Random Jottings

The Morland Dynasty by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles Redux

After writing the post on the Morlands the other day, which received a good response both on and off blog, I received the following from Cynthia Harrod-Eagles.

"Thank you for your message. I remember our correspondence. I'm afraid there isn't going to be any more dynasty, at least for the present. Instead the publisher has asked me to write a new series about a new family, the Hunters, set in WW1 and telling the story of the war from the point of view of the people at home. The series is called WAR AT HOME and the first title which will be published in June this year is GOODBYE PICCADILLY. The idea is to coincide with the WW1 centennaries coming up. If the new series does well I may be asked to go back to Dynasty afterwards so I do hope you'll all try it and hopefully enjoy reading about the Hunters as you have the Morlands.

Best wishes,

CHE"

I am astounded at the attitude of her publishers, I really am. I feel one of My Elaine Letters (as my daughters call them) coming on.

The answer to this is to make sure that Goodbye Piccadilly and the others to come in the new series are a HUGE success so that Cynthia can then go back to Dynasty afterwards.   In the meantime I intend to contact the publishers and ask them what they are playing at.

I think the problem is with a long running series is that it gets taken for granted. Rather like a long marriage. The joy and excitement at first which then continues for a few years, then the settling down, then realising you are in for the long haul, then the years where you may get into a rut and realise your marriage needs refreshing and you take an exotic holiday somewhere and leave the kids behind.

This is what the publishers need to do with the Morland Dynasty. They need to look at it anew, redesign the covers, produce less hardbacks (perhaps just for the libraries) and update the paperback version, do six at a time and promote them in Waterstones in specially designed bins. I guarantee they would sell.   For heaven's sake just look at the reprints of Jean Plaidy in the last few years, the reissuing of Heyer with new covers, the fact that Phillipa Gregory keeps selling (mystery to me I must say) and realise that there is a huge interest in historical fiction.   Perhaps they ought to bear in mind that two of this genre have recently won the Booker.

And while they are at it, how about reprinting the Kirov Saga?   They would sell like hot cakes.  Historical drama set in pre-Revolutionary Petersburg. I mean what is not to like.....

So sharpen your quills, plug in the laptop and get writing and complain and urge and see what happens.

And most important of all, make a note of the date of the new book and BUY it. I certainly will. In fact, I have just pre-ordered it on Amazon so I have put my money where my mouth is.

The Morland Dynasty by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

Back in 2009 I wrote the following:

"To my utter astonishment and dismay I understand that the Morland Dynasty books of Cynthia Harrod-Eagles will soon be coming to an end.  Not because the author has got fed up with writing them, au contraire, but because her publisher don't want them any more.  Apparently they have decided they are not going to continue with the series because they are not selling enough copies.  Although it is extremely popular, too many people either borrow them from the library or buy a second hand copy and the publisher gets no money from that (neither does the author of course!)    Apparently Cynthia Harrod-Eagles' contract goes up to Book 34, so there are two more to come but after than - zilch.

I find 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 (plus the Bill Slider mysteries) so they take her for granted and perhaps don't think she is 'sexy' enough.

Why don't they do a push on these titles?  Why don't they re-brand and re-market these marvellous books?  Make sure they are all available and in print in paperback, promote them, publicise them all over again and I guarantee that sales will go up.  I have followed the Morland Dynasty since book one and, apart from sharing in the joys and sorrows of the Morland family, the historical research is staggering and they are extremely well written too".

After writing this I was deluged with comments and to date have received over 200 and more come in weekly as people stumble across this post through a search engine. I have also received many emails and questions regarding this shortsighted attitude.    I contacted Cynthia Harrod-Eagles shortly after writing this and was told that the publishers had back tracked somewhat (probably due to the onslaught of outraged readers) and she would be continuing but at that time, only up to title 34.    Well, I have just finished reading The Phoenix, which is No 35 so I am hoping that they will continue.   Have taken the liberty of contacting the author again for an update.

This latest title takes us up to the thirties and pre-World War II.   Change is in the air, young women are now seeking jobs and not just sitting around waiting to find a husband.   The story flits between Polly Morland, now back from the US and the owner of Morland Place, in Yorkshire to the London Morlands and their contacts with the society of the time.   We are in Edward and Mrs Simpson territory here, an episode in British history which never loses its fascination for me, and ends with the projected return of Lennie from America where Rose Morland is now a major movie star and all is set for the next book.

Not only are these books a simply wonderful read and totally unputdownable (it is 11 am and I have only just got dressed as I wanted to finish this latest), but the research and historical background is impeccable.  Quite honestly, if you want to learn all about British history from the Dark Ages to now I can only recommend that you start at the very beginning (A very good Place to start, apologies to Julie Andrews) and read them all in order. Check out the author's web site for information on this splendid series.    If you manage to read one a month then you have three years of happy reading ahead of you.  I know when I first discovered them, around book six, I then went to the library and cleared the shelves of all of them, put them in order and kept renewing them until I was up to date. Took me three months and from then on I have bought each book as it has appeared and read them all.

As well as the Morland Saga Cynthia Harrod-Eagles has also written stand alone books and a wonderful trilogy set in Russia, the Kirov Saga. Now out of print but available on ebooks. I have three battered second hand paperbacks of these three books and will not part with them for the world.

And then we come to Bill Slider.   A witty, hilarious and deeply satisfying series of detective stories featuring Slider and his side kick, the elegant, urbane Atherton.   Try as I might I simply cannot read them without seeing Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox as these two.   I have been watching too much Lewis.

When finishing the latest Morland book I always feel bereft when I put it down. I want to know what happens next and cannot wait for the next to be published.   If the publishers have any sense at all, and this is not guaranteed these days, they will never give up on this series until the author has written her last about this intriguing and special family.

If you have not read any by this author yet, then make 2014 the year you do so.  You know it makes sense....

The Morland Saga - Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

Some time back on Random I posted about Cynthia Harrod-Eagles and her marvellous series of books on the Morland family.   I started reading these about fifteen years ago, stumbled across one at my library without knowing anything about it, found I was in the middle of them all and then went back to the beginning and read them all in order.  I was bowled over by the breadth of knowledge and research that the author must have done to create this living, breathing family. We went through the Restoration of Charles II, the Napoleonic Wars, the French Revolution, the sinking of the Titanic, you name an event in history, it was there.   The period detail was simply stunning.

So it was with a feeling of disbelief that I discovered that the publishers had told CHE that they were not going to publish any more as they were borrowed from libraries and did not sell enough.  How incredibly shortsighted - when I think of some of the crap masquerading as historical novels currently gracing the shelves in Waterstones (headless women by the shed load) I simply could not understand their stance.  But I will not repeat what I said then, here is my earlier post.

I recently read The Dancing Years which was published a while back and another one is on its way to me as I write, and contacted CHE again to ask if this one would really be the last.  I was delighted to hear back from her that the publishers were inundated with complaints and protests about the cessation of these books (I note there is a Yahoo group dedicated to the Morlands and they were pretty vocal), and so they now seem to be backtracking. The Dancing Years was meant to be the last one, The Winding Road is now available and there will be one more and, hopefully, they will commission another one or two after that.

The battle seems to be won but not the war so those of you who wrote in and protested, and lots of you did, please keep up the pressure to bring this marvellous series up to the present day.  I have decided that I am going to go right back to the beginning of the Morlands and start reading them all over again. As you know I am a binge reader par excellence and there are enough of these to keep me happy for some considerable time.

I do wish the Kirov books, there were three of them if I remember rightly, were also available. I really enjoyed these and, again, the historical background was spot on.  They are available second hand but I do think they would sell well if repackaged, re-branded and resold. I am staggered that the publishers don't see this.

But, at the moment, all is well and I am delighted to hear it.  I thank everyone who left comments and who contacted me regarding the Morlands.  Those of you who have not seen my original post, do read it and look at the number of reader comments underneath - 145, the most I have ever had on one subject.