Madam, want to talk about author Mary Stewart? discussion

Discussion for chapters 17 thru 21. Please comment on anything from these chapters, but remember to hide spoilers within a spoiler tag. Please note which chapter a spoiler is from so other readers will know if it is safe to "peek" or not. You do not have to wait until reading all of the chapters to comment, but please restrict your posts to content from chapters 1 thru 21. Please don't discuss the solution to the mystery here -- head on over to SPOILERLAND. :)

Note: I am dividing the read into 5 sections, each 4 chapters long. I may adjust as we go, so check the chapter numbers for each section! :)

I just finished chapter 18!! I don't want to stop....

Me either...will probably read until midnight again. Will just have to finish it.

Judith wrote: "Me either...will probably read until midnight again. Will just have to finish it."

I just finished, Judith! I couldn't put it down until the end! :D

Chapter 17
Love this chapter. We get .

Still love that Vicar .

Ready for July 2023 discussion.

I couldn't stop reading and am done with the book. It was quite a wild ride there at the end.

It sure was! I finished it this morning myself and moved over to spoilerland. I was disappointed that Francis didn’t turn up earlier but loved the Vicar and Mrs. Henderson. Was very relieved with the way the romantic storyline turned out; was really not up for (view spoiler)[another creepy cousin romance after The Gabriel Hounds (hide spoiler)].

(view spoiler)[Yes, I know what you mean about the cousin romances! The book did have a good resolution but it was tenuous for a while... with the uncertainty of the flood... I worried that her husband wouldn't make it through. (hide spoiler)]

I found the class conversation between the two interesting. I think of the 1950s as the time a lot of Britons really took on the phoniness of the gentry’s assumption of superiority based on wealth and breeding, but here we are in the 1970s and the old habits of mind are still prevalent, especially among the lower-class characters. Also thought the passage at the beginning was perceptive when our hero was a high performer in school but was forced to abandon his education because of family circumstances.

Abigail wrote: "Also thought the passage at the beginning was perceptive when our hero was a high performer in school but was forced to abandon his education because of family circumstances..."

Yet wasn't Rob's mother the schoolteacher?

I didn’t remember that (and read it on Kindle so I can’t readily check); I was mainly focused on the drunken, violent father.