Flight of the Heron read-along: Prologue

[regshoe]

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...

Comments

[regshoe]

Epigraph notes: the epigraph to the book is from As You See It, a collection of descriptive sketches and short stories by Viola Garvin. I read it recently to find out what D. K. Broster thought was so good about it. In and out of context, I think it's a very appropriate epigraph!

I am reminded of this every time I open any of her books, but, my goodness, D. K. Broster knows how to write a descriptive passage. Those first few paragraphs are absolutely gorgeous, and I love the attention to detail with the nature descriptions—the bell-heather, the sprig of bog-myrtle, the shelduck. Right at the start of the book we get such a strong sense of place, and it'll continue to be important throughout.

Another of my favourite things about this book is how it combines being a basically mundane historical novel with a constantly present atmosphere of the supernatural—with, of course, the centrally important presence of fate. That's there from the start too, and not just in Ewen and Lachlan's actual discussion of the heron—right there in the second paragraph, Loch na h-Iolaire is 'like a fairy pool come upon in dreams', and then there's the mention of water-horses (there's a very good fic developing that idea further...). I'm always fascinated by the overlap between 'fantasy' and 'realistic' fiction, and I think this book is an especially good example.

What does everyone think of Ewen's introduction? I like the picture we get of his character—swimming happily in the loch, not a care in the world, security and authority and a suggestion of more serious depths, with the shadow of History and Doom hanging over him.... And it's very clear already how much Broster likes him! I enjoy her attitude to her main characters—when she gets it right it's the perfect balance of indulgent fondness and somewhat detached amusement with genuine and serious care and emotional weight, without going too far into annoying exaggeration of foibles.

I also like how Broster slots her main character so neatly into the pattern of real history: 'the cadet branch of Cameron of Ardroy' is fictional, but Clan Cameron itself is very real, and Donald Cameron of Lochiel, Ewen's cousin and chieftain whom he admires so much, really was one of the most significant figures of the 1745 Rising. Ewen himself was probably named after Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, Donald's grandfather and a highly memorable figure in earlier Jacobite history. Having just turned twenty-six in July 1745, our Ewen would have been born a few months after Sir Ewen's death.

Broster's humorous use of epithets is great: '“Stop!” said the marrow of his heart peremptorily.' is one of my favourites.

Ohohoho, 'bayl gur rneyl fha ba gur fgrry', vaqrrq—gung'f n irel avpr ovg bs sberfunqbjvat, vfa'g vg...!

And the prologue ends with some nice darkly significant bird murder. Don't worry, that heron will be back....

[luzula]

Aww, I think you're right about Broster being fond of Ewen!

Broster's humorous use of epithets is great: '“Stop!” said the marrow of his heart peremptorily.' is one of my favourites.

Heh, I do like that one, too.

Re: the opening passage, she often opens descriptive sections with what the light is doing. I remember you doing so very nicely in fic, too. : )

[osprey_archer]

I've noticed that older books are often a bit more willing to blur the line between realistic fiction and fantasy. Here there's Angus's visions and the presence of fate; I've also seen a number of otherwise realistic children's books from the time period that give their heroines a dash of clairvoyance (Emily in Emily of New Moon, Norah in the Billabong books). Maybe there was a less stringent demand for genre separation in the 1920s?

I love that Ewan shows up the first time buck naked and glistening with water. Broster, making sure that we know exactly what kind of book we're getting into.

[regshoe]

Yes, that's a good point about older children's books—and they often have that feeling of slightly magical larger-than-life atmosphere in real-world settings. I also think of e.g. Lolly Willowes, which starts out as a mundane story and then takes a delightful swerve into the fantastic—but, especially re-reading the earlier part of the book, the magical atmosphere was there all along.

[tei]

Yes, this is a really good point! It also feels like something to do with historical fiction and how an author approaches the mindset of the characters-- if the characters wholeheartedly believe something, then I think it makes more sense (and is more interesting and... respectful, I guess?) for the author to accept that it is "true" in the context of those characters' lives, instead of the narrative adopting a "silly people in the Past who didn't have science!" attitude.

[luzula]

Good point in general! But in FotH, neither of the main characters actually believes it, because of 18th century Enlightenment values, although Lachlan and Old Angus do. I suspect Broster of having fun with confronting that Enlightenment skepticism with the existence of the prophecy...

[tei]

Aha, I look forward to it! :D

[lirazel]

I wasn't expecting to come across an Emily Starr reference in this discussion, but I'm glad to see it!

[osprey_archer]

It's always a good time for a reference to Emily Byrd Starr!

[lirazel]

Agreed!

[impala_chick]

I was trying to google what herons might have meant at the time, but I'm definitely curious to see what significance this heron has for Ewen.

[dr_zook]

Her describing the scenery really sets the table, I agree!

And Ewan's introduction is pretty awesome, not only because he is over six feet and splendidly made (haha, SERIOUSLY), but the way she describes him as embedded in nature/wilderness could mean either he's a fairy thing himself or (which gets confirmed in his talk with his foster-brother) that he's rather grounded in the literal soil of his home turf, exploring it, and not shying away from adventure (that dive from the cliff).

I also snorted out loud when I read the marrow of his heart exchange, wonderful!

Thank you for the water-horse fic link! I have saved it for a later read already. :3

[regshoe]

Hahaha—if I may rec some more folk music, that description of Ewen always reminds me of this song about the Prince: 'Oh, my love was six foot two without stocking or shoe, in proportion my true love was built'... I gather that 6'2" was probably an exaggeration of Charles's actual height, but it's not for Ewen :D

the way she describes him as embedded in nature/wilderness could mean either he's a fairy thing himself or (which gets confirmed in his talk with his foster-brother) that he's rather grounded in the literal soil of his home turf

I love this interpretation!

[dr_zook]

What a wonderful song, thank you for the link! I must admit I discovered Steeleye Span through Rose Kemp (Maddy & Rick's daughter)-- but better late than never. :D

[regshoe]

Certainly :D They're my favourite band, and I do love their interpretations of Jacobite songs—but I never knew Maddy and Rick had a daughter and she's also a musician—huh!