Random Jottings

David Copperfield revisited

Over Christmas the BBC repeated a marvellous dramatisation of David Copperfield which I remember watching and loving years ago. It was shown in a tribute to the late Dame Maggie Smith who played the role of Aunt Betsy Trotwood and it was a total joy to see this portrayal again.  Appearing at David's birth and then rushing away furious because he was a boy and then taking him in when he runs away from London and arrives on her doorstep, she is the most wonderfully warm and lovely character that Dickens ever created. In my opinion anyway. The scene where the Murdstones turn up and she gives them a piece of her mind is simply glorious and I rejoiced in it all over again. I should mention that the late Bob Hoskins played Mr
Micawber beautifully. Normally I always find him acutely irritating but not this time. Also worth remembering is that the young David is played by Daniel Radcliffe before he found fame as Harry Potter. He was a better actor then than he is now...

So I took my copy of David C down from the shelf and read it after a long gap and loved it all over again. I can never fathom out what drove Mr Murdstone to behave the way he did and what made him into the person he was but he really is vile, a sadist of the first order. 

Of course large parts of the story are autobiographical and Mr Micawber is surely based on his father the improvident John Dickens who ended up in Marshalsea prison being unable to pay off his creditors.  The young Charles was sent out to work by his mother and even when better times came she overruled his returning to school and continuing his education for which he never forgave her. He got his own back by basing Mrs Nickleby on her.

David's happy life began when he was adopted by Aunt Betsy and went to live with her. There is a touching moment when, having walked all the way from London, he falls asleep on her sofa and feels a light touch on his head and Aunt Betsy murmuring "poor boy" and it always brings a lump to my throat.

Recently I had a discussion with another reader about Dora Spenlow with whom David falls madly in love.  Yes she is silly and inefficient and childish but he still adores her and she is championed by Aunt Betsy who is very aware that David could be in danger of behaving towards her as did Mr Murdstone to his mother.  Yet, there is steel in her. On her death bed she tells David that perhaps they were too young when they married and though he loved her as the years went by (he was by now becoming a famous writer) he would tire of his "silly wife" and want something more. I always found this scene incredibly touching and, once again, on reading it I was reduced to tears.

Of course the book is full of glorious creations, the charming and feckless Steerforth, Peggoty, Barkis ("Barkis is willing") Mr Micawber, Mrs Micawber and the vile and ghastly Uriah Heep.  I had forgotten how much I loved this book and it was a joy to discover it all over again.

Along with Great Expectations this is my favourite Dickens.

 

Morland Saga by Cynthia-Harrod-Eagles

Back in 2010 having discovered and read, in order, the wonderful Morland Dymasty books of Harrod-Eagles I was totally astonished and dismayed to hear they were coming to an end. Not because the author had got fed up with writing them, au contraire, but because her publisher decided they did not want them any more.  It seems this decision was reached because they felt not eough copies were being sold.  Although the Morlands were extremely popular too many people either borrowed them from the library or bought  a second hand copy (the hardbacks were expensive) and the publisher receives no money from that (neither does the author of course though with library loans some pennies may come her way.)    .

I found this decision incredibly short sighted.  Historical fiction always sells well - why is Jean Plaidy being reprinted?  Why are Alison Weir and Philippa Gregory plastered all over Waterstones?  No need to answer that one - because their publishers pay for this space that is why.  There is very little publicity for the latest Morland novel as each is published and I think the publishers have lost sight of what a marvellous series they have in their keeping.   My gut feeling is that Cynthia Harrod-Eagles has been with them a long time, she is reliable, she gives them a Morland book a year so they take her for granted and perhaps don't think she is 'sexy' enough.

I could not understand why they did not do a push on these titles by rebranding, them, new covers etc. A good marketing exercise would have boosted sales in no times.  The odd thing is that her publisher a little while later asked her to do another historical series for them which all sounds a tad confusing, the Ashmore books, which I admit I have tried and did not enjoy as much as her other books.

Anyway to cut a long story short, at long last the final Morland book, The Gathering Storm, has been published.   I wonder if the author cut a deal with the publishers to wind it up and tie up lots of loose ends that were left hanging after the abrupt cancellation? I have read it and enjoyed it but at first found it a trifle confusing as I had to remind myself of how the last book had ended.  Of course, after finishing it I did wonder what would happen next but doubt if we will ever find out.

It must be very dispiriting for an author who has been with a publisher for years, a reliable and, one hopes, valued member of their list to have this happen. Of course if you are a "sleb" and on telly then you can market your books and sell them in droves, even if they are pretty poor (I am naming no names) and as publishers are there to make money this is going to continue.

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles also writes wonderfully funny, incisive and marvellous crime novels featuring Bill Slider. I cannot recomment these highly enough and eagerly await each one as they are published.   These books are with another publisher altogether and it seems they have the sense to keep her on their list.   They are quite expensive and even the Kindle edition is a bit pricy but I always buy them as I love them so much.

Finally, I would like to mention that when I originally posted about this abrupt curtailment I received over 300 comments, the highest response I have ever had on Random. People were furious and rightly so.

If you like historical novels then I recommend the Morland Dynasty but if you decide to try them please read them in order. The historical research is impeccable and, as a bonus, you learn an awful lot about the times in which they are set.

Back in 2010 having discovered and read, in order, the wonderful Morland Dymasty books of Harrod-Eagles I was totally astonished and dismayed to hear they were coming to an end. Not because the author had got fed up with writing them, au contraire, but because her publisher decided they did not want them any more.  It seems this decision was reached because they felt not eough copies were being sold.  Although the Morlands were extremely popular too many people either borrowed them from the library or bought  a second hand copy (the hardbacks were expensive) and the publisher receives no money from that (neither does the author of course though with library loans some pennies may come her way.)    .

I found this decision incredibly short sighted.  Historical fiction always sells well - why is Jean Plaidy being reprinted?  Why are Alison Weir and Philippa Gregory plastered all over Waterstones?  No need to answer that one - because their publishers pay for this space that is why.  There is very little publicity for the latest Morland novel as each is published and I think the publishers have lost sight of what a marvellous series they have in their keeping.   My gut feeling is that Cynthia Harrod-Eagles has been with them a long time, she is reliable, she gives them a Morland book a year so they take her for granted and perhaps don't think she is 'sexy' enough.

I could not understand why they did not do a push on these titles by rebranding, them, new covers etc. A good marketing exercise would have boosted sales in no times.  The odd thing is that her publisher a little while later asked her to do another historical series for them which all sounds a tad confusing, the Ashmore books, which I admit I have tried and did not enjoy as much as her other books.

Anyway to cut a long story short, at long last the final Morland book, The Gathering Storm, has been published.   I wonder if the author cut a deal with the publishers to wind it up and tie up lots of loose ends that were left hanging after the abrupt cancellation? I have read it and enjoyed it but at first found it a trifle confusing as I had to remind myself of how the last book had ended.  Of course, after finishing it I did wonder what would happen next but doubt if we will ever find out.

It must be very dispiriting for an author who has been with a publisher for years, a reliable and, one hopes, valued member of their list to have this happen. Of course if you are a "sleb" and on telly then you can market your books and sell them in droves, even if they are pretty poor (I am naming no names) and as publishers are there to make money this is going to continue.

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles also writes wonderfully funny, incisive and marvellous crime novels featuring Bill Slider. I cannot recomment these highly enough and eagerly await each one as they are published.   These books are with another publisher altogether and it seems they have the sense to keep her on their list.   They are quite expensive and even the Kindle edition is a bit pricy but I always buy them as I love them so much.

Finally, I would like to mention that when I originally posted about this abrupt curtailment I received over 300 comments, the highest response I have ever had on Random. People were furious and rightly so.

If you like historical novels then I recommend the Morland Dynasty but if you decide to try them please read them in order. The historical research is impeccable and, as a bonus, you learn an awful lot about the times in which they are set.

Random Catch up

Hello all Random Readers and my thanks for your patience.  I have now emerged blinking in the sunlight and feeling human again.  This happened a day or so ago when I got out of bed and thought "something is wrong" and then I realised that was was wrong was that I felt alright, if that makes sense. Gone was the shakiness, the feeling of nausea and the tiredness. Vanished overnight and gosh, gor blimey, what a relief.   I would not wish this virus on my worst enemy no matter how much I loathed them as it totally wiped me out. I stayed indoors as well after my recovery as I gather I could still transfer this fiendish thing to others so thought discretion was the better part of valour.

Anyway, I rejoined my walking group yesterday and had a gentle stroll for about an hour and feel much better for it. Normality has returned.

One does tend to think that when ill you can lie in bed and read and it will all be lovely. Well, it doesn't work that way and I have done very little reading of note over the past month as I could not seem to focus on anything other than the thought was I going to throw up in a moment. Rather limiting.

Anyway, cut the waffle, and I am just going to do a general round up of books I have managed to get through, or start.

Lee Child - Gone tomorrow.   Skipped great chunks of this as pages on the best type of machine gun to use and how to assemble it do not appeal.  I read this one afternoon, in between dozing, and now cannot remember a thing about it.  I am pretty sure, as this is not a new book, that I have already read it but as they are all the same it does not matter. Jack Reacher can get a bit boring after a while. The Netflix series is quite entertaining though.  It is now on the charity shop pile.

Tess Gerritsen - The Spy Coast.   A new series from this author as she seems to have come to the end of Rizzoli and Isles which is a shame as I really enjoyed them. (the tv series was an abomination turning the relationship between the two protagonists into a silly, sassy ad
libbing pair).   This features a bunch of retired spooks who live in Maine and think they are safe. Well, they are not as we all know that Old Spooks never retire, they keep coming back to save the world.   Dead bodies start turning up on porches which is obviously A Warning and links back to a botched operation some years ago.   I thoroughly enjoyed it as I do all this author's books as they are well written with a narrative which moves along nicely.   There is a throw away line by one of the characters that they are members of "the Martini Club". and lo and behold the second in this series is called, guess what, the Martini Club.  (Reminds me of the Thusday Club series by Richard Osman which features another bunch of retirees solving murders etc. There seems to be a lot of that around at the moment).

Murder as a Fine Art - Carol Carnac. Another gem from the British Library Classic Crime series. this author also writes under the name E C R Lorac and it seems these have been hugely popular and one of the best sellers of this publishing arm of the British Library. And quite right too.   There are many more to come and it seems that this is because of their popularity and good to hear.   I enjoy the writing of Lorac but, somehow, the style under Carnac is easier to grasp. Not sure why to be honest but there is a sense of clarity about her Carnac style, I sometimes find the Lorac writing can get a bit convoluted.

In the Ministry of Fine Arts (this dates this immediately, can you imagine this current government being interested in such an elitist idea?) there is a hideous marble bust on a
pedestal at the top of a staircase

"I've often wonders if it would topple off with a little encouragement" said Pompfret "it would be a wonderful sight to see it bounce down the stairs. It must weigh several tons...."

No guessing what happens next.

Throughly enjpying it and I have no idea Who Done it yet.

Flagging up another received from the BritLib - Lettice Cooper, Tea on Sunday.  Bunch of disparate peeps invited for afternoon tea but when they arrive their host is dead.

What larks!