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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: April Book Group--"Justice Hall", by Laurie King
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Hi. This month's selection, "Justice Hall", is from Laurie King's great series about Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell.
It's from the middle of the series, but it stands well on its own. jedijudy mentioned on the main Book Group thread that she likes it, too, and the whole series.
Tentative start date for discussion: April 20th. That can be moved, as needed. I'll post some starter questions on April 20th, then you can all jump in. Please don't post discussion of the book before that. Don't spoil the story for anyone! ![[Smile]](smile.gif) Thanks!
Please post if you're thinking of joining the discussion--it will help me gauge when everyone is ready. (And yes, it's ok to join in late.)
If you're inclined to all-night or all-weekend binge reading, "Justice Hall" is great for that. (But other paces are fine, too!)
Ok. Grab your book, meerschaum bubble pipe, and a snack; curl up in bed; and READ!
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
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Tree Bee
Ship's tiller girl
# 4033
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Posted
Thanks Golden Key.
I have a library copy on loan , it's a large print edition so I'll see how I get on!
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"Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it simple."
— Woody Guthrie
http://saysaysay54.wordpress.com
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Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
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Posted
I hope to join in .
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'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
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jedijudy
Organist of the Jedi Temple
# 333
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Posted
I will be re-reading it soon!
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Jasmine, little cat with a big heart.
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Trudy Scrumptious
BBE Shieldmaiden
# 5647
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Posted
I liked this book a lot. Hope I'll get time to reread it, or at least remember enough to join in the discussion.
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Books and things.
I lied. There are no things. Just books.
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Caissa
Shipmate
# 16710
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Posted
Read it over a decade ago. All of Laurie King's books are masterful.
Posts: 972 | From: Saint John, N.B. | Registered: Oct 2011
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Brenda Clough
Shipmate
# 18061
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Posted
I have a copy. Somewhere.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
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Boadicea Trott
Shipmate
# 9621
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Posted
One of my all-time favourite books.
I loved O Jerusalem but Justice Hall is in a league of its own. ![[Overused]](graemlins/notworthy.gif)
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X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
I'll see if I can get it at our local lending library after a short shift today hanging lights for Celtic Woman at our local university theatre...
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Palimpsest
Shipmate
# 16772
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Posted
After a long mysterious delay I was able to get the e-book from the library, so I'll join the discussion.
Posts: 2990 | From: Seattle WA. US | Registered: Nov 2011
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Tree Bee:
Thanks Golden Key.
I have a library copy on loan , it's a large print edition so I'll see how I get on!
Yeah, I've occasionally checked out large print books. It took me a little while to get used to them. Takes a softer focus of the eyes. But I got through ok. YMMV.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
I like Kindle and Nook on the computer: I have need for extra light sometimes but I still have 20/20 vision and the back-lighting on the iMac allows me to read without reading glasses!
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
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Posted
I can't track down Justice Hall on my Kindle, so I'm going to have a look in the library later this week.
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'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
Posts: 2035 | From: London | Registered: Jan 2007
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Curiosity killed ...
Ship's Mug
# 11770
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Posted
It only exists as an audio book in my local library system, so I'm afraid I'm out this month. I'm still reading March's book, so it's probably good I have a month to catch up. Some of the other books are there in paper form, so I may regard this as an interesting suggestion for reading when I'm not so far behind.
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Mugs - Keep the Ship afloat
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
Unless I can find it in my local library system today, I think I'll give it a miss: I've still got my taxes to finish and I've written over 1000 pages in a new book I began yesterday morning!
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
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Posted
I've still not manageed to track down a copy, but I live in hope!
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'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
Make that 2000! I don't know why I woke up in the middle of the night after dozing off early...
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
Have read it, and am intrigued by the start, so am getting the first as a ebook.
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
Ordered it from the library Tuesday.
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
DISCUSSION STARTS HERE
!!SPOILERS AHEAD!!
I'm posting the questions early. My Web connection is extremely erratic and undependable, and I'm too sick right now to dependably get out and use a public computer. So I figured early is better than late!
Here are some starter questions. Please feel free to pick and choose, or add your own.
--How did you like the book?
--Have you read any Sherlock Holmes stories before? Were they the original Conan Doyle ones, or later inventions? Have you read any of Laurie King’s other books?
--What parts of the story did you like best/least?
--Favorite places in the story?
--Would you like to be a kid with access to Justice Hall, its hiding places, and the grounds?
--What did you think of Marsh and Iris's arrangement? Ali and Mahmoud's?
If you want to explore further:
--Laurie King's website: http://www.laurierking.com
--“The Annotated Sherlock Holmes", by Baring-Gould. ALL the original stories, with commentary.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
I am tangentially reading "The Beekeeper's Apprentice" in order to get the background to the Holmes Russell relationship, about which I have some thoughts which are not entirely approving. (I lost the best opportunities of education due to a headmaster in his 50s who formed an association with a prefect boarder in the all girl's school my sisters and I immediately left, along with a lot of others. I formed an opinion then which I have never seen a reason to change. Despite male writers anxious to hold that the prestigious first bearer of my name had a similar age differential from her husband.)
I have not formed an opinion yet on that aspect of the first book, but I have on Laurie King's research into landscape. Streams on the Downs? Squelchy boggy bits? This is the Chalk. And there wouldn't have been a need for all those shepherds she mentions (my great grandfather was one) if there had been all the field boundaries Mary deals with on that walk. It isn't as if the world doesn't have a plethora of books on the subject of the South Downs, and Sussex shepherds. They even turn up outside Sussex. Now I shall have doubts about everything else she describes that I don't know. Pratchett does the Chalk better.
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
To be fair, I now find there are a few fields with flint walls close to some farms in the bit she is describing between Eastbourne and Seaford, while out on the proper Downs the boundaries are barbed wire, and probably post date WWII. She is also pretty good in referring to the geology, finding the few bits of South Downs red clay to mark a thief's footprints. Not sure about the "rock" though. I can't find any Coombe Rock mapped, and it wouldn't look like boulders, anyway It's geologist's rather than mason's rock. Or building stone which she distinguishes from flint - and I can't find any not flint of the older houses.
And you couldn't get on a train at Seaford and go to sleep and wake up at Bristol, different company...
But, in that first book, there was a really surprising error. "You still owe me a shilling," says one character, to be satisfied with two pennies, a half penny, and six farthings.
By "Justice Hall", there wasn't anything which stuck out as bothering like that. Except people saying "I wrote so-and-so" instead of "I wrote to so-and-so" on several occasions.
Must stop nit-picking. I do like the books, and will add the author to the list I get from the library. She's got a writing style I like, and the plots are interesting.
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jedijudy
Organist of the Jedi Temple
# 333
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Posted
I've ordered the book again from my library so I can refresh my memory of the story. The questions have brought back some of the details, but it would be nice to be sure!
This was one of my favorites of the Mary Russell series. There are still a few more books to read, which will be a summer treat, I think!
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Jasmine, little cat with a big heart.
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Penny--
Um, perhaps it would be wise to avoid tearing apart previous books in the series? Other people may not have read them. Ergo, spoilers.
(Small?) spoilers for story arc:
That having been said, I will address one thing: the relationship between Holmes and Russell is never inappropriate. I did worry that it would take that turn, when I read the first book. But it never did. It takes 2 or 3 books, IIRC, for the relationship to head in a romantic direction. In the first book, she's a surly (with reason) teenager who needs help. Holmes *and* Mrs. Hudson are there for her.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
Scrolled down without reading to say I am really getting on with the book: Now that it's Easter vacation, I have a bit of time to read though I got started with it late and am only a wee bit more than a fifth of the way through!
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
I thought I had avoided spoilers. I was impressed with the geology!
And how early Ali and Mahmoud appear. Doubly disguised.
I do think Laurie King obviously had fun writing them. And has kept in touch with her inner fifteen year old.
I don't know how I have missed them, and am very grateful for having been introduced. (I am wondering why an American friend hasn't mentioned them, when he shared interests in Hillerman and Upfield and his admiration for a writer who shared his own surname of Doyle.)
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
For starters...no spoilers!
quote:
--How did you like the book?
Very much. I like King's style of writing. First person can be irritating, but she has it just right. And I liked the story itself. It reminded me of Buchan's Hannay books (with Sandy and his disguises) and Michael Innes' Appleby books (both big house mysteries, and his spying ones from between the wars) both of which I read avidly in my teens (Buchan) and twenties (Innes). Along with "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom". (Less avidly.)
quote:
--Have you read any Sherlock Holmes stories before? Were they the original Conan Doyle ones, or later inventions? Have you read any of Laurie King’s other books?
I read Conan Doyle in my teens, and suspect much of what was going on went over my naive little head. It was long ago. I did not hold it in my head well enough to have conversations with the father of one of my college friends who was a leading light in, I think, the Sherlock Holmes Society.
I've not read anything later, though watched both versions of the originals and more recent (the WWII ones and the very recent BBC updates.)
I have been quite unaware of Laurie King. Possibly because our local libraries have taken to mixing crime/mystery fiction up with everything else, so it's difficult to realise that something belongs in that genre. Searching the catalogue on line hasn't thrown many of her books up, and the few there are are scattered about the county. They don't have categories in the on-line catalogue, either. Irritating. I'm wondering how on earth I stumbled across Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs books. (There are interesting resonances there, I realise, with Mary Russell. Not only period and female protagonist.)
Further comment to follow.
[ 20. April 2014, 14:33: Message edited by: Penny S ]
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Tree Bee
Ship's tiller girl
# 4033
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Posted
--How did you like the book?
Having found this book difficult to appreciate at first, I enjoyed the second half greatly.
--Have you read any Sherlock Holmes stories before? Were they the original Conan Doyle ones, or later inventions? Have you read any of Laurie King’s other books?
I read A Study in Scarlet a few months ago with this book group. It's the only Sherlock Holmes book I've read.
This was my first Laurie King book though I would be happy to read more.
--What parts of the story did you like best/least?
From the trip across the channel to France, when Mary and Sherlock were working together as a team, I felt the story picked up and became really enjoyable.
Previous to this, I had expected Holmes to be more than an extra and felt his character was too diluted.
--Favorite places in the story?
The French trip, and the Canadian one. My grandparents emigrated to Canada by ship and travelled and settled in Toronto, so I thought of them during this part of the story.
--Would you like to be a kid with access to Justice Hall, its hiding places, and the grounds?
Yes, I've always been fascinated by rambling big houses and can recall exploring nooks and crannies on visits as a child.
--What did you think of Marsh and Iris's arrangement? Ali and Mahmoud's?
Marsh and Iris's arrangement was probably more usual than we expect. Don't quite know about Ali and Mahmoud. Think I've not got the whole picture as I haven't read any other books in the series.
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"Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it simple."
— Woody Guthrie
http://saysaysay54.wordpress.com
Posts: 5257 | From: me to you. | Registered: Feb 2003
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Sarasa
Shipmate
# 12271
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Posted
I'm really sorry I failed to find the book, it sounds very intriguing from the various comments. I'm always better off starting at the start of a series, so I'll put the first one on my to read list.
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'I guess things didn't go so well tonight, but I'm trying. Lord, I'm trying.' Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets.
Posts: 2035 | From: London | Registered: Jan 2007
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
Z hates the idea of the book, but then she can bloody well write her own for Na No Wri Mo in November and try to do better without zombies. I may or may not have them in this year's book.....
Too early to TELL!
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Palimpsest
Shipmate
# 16772
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Posted
!!SPOILERS AHEAD!!
--How did you like the book?
I was somewhat disappointed.
--Have you read any Sherlock Holmes stories before? Were they the original Conan Doyle ones, or later inventions? Have you read any of Laurie King’s other books?
I had read the "Beekeeper's Apprentice" a long time ago and remember it as an interesting slant. I've read some of the Sherlock Holmes stories in childhood and have revisited a few recently. I've also read various pastiches and parodies. (Schlock Holmes of Bagel Street is mercifully fading from memory).
--What parts of the story did you like best/least?
I was disappointed by the lack of Holmes in this book. I also felt the author fell in love with her created grand estates and described them in interminable detail.
I did feel it has some of the mid century Detective Novel style (such as Brat Farrar. But certainly the Ocean voyage was a minor scene change. Paris, Canada and life at the front seemed very lightly covered. It made things feel sketchy.
(Slight spoiler). I also felt surprised that having made the announcements they didn't watch the children properly. I also felt it hard to sympathize with the "I have to be a Peer when I want to go a roving". Such a sad choice to make.
--Favorite places in the story?
Probably the sacred stones. The infinitely detailed grand house didn't really move me. I was just as frustrated as the Detective about not being able to peruse the library in detail.
--Would you like to be a kid with access to Justice Hall, its hiding places, and the grounds?
Sure. Fun in the attic or the armory. Helps to be a kid who is part of the aristocracy rather than a game beater or boot black.
--What did you think of Marsh and Iris's arrangement? Ali and Mahmoud's?
The marriage Blanc seemed a bit odd when I compare it to Bloomsbury and such. There didn't really seem to be much interaction. Ali and Mahmoud's felt like I hadn't read the back story in the series enough to figure them out.
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
Further comments.
quote:
What parts of the story did you like best/least?
Nothing stands out either way. Though I was somewhat taken by the bit in the chest which brought back to me the winning play from our class competition when I was nine-ish, written by Caroline Gammon, farmers' daughter, of Acrise near Folkestone. It involved a family likely to lose their home, but saved by an ancestral ghost who revealed the deeds hidden in the big old chest! Looking on the map, she probably had a home full of nooks and crannies and chests, and old Victorian melodramatic books.
I did like the little reference to the fair-haired friend with the motorbike - I only realised who he was on second reading.
quote:
Favorite places in the story?
Nothing outstanding again. The Circles were interesting - I don't know of any being concentric, though, apart from Stonehenge. (And the geologist in me is complaining that they would not have been granite but local sedimentary stuff. Rollright is limestone, the Devils Quoit is conglomerate, on the Chalk I would expect sarsen - which would have allowed a nice joke, since sarsen derives from Saracen meaning foreign, and specifically from Mahmoud and Ali's stamping ground.)
quote:
What did you think of Marsh and Iris's arrangement? Ali and Mahmoud's?
Marsh and Iris seemed very civilised. But the comment from Palimpsest about the Bloomsbury lot interested me, as that group was one of the dogs that have not been barking for me in regard to this author.
I'm not sure how useful British Arabists would have been in the Middle East at this time. Gertrude Bell and Lawrence don't seem to have been tremendously helpful in establishing a stable post war settlement.
However, I did enjoy the book enough to go off and read further, and will be reading more than the first one. And I owe to that book a very nice day out to the coast west of Beachy Head in search of geology I did not know about. And which, I find, is not possible to find on the ground. The Countryside Centre doesn't know about it, either, despite being mapped. It would only be visible at times of arable cultivation, which is not described. I do feel that if there are to be detailed descriptions, a place should either be totally imaginary. or boots should have been on the ground. Researching the geology maps is good, but finding out where the outcrops are visible, or in this case aren't, is also necessary. Justice Hall, being in an imaginary place, is no problem. I assume it to be in a similar landscape to that in which Appleby detects in Michael Innes' books.
Non-barking dogs in the first book. Training camps and trenches in the area. (Excusable, perhaps, I needed to go online for that, and it wouldn't necessarily have been available.) Charleston Manor and its occupants just down the hill. No mention of lighthouses, either Beachy Head or Belle Toute, which is pretty dominant in that landscape.
That being said, to take up the case of the shot at dawn men in this book, and refer to the new memorial and the additions to local memorials is pretty good. It's a pity, in a way, that the date in which the book is set meant that it was not possible to make comment about the current strain of opposition to the growing recognition that many of those executions were seriously questionable. ("We shouldn't pardon any in case some of them really deserved it," is an argument I find particularly nasty.)
I shall be adding this author to my list of those I look out for. Thanks for choosing her.
[ 25. April 2014, 19:01: Message edited by: Penny S ]
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
Forgot to mention, one of the academics cited, several times, in my post field trip reading on the local geology goes by the name of Sherlock! A little monograph or two on soil types of the South Downs, perhaps?
[ 25. April 2014, 19:14: Message edited by: Penny S ]
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Boadicea Trott
Shipmate
# 9621
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Posted
Sorry to be so late; Real Life has been a pain in the fundament this last week ![[Waterworks]](graemlins/bawling.gif)
--How did you like the book?
Thoroughly enjoyed it and was able to forget about the chaos of my Real Life for some very pleasant hours indeed.
--Have you read any Sherlock Holmes stories before? Were they the original Conan Doyle ones, or later inventions? Have you read any of Laurie King’s other books?
Yes, I have read all of the Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes canon and all of Laurie King's Holmes/Russell books published so far.
--What parts of the story did you like best/least?
Best: when Mary realises who Gabriel's parents were, when she was in the chapel, and the story of Gabriel's heroic attitude to his death sentence. His love for his home, his country and his family made me cry buckets.
Some of the dinner party scenes were a little long; I wanted to get to the action!But I didn't have any scenes which I did not enjoy at all.
--Favorite places in the story?
Badger Old Place - I could see it so vividly that I as almost there.
The Revd Hastings's home was equally vivid but in its sadness and poverty, and made such a contrast with Justice Hall and the Badger Old Place.
--Would you like to be a kid with access to Justice Hall, its hiding places, and the grounds?
Oh yes:-) Marsh and Alistair very obviously loved it greatly, as did Gabriel.Phillida's children are learning to love it, and so will young Gabe.
--What did you think of Marsh and Iris's arrangement? Ali and Mahmoud's?
Marsh and Iris made the very best of a tremendously difficult stuation and managed to remain the best of friends as well as making Henry and his wife happy by giving them baby Gabriel as their own to rear. Their arrangement has worked well for them and will most likely continue to work for the rest of their lives.
As for Mahmoud and Ali - well, I read O Jerusalem and at the end of that I didn't really have the sense that they were in a relationship in the way that Iris and Dan are.
It was quite a way into this book before it dawned on me that there was probably far more going on than met the eye...but then, my family have been known to remark that on occasion, I do need "subtitles for the hard of thinking!"
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X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
I have ordered copies of all the books between the first and Justice Hall, all of which have come, except the 2nd. I have already read A Letter of Mary, but am now waiting until the Monstrous Regiment arrives to read any more. They are great fun (though I think Peter Wimsey just might have been more curious about what was going on in Letter) and I am very happy to have been alerted to them. Though not so happy about the shortage of them in the library.
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Sir Kevin
Ship's Gaffer
# 3492
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Golden Key:
--How did you like the book?
I really enjoyed it. It kept me hanging on for weeks until I knew what the great mystery was and I thought it would never be solved!
--Have you read any Sherlock Holmes stories before?
Yes. Many, including A Study in Scarlet which I lead the discussion on here.
Were they the original Conan Doyle ones, or later inventions?
Original. Not read any other Laurie King books.
--What parts of the story did you like best/least?
I liked the desert adventures and the events of the "Last War".
--Favorite places in the story?
Justice Hall and the Canadian location with its airstrip. I have taken a couple of flying lessons myself and wish I could have continued them. I also liked the trains: I remember how English trains have three classes from my last visit. We were lucky to get into second!
I enjoyed the relationship between Holmes and his much-younger wife: they seemed to have had a good relationship and worked well together. I liked the way new relatives kept popping up and the architectural descriptions of Justice Hall - sounds like someplace I'd like to visit!
--Would you like to be a kid with access to Justice Hall, its hiding places, and the grounds?
I sure would. My grandparents had a big house with lots of interesting spaces that I could explore as a kid, but not in England and not as big as that!
--What did you think of Marsh and Iris's arrangement? Ali and Mahmoud's?
They seemed to make sense: not everyone is cut out for the life of the nobility and not every married woman has a conventional relationship with her husband.
Dunno if I want to read more of her stories. Perhaps in the summer when I have a lot of time off...
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If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Writing is currently my hobby, not yet my profession.
Posts: 30517 | From: White Hart Lane | Registered: Oct 2002
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Tree Bee
Ship's tiller girl
# 4033
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
I have ordered copies of all the books between the first and Justice Hall, all of which have come, except the 2nd. I have already read A Letter of Mary, but am now waiting until the Monstrous Regiment arrives to read any more. They are great fun (though I think Peter Wimsey just might have been more curious about what was going on in Letter) and I am very happy to have been alerted to them. Though not so happy about the shortage of them in the library.
I've recently discovered that the only way to bring up all her books on my library's catalogue is to put the 'R' in Laurie R King. Your library may be the same.
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"Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it simple."
— Woody Guthrie
http://saysaysay54.wordpress.com
Posts: 5257 | From: me to you. | Registered: Feb 2003
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
Tried that - though the R is vital outside the library, as there is someone else without the R and a not suitable for work or in my opinion anywhere else bibliography.
Now on "O Jerusalem". And I am learning stuff. for instance, there was an early woman whose scholarship is written up in Talmud, Bruria, daughter of a rabbi who, with his wife, was martyred by the Romans, and who won debates with her husband Rabbi Meir. And, in the time of the 2nd Temple, women were not separated in the synagogues, and could even have positions of leadership in them. This changed about the third century CE. (This in Regiment.)
In the Moor there is a strong sense that she knows Dartmoor, and in Jerusalem, in which Ali and Mahmoud are supposed to come from Clapham, a feeling for desert landscapes - though I don't know that area! Only from Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif camelling about in it.
I'll be getting the later ones from the library, and donating the earlier ones to Oxfam.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
A final side note. There is one of her Kate Martinelli books which should not be missed by any follower of the Mary Russell books. "The Art of Detection". After "Locked Rooms". No spoilers.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Sorry for delay. Ongoing connection problems.
--How did you like the book?
Loved it. Tour de force. Excellent plotting, details, and character development.
--Have you read any Sherlock Holmes stories before? Were they the original Conan Doyle ones, or later inventions? Have you read any of Laurie King’s other books?
I read a lot of the original ones, growing up. Also fond of many of the movies (especially with Basil Rathbone), and various neo-Holmes stories. And, of course, the current “Sherlock” and “Elementary” TV series.
I’ve read most of Laurie’s Mary Russell books, none of her Kate Martinelli series, and one or two of her non-series books. (“Folly” is great. Strange things happen to a woodworking craftswoman with mental health issues, and she has to figure out what’s real.)
--What parts of the story did you like best/least?
Best: Finding out about Mahmoud and Ali’s real identities. Getting to know Iris. Exploring Justice Hall and the grounds.
--Favorite places in the story?
Justice Hall and grounds, and the library. Mary and Sherlock’s home.
--Would you like to be a kid with access to Justice Hall, its hiding places, and the grounds?
Oh, yes! Especially the library, and all the secret passages!!!
--What did you think of Marsh and Iris’s arrangement? Ali and Mahmoud’s?
Marsh and Iris made the best they could of difficult situations, given their time and culture.
I see Ali and Mahmoud as a couple, and their arrangement worked well. They could be together; be disguised; and serve their country. (Though I’m not sure of the advisability of anyone working for Mycroft…) Being a same-sex couple in Muslim culture would probably have been even more dangerous than in England, if found out, though.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Sorry for the delay, and thanks for your patience with my ongoing connection problems.
Thanks for participating in the discussion! Feel free to continue, if you like--and new people can join in, too.
If you want to explore further:
--Laurie King's website: http://www.laurierking.com
--"The Annotated Sherlock Holmes", by Baring-Gould. ALL the original stories, with commentary.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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jedijudy
Organist of the Jedi Temple
# 333
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Posted
Only a month late. ![[Hot and Hormonal]](icon_redface.gif)
How did you like the book?
I really enjoyed re-reading "Justice Hall". It must have been at least six months since I first read it, and enjoyed it even more the second time!
Have you read any Sherlock Holmes stories before? Were they the original Conan Doyle ones, or later inventions? Have you read any of Laurie King’s other books?
I've read all the Conan Doyle stories several times. The first time was when I was about ten. My BFF introduced me to the Laurie King books, and I have read almost all of them! Very enjoyable!
What parts of the story did you like best/least?
The descriptions of Justice Hall, the secret staircase, and the Roman tiles were fun to read.
Since I had already read the book, I knew the secrets to be revealed, and the discovery of those seemed to drag a bit.
Favorite places in the story?
When Marsh introduced his wife, I laughed out loud! I could see the looks on their faces in my mind's eye.
Would you like to be a kid with access to Justice Hall, its hiding places, and the grounds?
Gosh, yes! But I'd also have to find a way to get the keys to those doors!
What did you think of Marsh and Iris's arrangement? Ali and Mahmoud's?
Marsh and Iris found a practical way to placate their families. It made sense to me!
In "O Jerusalem" Ali and Mahmoud demonstrated themselves to be inseparable "brothers", and that carried over even in their other personas...in spite of the fact that Marsh could hardly bear to think about his preferred life style. Ali knew who to trust for help, and did what was necessary to obtain it.
I really loved this book. Thanks for giving me a reason to read it again!
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Jasmine, little cat with a big heart.
Posts: 18017 | From: 'Twixt the 'Glades and the Gulf | Registered: Aug 2001
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
Coming back on earlier comments I made, and which I stick to - but, in a later book, "The Language of Bees", Laurie R King has a much greater sense of the countryside of the eastern end of the South Downs. It feels like the real thing now. (She does feed in references to much more recent research into the ages of Cerne Abbas and Wilmington chalk figures than would have been available, I think, but hey...) The books continue to be great fun.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
I'm watching local TV, and find that a house in East Dean has a blue plaque claiming it as Holmes' retirement home, and that there is to be a new film set there, based on a book by James Lovegrove.
The plaque
[ 06. June 2014, 18:23: Message edited by: Penny S ]
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Boadicea Trott
Shipmate
# 9621
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Posted
I'm reading The Language of Bees too :-)
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X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett
Posts: 563 | From: Roaming the World in my imagination..... | Registered: Jun 2005
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