
[...]the only Raven short i've read (other than Chriseis,the often-anthologised extract from Doctors ...) is the aforementioned The Bottle of 1912 in The Oxford Book Of Ghost Stories, and very underwhelmed by it i was too. Probably the weakest story in that otherwise excellent book! I'm actually a huge Simon Raven fan, having first read Doctors wear scarlet a few years ago Valancourt (who else) has reprinted Doctors Wear Scarlet recently with a new introduction by Kim Newman. I was tempted but then remembered that it has the reputation of being hard-going. Do you think it's worth a try, Steve, especially when there's already so much other good stuff to read? |
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Post by helrunar on Jun 11, 2020 18:03:53 GMT
Hi Cheong,
Oh dear, I am not at all objective when it comes to anything by Raven! Doctors wear scarlet was the first book by him I ever read, and shortly afterwards I watched the 1969 film version (which isn't nearly as good, but interesting as a period artifact--Peter Cushing plays an important character, reduced in the movie script to practically a cameo role).
It's so many years ago now that I find it hard to remember specifics, but I was intrigued by the novel's intermingling of psychological horror, hints of insidious Pagan survivals, a very oddly nuanced homoerotic subtext which keeps cropping up (I later learned this is one of Raven's favorite themes), and the author's offbeat approach to the whole concept of vampirism.
It definitely requires more attention and energy than many of the works discussed in other cobwebbed adyta of our beloved Vault. I think it is also a very ENGLISH book, very focused on a specific hierarchy of class and culture and the role of Cambridge in all of that sort of thing.
I know that three of my favorite writers--Raven, Sax Rohmer, and HP Lovecraft, are all paraded on various blogs and sites as notorious racists--strange though it must seem, I love them for their way with language and generally chalk up the racism to "this was how UK and US culture was then"--and, as events today are showing, how so much of it STILL IS in our own enlightened age (!).
cheers, Steve
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Post by helrunar on Jun 13, 2020 2:23:10 GMT
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Post by helrunar on Jun 13, 2020 19:04:21 GMT
Profile of the author here. Lots about cricket, a bit about horse racing, lots of quotes from Homer, Virgil, Catullus et al, musings about life at Charterhouse and King's College, and plenty of references to Simon's vigorous run as a happy bisexual... guess the author of that review (link immediately above) missed the copious references to the latter in most writing about Raven. www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTsJ65ZNkc4H. |
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Post by helrunar on May 27, 2021 12:40:23 GMT
Oh, I guess in cricket it's not a "match" it's a "test" or an "over" or... I should bloody well just shut up.
H.
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Post by Queen Tuvstarr of Pellucidar on May 27, 2021 12:42:40 GMT
Oh, I guess in cricket it's not a "match" it's a "test" or an "over" or... I should bloody well just shut up. H. They play for five days, with breaks for lunch and tea. Then they call it a draw and all go home. |
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Post by Queen Tuvstarr of Pellucidar on May 27, 2021 13:02:49 GMT
Oh, I guess in cricket it's not a "match" it's a "test" or an "over" or... I should bloody well just shut up. H. It's a bit like hockey. |
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Post by Queen Tuvstarr of Pellucidar on May 27, 2021 13:10:59 GMT
Oh, I guess in cricket it's not a "match" it's a "test" or an "over" or... I should bloody well just shut up. H. I like it, because if I leave the room for ten minutes and then come back, I know I haven't missed anything. |
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Post by helrunar on May 27, 2021 13:57:20 GMT
My favorite cricket artifact, apart from the often ritualistic episodes in Raven's novels, was when the Two Fat Ladies (Jennifer is a role model) prepared goodies for a tea tent at one of the cricket saturnalias. And then Clarissa acted as an umpire or a referee or something. It was amusing.
You can basically "leave the room" for 3 hours and not miss much... not that I know anything about it. Just smile occasionally and murmur "Oh well done" or, if you're Helena Bonham Carter in Maurice, observe with a knowing look "Little points interest me."
H.
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Post by Queen Tuvstarr of Pellucidar on May 27, 2021 15:18:58 GMT
My favorite cricket artifact, apart from the often ritualistic episodes in Raven's novels, was when the Two Fat Ladies (Jennifer is a role model) prepared goodies for a tea tent at one of the cricket saturnalias. And then Clarissa acted as an umpire or a referee or something. It was amusing. You can basically "leave the room" for 3 hours and not miss much... not that I know anything about it. Just smile occasionally and murmur "Oh well done" or, if you're Helena Bonham Carter in Maurice, observe with a knowing look "Little points interest me." H. Jennifer, the older of the ladies (both have sadly died) sounded fun (I'm sure the other was too). Looking her up I see she had a Triumph Thunderbird motorbike and her friend would sit in the sidecar, as they travelled around Britain filming. She was expelled from convent school, and was a cook for the Ugandan Legation in London. She was also in films: Fish and Millican (1965) Role unknown Caravaggio (1986) As an Extra What Rats Won't Do (1998) as Justice Bradley You could try playing spot the fat lady. 1965 film might be very hard. |
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Post by Queen Tuvstarr of Pellucidar on May 27, 2021 16:35:07 GMT
My favorite cricket artifact, apart from the often ritualistic episodes in Raven's novels, was when the Two Fat Ladies (Jennifer is a role model) prepared goodies for a tea tent at one of the cricket saturnalias. And then Clarissa acted as an umpire or a referee or something. It was amusing. You can basically "leave the room" for 3 hours and not miss much... not that I know anything about it. Just smile occasionally and murmur "Oh well done" or, if you're Helena Bonham Carter in Maurice, observe with a knowing look "Little points interest me." H. Jennifer is how I'd imagine one of those eccentric Victorian ladies from the Empire days, sipping her afternoon drink out in a jungle somewhere where the sun never sets. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOvtxWMB-Fo |
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Post by Queen Tuvstarr of Pellucidar on May 27, 2021 17:50:51 GMT
My favorite cricket artifact, apart from the often ritualistic episodes in Raven's novels, was when the Two Fat Ladies (Jennifer is a role model) prepared goodies for a tea tent at one of the cricket saturnalias. And then Clarissa acted as an umpire or a referee or something. It was amusing. You can basically "leave the room" for 3 hours and not miss much... not that I know anything about it. Just smile occasionally and murmur "Oh well done" or, if you're Helena Bonham Carter in Maurice, observe with a knowing look "Little points interest me." H. Helrunar, what is your favourite of the Fat Ladies episodes? So I can try to find one to watch. |
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Post by helrunar on May 27, 2021 18:12:10 GMT
It's hard to choose a fave--there are marvelous moments in all of them. The Brazilian Embassy is a contender. But since I mentioned it, here's the "Afternoon Tea" segment where they cook for all the lurvely cricket lads. (Edited for gratuitous mention of bared male thighs... I think cricket persons wear long trousers??) www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjtQ0eO6Bm4So English it's practically guaranteed to have you taking a dive for that plate of scones and the clotted cream. Just wait till the chat starts about the Gentlemen's Savoury Delights and Queen Alexandra's "boudoir sandwiches." Jennifer to Clarissa: "I won't have you savaging all the men." cheers, Hel |
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Post by Queen Tuvstarr of Pellucidar on May 27, 2021 18:30:32 GMT
It's hard to choose a fave--there are marvelous moments in all of them. The Brazilian Embassy is a contender. But since I mentioned it, here's the "Afternoon Tea" segment where they cook for all the lurvely cricket lads. (Edited for gratuitous mention of bared male thighs... I think cricket persons wear long trousers??) www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjtQ0eO6Bm4So English it's practically guaranteed to have you taking a dive for that plate of scones and the clotted cream. Just wait till the chat starts about the Gentlemen's Savoury Delights and Queen Alexandra's "boudoir sandwiches." Jennifer to Clarissa: "I won't have you savaging all the men." cheers, Hel It's so gently paced, like real cricket (not the rubbish 20 over stuff). Isn't it wonderful! I think the term they use for cricket dress is whites. |
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Post by Queen Tuvstarr of Pellucidar on May 27, 2021 20:24:28 GMT
It's hard to choose a fave--there are marvelous moments in all of them. The Brazilian Embassy is a contender. But since I mentioned it, here's the "Afternoon Tea" segment where they cook for all the lurvely cricket lads. (Edited for gratuitous mention of bared male thighs... I think cricket persons wear long trousers??) www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjtQ0eO6Bm4So English it's practically guaranteed to have you taking a dive for that plate of scones and the clotted cream. Just wait till the chat starts about the Gentlemen's Savoury Delights and Queen Alexandra's "boudoir sandwiches." Jennifer to Clarissa: "I won't have you savaging all the men." cheers, Hel "bared male thighs" I don't know what you have been watching, but I'm almost certain it isn't cricket. Whatever it is it belongs in one of those naughty books dem bones collects. |
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