Flight of the Heron read-along wrap-up

[regshoe]

We've reached the end of the Flight of the Heron read-along! First of all, my thanks and appreciation to everyone who's taken part—it's been lovely discussing this book and sharing our love for it, I've certainly deepened my own understanding of the book through the insights and discussions shared during the read-along, and of course it's great to see more people enjoying this amazing book. You're all wonderful, and thank you all very much :)

Now I'd like to share various things related to the book which, now that we've all read it, you may want to check out next...


Particularly relevant to last week's chapters, hyarrowen has shared some very beautiful photos of the areas where the book is set, here and here. Broster certainly knew how to choose her settings, as these pictures show very well...!

Now, fic! Flight of the Heron fic can be found on AO3 under the tag The Jacobite Trilogy, due to a bad wrangling decision; without going on a rant about this, I'll point out that 'Flight of the Heron - D. K. Broster' is a synonym of the canonical tag, so it's still possible to tag one's own fic more specifically, and it's also possible to nominate FotH alone for exchanges. But we're here for positivity! and I must say that Flight of the Heron is a very lucky fandom as far as fic is concerned. I recommend everything in the tag, but would particularly like to point out these three stories, all Ewen/Keith: Shore and Ship and Moonrise by hyarrowen, a beautifully written last-moment fix-it full of excellent hurt/comfort and slow-burn shippiness; If Fate Should Reverse Our Positions by luzula, a novel-length AU set in an alternate history where the Jacobites win and Keith and Ewen's relationship is correspondingly reversed, featuring very impressive historical research and all sorts of good character and relationship development; and A Thousand Dreams in One Drop of Ink by garonne, a gorgeous fix-it epistolary fic which makes brilliant use of the format for a slow-burn romance.

And, of course, the fandom continues to grow—so I'd like to express encouragement and appreciation for everyone currently working on Flight of the Heron fic or thinking of doing so, especially if you're new to the fandom. :)

You may also like to check out some other classic Jacobite novels! Here are some, more or less related to FotH—links go to my reviews with more information:

• The Gleam in the North and The Dark Mile by D. K. Broster. Further books featuring some of the characters from FotH. While I dislike the notion of a 'Jacobite Trilogy', they are good books in their own right—especially Gleam in the North, which is about the historical fate of Archibald Cameron as experienced by Ewen—and definitely worth a read if you're enjoying Broster's writing. Available here and here respectively.


• Flemington by Violet Jacob. An inspiration for FotH, which Broster dedicated to Jacob, this book is also about a fraught, dramatic and slashy relationship between two men on opposite sides of the '45. It's a bit darker than FotH, and goes in some interesting directions. Available here as an ebook and here as an audiobook.


• Waverley by Walter Scott. The original romantic Jacobite novel! Very interesting in terms of how the romantic-literary view of the '45 developed, and also makes a good comparison with FotH—it also centres around the relationship between an English soldier and a Highland chieftain, both of rather different character from Keith and Ewen. Available here.


• Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson. Victorian adventure novel dealing with some slightly later events of Jacobite history. Very exciting and dramatic, and also pretty slashy (you may be detecting a theme here...) Available here.


• White Cockades by Edward Prime-Stevenson. Basically historical RPF slash fic about the '45; dramatic, sentimental, and lacking even a nodding acquaintance with historical, cultural or geographical accuracy, but it's such brilliant fun I don't care. Available on Google Books in a somewhat unwieldy format, but I am making an ebook for Project Gutenberg; in the meantime, if you'd like a PDF copy, PM me! Also available as an audiobook.

And D. K. Broster wrote quite a lot of other books, many of them historical novels set in France after the Revolution—Wikipedia has a bibliography, and I am working my way through reading and reviewing them all. I can especially recommend "Mr Rowl" and Sir Isumbras at the Ford. theseatheseatheopensea has put together a comprehensive list of Broster's works available online, which is an excellent resource.


Well, there we go! Onwards and upwards, fandom. Have one more Steeleye Span song. :D

Comments

[theseatheseatheopensea]

"White cockades" can also be downloaded from Hathitrust here, in case that's a bit more comfortable--this delightfully OTT story deserves more readers!

(Also: I love your icon!)

<3

[regshoe]

Ooh, thank you for the additional link—yes, I certainly agree!

(I decided I needed more fun heron icons for the read-along :D)

<3

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

I finished it before the new year and have been reading the supplemental info and posts. As when I started, I am most glad that I read a book that was important to you and now I understand your perspective and posts better. It wasn't my kind of book (too much Honour with Capital H) but I get it, and I am glad I read it. Thank you for all your effort.

[regshoe]

Aww, that's lovely to hear—thank you! Heh, the 'too much Honour' thing is just why I like it, but I can see it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea :)

[hyarrowen]

Thank-you so much for the read-along, and for that wrap-up of links and recs. This is the sort of thing thing I miss about Livejournal communities - we used to be able to put everything about a fandom in one place. Alas, DW coms just don't take off in the same way, and some of us are too Old to cope with Tumblr and the like. So I'm very grateful to you for all the work youve put in promoting the book and fandom.

And may I add another fic rec? Up in the Grey Hills, by regshoe https://archiveofourown.org/works/23145463 (Sorry, can't do the neat links...) Lovely Ewen/Keith h/c fic set in the wide landscapes near Morar; really atmospheric and affecting, which DK Broster herself might have appreciated.

[regshoe]

Thank you <3 I think the read-along and FotH fandom in general have worked very well on Dreamwidth on the whole, and I'm very happy about that—I used to do fandom on Tumblr but this place definitely suits me better!

And thanks for the rec also :D

[luzula]

Thanks for writing this up, and for hosting the read-along! It was a boost to the fandom. <3

(And thanks for the rec, too!)

[regshoe]

It certainly was—and thank you for all your contributions <3

[sanguinity]

Hurrah! Thank you so much for hosting the read-a-long. It was a wonderful oppty to meet the novel's existing fans (*waves hello at everyone*), and get an introduction to all the fannish work you've been doing (research and meta) that isn't on AO3. I would have enjoyed the novel on my own, I'm sure, but I enjoyed it so much more with all of you.

[regshoe]

Thank you! I'm glad it was such a good experience, and it's been wonderful to meet you, too :D

[friendofthejabberwock]

Thank you so much for all the work you've put into hosting this! I really enjoyed the book and the discussions along the way.

And oh no, the dreadful decision of whether to read The Dark Mile, White Cockades, or reread Kidnapped next awaits. :D

[regshoe]

Thank you, glad to hear it :)

An excellent horrible decision to have! I hope you enjoy whichever of them you decide to read. :D

[killclaudio]

Thank you so much for hosting the read-along, it was tons of fun! I used to be a historical fiction addict, because I eat up all that stuff about etiquette and honour and living by a code, but I'd been in a bit of a book slump, and this has really helped. Keith and Ewen were a constant delight, and so were all the commenters.

I read a bit about Archie Cameron while we were reading FotH - cbbe thl, nccneragyl ur jnf gur irel ynfg Wnpbovgr gb or rkrphgrq, jura rirelbar ryfr unq syrq gb gur pbagvarag. Naq vg frrzf yvxr gurl arire sbhaq gur gernfher? Znlor vg'f fgvyy ohevrq va gur Uvtuynaqf fbzrjurer. :) I'm definitely going to give Gleam in the North a go.

[sanguinity]

I enjoyed Gleam in the North (well, enjoy might be the wrong word, given how Archie Cameron's story ends), both in its own right and for the bonus Keith-and-Ewen content that it contains.

[killclaudio]

Bonus Keith-and-Ewen content, you say? :D Bumping it up my tbr list!

[regshoe]

Aww, I'm glad you've enjoyed it, and that it's reignited your love of historical fiction. I know just what you mean about stories involving historical codes of honour (Broster is certainly good at that, hehe :D).

V xabj! V trg gur vzcerffvba ybgf bs crbcyr, ertneqyrff bs nyyrtvnapr, jrer fubpxrq naq tevrirq ol jung unccrarq gb uvz. Nygubhtu Puevfgbcure Qhssl frrzf gb guvax gur Ybpu Nexnvt gernfher arire ernyyl rkvfgrq—gung jungrire tbyq neevirq qhevat gur '45 unq nyy rvgure orra qvfgevohgrq nyernql be ybfg orsber guvf cbvag. I hope you enjoy Gleam in the North, in any case!

[killclaudio]

That's too bad! I guess I'll cancel my treasure-hunting trip. ;)

[luzula]

So glad you enjoyed it and that I could tempt you to come along! : )

[killclaudio]

It was great fun! Thank you for inviting me. ♥