Hi there

[ex-jo-blogs.livejournal.com]

Just a quick post to introduce myself. I discovered the Antonia Forest books many years ago and loved them but never met anyone, other than myself and my sister, who'd even heard of them. A few years ago, a very kind person from the Girlsown list lent me all the ones I didn't own, or had managed to lose over the years. They also supplied me with a photocopy of The Players Boy, which up until then, I had never managed to read. If that person is a member of this community, (sorry can't remember her name) - thank you again!

I then tracked down my own copies of the missing books, so I was finally in possession of a full set. It's great to find a group of fans, I could never understand why her books were such a minority interest, they are so beautifully written. I can't nominate a favourite as I love them all equally, for different reasons.

I do have a very soft spot for The Player and the Rebels, as it was one of only two I managed to keep hold of, in the barren years when I'd lost most of the others. My hardback would doubtless be worth more if I hadn't read it so many times. The others was The Thuggery Affair, which I also love, although I think I read somewhere that it's not as well-regarded as the others. I love it for the absence of Nicola, for the long sequences from other characters points of view, particularly Lawrie. I love Nicola, especially in The Cricket Term and Run Away Home but it's interesting to have one Marlow book without her. Anyway, I've rambled on long enough, looking forward to being here *waves*

Comments

[ex-ajhalluk585.livejournal.com]

Welcome! It's very nice to have someone to discuss the historical ones with, because those (I think) were the first I read, and then I thought I'd give Falconer's Lure a try.

[ex-jo-blogs.livejournal.com]

Thanks! My knowledge of history is shamefully poor in general but I loved The Player and the Rebels because I read it *before* studying Richard II for 'A' level and it was SO exciting to join the dots with all the kingship and insurrection stuff. And the sonnet in it that starts "Why didst thou promise such a beauteous day" is guaranteed to make me well up every time.
*wanders off to mull over writing that Nicholas/Bess fic she now realises she's always secretly wanted to read*

[helenprev.livejournal.com]

Welcome! The historical books are the only ones I haven't yet read - I am waiting for Girls Gone By to publish! In some ways I like it that way because when there are still 2 Marlow books I haven't read, there is still something new to look forward to!

And your comment reminded me of when we began to study The Tempest for A Level and it finally started making sense of all of that part of Cricket Term!

[mrs-redboots.livejournal.com]

I've just ordered The Players' Boy via Topsy-Turvy (http://www.topsyturvychildrensbooks.co.uk/) for when it will come out! Can't wait...

[ex-jo-blogs.livejournal.com]

And your comment reminded me of when we began to study The Tempest for A Level and it finally started making sense of all of that part of Cricket Term!
Me too! Bizarrely enough, The Tempest was my other 'A' level Shakespeare text. I wonder if my teacher was a fan *ponders*.

[rosathome.livejournal.com]

Nice to see you here.

Nicholas/Bess fic? *suddenly remembers one she wrote a few years ago and wanders off to check if its still there*

Hmm. Maybe this needs a public airing too?

[ex-jo-blogs.livejournal.com]

Ooh yes please! I don't have time at the moment really, too busy with Neville and Hannah :)

[coughingbear]

Welcome to trennels! If you're looking through past discussions, we did talk a bit about whether the Merrick Ghost could be one of the characters from the Players books, here. I love the two historicals as well. Forest does a brilliant job of conveying the period, I think, and I'm very fond of Nicholas. Was rather sad when I found out that Burbage's children all died young, so Bess and the rest didn't exist.

[ex-jo-blogs.livejournal.com]

Thanks - that was interesting! It's been a while since I reread them - I was in danger of overdosing a bit - so easy to do ;) But now I have new fanfic and discussions to read *rubs hands gleefully*

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

Welcome!

I too really like the long Lawrie-viewpoint stretches in The Thuggery Affair, particularly when she's composing her own obituary. So Lawrie! :)

[ex-jo-blogs.livejournal.com]

*happy sigh* I love Lawrie - I feel she is much maligned ;)

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

I can quite see her being hell to live with, but she's so much fun to read about!

The Thuggery Affair

[leapingirbis.livejournal.com]

Yes, I loved that bit too! I have to admit I used to do the same when lying in bed ill and feeling sorry for myself, and like Lawrie also ended up in tears of self pity! I was really pleased to find someone else who did that until it occurred to me that Lawrie probably wasn't a great role model!

Actually, I loved the entire book. I find it one of the most intense of all AF's books (maybe because of the short timeframe) and it really brings across the feeling of teenagers not quite in control of the events going on around them - which I remember as being one of the main features of being a teenager, even if I didn't lead such an excitng life as the Marlows!

Lawrie as role model

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

The Lawrie thing I found most reassuring was 'I can't light gas, it bangs at me'. I'm thirty-four and still can't light gas, it bangs at me - I'm OK with gas cookers where you press a little button to ignite it, but if I'm ever stuck in a holiday cottage and have to use one of those little metal igniters-on-a-stick I will actually just shamefully manage without toast or tea until someone comes and does it for me.

Run Away Home has a similarly short timeframe, but possibly the presence of Rowan and Giles (until Giles isn't present in any helpful sense, of course) makes it less claustrophobic?

Re: Lawrie as role model

[leapingirbis.livejournal.com]

Run Away Home has a similarly short timeframe, but possibly the presence of Rowan and Giles (until Giles isn't present in any helpful sense, of course) makes it less claustrophobic?

Yes, and also the presence of Nicola, and because we see it from Nicola's perspective. Nicola is a very comforting pov person, because we know she will cope and everything will work out, but I don't have that feeling with Patrick, Peter or Lawrie. For one reason or another, whether because of a streak of recklessness (Patrick), an inability to bow to common sense through fear of being seen as a coward (Peter), or total lack of common sense (Lawrie), none of them seem to be in control of the situation in the same way as Nicola, Rowan or Giles would have been. Its probably the same reason why AF put Giles out of action on the trip back from France; the narrative only got really compelling once it was Peter on his own.

Re: Lawrie as role model

[ex-jo-blogs.livejournal.com]

I agree with all of the above - I always had a lot of sympathy with Lawrie's fears and fantasies. I also think that the confusion with names and the weird dialect of the Teds adds to the feeling of claustrophobia in TTA. It increases the feeling that the characters we know are out of their element, the outsiders.