Thanks for all of the comments - you are inspiring me to try again. I think what frustrated me most about The Thuggery Affair - apart from the slang which I found annoying - was that I didn't feel I got to know much more about any of the characters, there was none of the sense of slow development which there is in the school stories. I also think that maybe I am more tolerant of datedness in school stories, in fact it's almost a prerequisite in so many boarding school stories, and it doesn't jar, whereas in The Thuggery Affair it felt like she was trying to reproduce a certain time and getting it wrong, in the same way as adults often get teenage slang wrong, or even if they don't, it comes across as acutely embarrassing. Having said that, I wasn't around at the time that book was written and so she may be 100% accurate in her slang, but somehow it doesn't feel like it. What does anyone else think?
I liked the fact that in the school books I felt like I was gradually learning more about the Marlows and Merricks - maybe this is a side effect of the way I read the stories, since I in fact only met characters like Patrick through his very brief appearances in the school stories, and so each time was like another piece of the puzzle. Maybe the Thuggery Affair was too plot-driven for me, and I found the plot too unlikely. School stories in general don't need so much plot, I think, since the rhythm of the school term provides a natural framework, and that can leave more room for character development. Antfan is right too, the other Kingscote characters are great and I miss them in the other books, I kept hoping that Miranda or Tim would come to stay for part of the holidays!
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2007-10-08 03:28 pm (UTC)I liked the fact that in the school books I felt like I was gradually learning more about the Marlows and Merricks - maybe this is a side effect of the way I read the stories, since I in fact only met characters like Patrick through his very brief appearances in the school stories, and so each time was like another piece of the puzzle. Maybe the Thuggery Affair was too plot-driven for me, and I found the plot too unlikely. School stories in general don't need so much plot, I think, since the rhythm of the school term provides a natural framework, and that can leave more room for character development. Antfan is right too, the other Kingscote characters are great and I miss them in the other books, I kept hoping that Miranda or Tim would come to stay for part of the holidays!