Madam, Will You Talk, Mary Stewart

Title: Madam, Will You Talk?
Author: Mary Stewart
Published: 1955, William Morrow
Category: Romantic Suspense
Rating: 9/10

Since I've been working so much lately on the Mary Stewart site, I've of course been put in the mood to re-read some of my favorites of hers. Madam, Will You Talk? was her first book, published in 1955, but in my opinion it's one of her best.

Charity Selborne is vacationing in the South of France with her friend Louise. Shortly after they arrive at their hotel in Avignon, Charity meets a fellow guest, a young boy named David. Charity is rather charmed by him, so she is sad to hear the gossip that's circulating about him: David's father, Richard Byron, was recently charged with murder. He was let off on grounds of insufficient evidence, but Charity soon finds out that David seems to believe that his father was guilty and fears seeing him again. David is traveling with his beautiful stepmother, and both she and David are hiding from Richard.

So when Charity meets Richard and he demands she tell him where David is, Charity is faced with a horrible dilemma: she can't give David up, but what will Richard do to her if she doesn't?

The book is one big fabulous chase scene--and such an exciting one! Charity and Richard run all over, from Nimes and Arles down to Marseilles. Stewart is known for her vivid descriptions of setting, and what better place to be immersed in than Provence? I put together this photo gallery on my other blog, which has photos of some of the settings and quotes from the book. As you can see, Charity visits some gorgeous places and Stewart's descriptions are lovely.

One of the things I like best about all Stewart's suspense novels is that her heroines are everyday women. They're all smart and sensible, and very likable. But unlike many suspense protagonists, they are ordinary people who get caught in extraordinary circumstances--and though they are frightened, they manage to do brave things. Charity is terrified of Richard, but she goes to amazing efforts to elude him because she can't stand the thought of putting David in danger.

Twin isn't really a fan of this book because she says the love story happens too abruptly. And I can see her point. I won't say who Charity's love interest is, because I don't want to give it away, but suffice it to say that she just wakes up one moment to the fact that he is perfect and they're professing their love for each other a second later. Maybe unbelievable, but the pace of the whole book is so fast (it takes place over only four days) that I think it works.

I've just posted a brief excerpt of this book on the Stewart site. It's only the first few paragraphs of the book, but it's so good. It shows the beautiful writing, the romantic feeling of the book, and the gripping suspense. ;)

Devil's Cub, Georgette Heyer

Title: Devil's Cub
Author: Georgette Heyer
Published: 1932, Dutton; 1967, Bantam; 2003, HQN reissue
Category: Historical Romance
Rating: 9/10

I believe that this is one of the only Heyers that is related to another---the hero in this book is the son of the H/H in These Old Shades, which I read a few years ago and was not one of my favorites. So I was not particularly eager to read this one, but I'm glad I did because I liked it so much more.

Dominic, the Marquis of Vidal, is young, arrogant, and hot-tempered, known for racing his carriages, dallying with (experienced) women, and killing men in duels. One evening, while drinking heavily, he shoots a man over a disagreement about a card game. He is disgraced and his father sends him off to France while the scandal blows over. He is currently enjoying a flirtation with a young beauty, Sophy Challoner, and decides he might as well have company on his trip. Sophy, however, has a very respectable and responsible sister named Mary. Mary doesn't want Sophy to be ruined, so she takes her place (without Vidal realizing it). They end up with Paris, Vidal realizes that Mary is respectable and he can't possibly ruin her reputation, and he decides that he sort of likes her anyway---maybe he should marry her...

I think this is one of the best Heyers I've read. It's got everything I've come to count on in her books---it's witty and funny, sweet and romantic, full of slightly mad-cap plot twists that are so amusing. Mary is smart and independent. She's in love with Vidal but is looking for a way out of her predicament besides marrying him because she's so proud. I LOVED Vidal even though he's so unlike the heroes I usually adore. He is domineering and agressive, and Mary really has to be clever to deal with him. While he is intelligent and powerful and arrogant, he makes a few really rather stupid decisions. Maybe it is this fallibility that makes him a likable character.

There's a huge cast of secondary characters who are so well drawn and interesting. The foppish French cousin (his speech is so wonderfully French); Mary's twit of a sister and grasping mother; and of course Vidal's vivacious, headstrong mother, Leonie, and his mysterious, omniscient father. They were wonderful and I enjoyed reading about them, but at the same time, we got fairly little one-on-one time with Mary and Vidal. There are really only a couple scenes where they are getting to know each other, which was disappointing to me. But the HEA scene almost made up for it because it was so great. :)

My mom bought me a really great, old mass market edition of this online. It's got a fabulous, classic cover (I would scan it to share, but the thing's not hooked up right now). It was published in the 1960s, which is about when mass market books first began being printed. So there's a note on the copyright page that says:

This low-priced Bantam Book has been completely reset in a type face designed for easy reading, and was printed from new plates. It contains the complete text of the original hard-cover edition. NOT ONE WORD HAS BEEN OMITTED.

This seems so quaint now. :)