66 replies to this topic

[Mashinka]

On the whole I out grew whodunits by my teenage years, but as I took my summer holiday in Ireland this year I wanted something to read that would be evocative of the sun and thought I’d try a book in the Greek detective series by Anne Zouroudi , I’ve since read another three in the series and recommend them to anyone with a liking for that genre.

I suppose it is a challenge to dream up any type of detective that hasn’t been thought of before but Zouroudi trumps the rest by making hers a Greek god, albeit one that has run to fat a bit.  She doesn’t say so in as many words, but the clues are all there such as predictions that come true, sticky ends for the villains and the downtrodden finally getting a break in life after they cross the path of Hermes or the Fat Man as he’s termed in the books.

The stories are contemporary and some are quite gritty with crimes revolving around incest and gerontophilia in a couple of books and references to unscrupulous property developers cashing in on the tourist boom in another.  Actually the books are crying out to be dramatized and televised as the Greek settings would make a wonderful back drop for a detective series.  Ms Zouroudi’s books are extremely well written and have been very well reviewed and from my years of roaming round Greece and the islands, I can say there is the ring of truth in all the characters she writes about.  

The Books I’ve read so far are:

The Messenger of Athens
The Taint of Midas
The Doctor of Thessaly
The Lady of Sorrows

[dirac]

I stopped reading mysteries a while ago. I don't think I considered that I'd outgrown them, I just wasn't coming across many interesting examples of the genre. Zouroudi sounds good.

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Murder Most Austen was a total disappointment. I was really looking forward to it because it incorporated Northanger Abbey, one of my favorite novels by Austen, but how its use was disappointing, as well as the mystery itself.

Austen exploitation books seem to have become a minor industry. I once browsed through something called "Mrs. Darcy" in the store and was mildly appalled. I suppose if she'd been as productive as Dickens we wouldn't be having this problem.

[sandik]

dirac, on 04 December 2012 - 04:23 PM, said:

Austen exploitation books seem to have become a minor industry. I once browsed through something called "Mrs. Darcy" in the store and was mildly appalled. I suppose if she'd been as productive as Dickens we wouldn't be having this problem.

I hesitate to call it exploitation, but Austen seems to have inspired an incredible amount of work, some of it attempting to complete or extend the original writing, the rest of it exploring the period of her novels.  I've seen Jane Austen cookbooks (with some tasty stuff), home decor books, knitting magazines, etiquette books, etc.  It is indeed possible that some of this work is a result of the relatively small number of her novels, but I think a large part of it is inspired by her characters and the gift she had of making small lives read very large.

[Mashinka]

Bit off topic but did the TV series Lost in Austen make it beyond the shores of the UK?  It's about an Austen fan who time travels back to the Bennett family home and wreaks havoc with the traditional story line of Pride & Prejudice.

Well acted, very clever and in places very funny.  The DVD should be available on line if you search.

[sandik]

Mashinka, on 05 December 2012 - 06:26 AM, said:

Bit off topic but did the TV series Lost in Austen make it beyond the shores of the UK?  It's about an Austen fan who time travels back to the Bennett family home and wreaks havoc with the traditional story line of Pride & Prejudice.

Well acted, very clever and in places very funny.  The DVD should be available on line if you search.

I vaguely remember it on a PBS schedule here, but didn't actually see it.

[dirac]

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  It is indeed possible that some of this work is a result of the relatively small number of her novels, but I think a large part of it is inspired by her characters and the gift she had of making small lives read very large.

No doubt, but there's always been a strong element of cultism among Austen fans of a certain stripe (the kind Marvin Mudrick used to denounce) who tend to emphasize the more sentimental aspects of her appeal and her times.

Pride and Prejudice has its 200th anniversary this month!

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The Jane Austen Dancers, a Bath-based volunteer group who share their love of Regency rollicking through classes, demonstrations and balls, describe re-enactment as “an escape from the cares of today”. Founded in 1996 the group precedes the city’s annual balls. Outside of Austen’s homeland, Hampshire Regency Dancers have been hosting balls since 2005 in Chawton House - the grade II-listed country pile where the BBC will be shooting. The ball now has an international following and the limited tickets for the event are hot property.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

sandik, on 04 December 2012 - 06:20 PM, said:

dirac, on 04 December 2012 - 04:23 PM, said:

Austen exploitation books seem to have become a minor industry. I once browsed through something called "Mrs. Darcy" in the store and was mildly appalled. I suppose if she'd been as productive as Dickens we wouldn't be having this problem.

I hesitate to call it exploitation, but Austen seems to have inspired an incredible amount of work, some of it attempting to complete or extend the original writing, the rest of it exploring the period of her novels.  I've seen Jane Austen cookbooks (with some tasty stuff), home decor books, knitting magazines, etiquette books, etc.  It is indeed possible that some of this work is a result of the relatively small number of her novels, but I think a large part of it is inspired by her characters and the gift she had of making small lives read very large.

I can't find a reference anywhere, but I seem to recall Edward Gorey claiming that he loved Jane Austen because she understood just how awful daily life really was.