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Flight of the Heron read-along: Prologue
The news frae Moidart cam yestreen will soon gar mony ferlie...
Welcome everyone to the Flight of the Heron read-along! I'm delighted by the amount of interest there's been in this lovely book recently, and I hope this will be a great opportunity to discuss it in more depth.
Some notes:
A reminder of where to find the novel as a free ebook and a free audiobook.
My plan is to cover two chapters in most weeks, but I thought we'd start with just the Prologue, partly to provide a gentle introduction and partly because it makes it easier to split the rest of the book up in a way that makes sense.
We have a mixture of people re-reading the book and people reading it for the first time participating, so, if you've read the book before and would like to discuss earlier chapters in the context of what happens later on, please warn for or hide spoilers! I suggest using rot13, if that works for everyone.
Next week we'll read Part I chapters 1 and 2, and meet Keith Windham...
Welcome everyone to the Flight of the Heron read-along! I'm delighted by the amount of interest there's been in this lovely book recently, and I hope this will be a great opportunity to discuss it in more depth.
Some notes:
A reminder of where to find the novel as a free ebook and a free audiobook.
My plan is to cover two chapters in most weeks, but I thought we'd start with just the Prologue, partly to provide a gentle introduction and partly because it makes it easier to split the rest of the book up in a way that makes sense.
We have a mixture of people re-reading the book and people reading it for the first time participating, so, if you've read the book before and would like to discuss earlier chapters in the context of what happens later on, please warn for or hide spoilers! I suggest using rot13, if that works for everyone.
Next week we'll read Part I chapters 1 and 2, and meet Keith Windham...
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Ewen is just as much the educated gentleman of the Enlightenment as Keith is, dismissing superstition. And of course, he was educated in Paris.
I really liked how he and Lachlan discussed the latter's sword (dagger? dirk.), Lachlan's all, "WOE!" while Ewan just points out at first, "Eh, you should keep it in better condition," only to realize a mistake in his perception and finds no problem in correcting himself. It tells a lot about his relationship with "his servant". :)
Also thank you for translating m'eudail, haha, love that bit!
I read that Broster served during WWI as a nurse in France, which I reckon made her one of these women who earned not only money for herself, but also recognition for her commitment. From what I learned, the end of the war made it difficult for the men and women who survived to realign with what was their "usual place": many soldiers were drastically wounded, maimed not only physically but also mentally, and thus couldn't provide for their families like before war. On the other hand women who worked during the war (because the men who did the work before were gone) were supposed to do what afterwards? I guess one could assume this: Alison could have kept her name in the 18th century, but Broster letting her taking her husband's can be read as a re-establishing of post-war certainties? (I know, that's a pretty big swing, haha!)
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I would definitely read it! :)
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Well, first off, it was a thing for the elite. So Lachlan would never be wearing one, or you know, someone in working-class England. And it was a thing for social occasions, so probably you're not wearing one when you just got up and you're puttering around at home. But if you do wear one in public, I think you do it consistently.
It's a weird fashion! When writing sex scenes, don't forget to take Keith's wig off... : )
Re: Broster's wartime experience, I don't know if it influenced Alison's name, but I'm sure it influenced other aspects of her writing. She writes surprisingly few battle scenes for books set during wartime. Maybe she didn't want to re-live the bloody parts of war...
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Haha, good point! (Now I imagine him with his wig hanging askew from his temple whilst lost in fornication. Ewan, moaning: "Goddammit! You should have taken it off, you look overly ridiculous! I cannot continue like this.") Thank you for explaining proper wig decorum. :D
She writes surprisingly few battle scenes for books set during wartime. Maybe she didn't want to re-live the bloody parts of war...
That would make so much sense, really. The idea about her experience and Alisons's name was really only a shot in the dark. :)