New Favorites Poll

We've had a poll running over on the sidebar since we put the blog up -- asking what people's favorite Mary Stewart book is. I've just posted a new one, since someone noticed that not all of Stewart's books were listed as options. Sorry! I think I'd only put my favorites on there, which was very egocentric of me. :)

So go vote! (Again, or for the first time.)

Here are the top results of the previous poll. 107 people voted.

Nine Coaches Waiting -- 19%
This Rough Magic -- 14%
Madam, Will You Talk -- 13%
The Crystal Cave -- 9%
Airs Above the Ground -- 9%
My Brother Michael -- 9%

Madam, Will You Talk giveaway!

Angie has posted a lovely essay about how she discovered Mary Stewart's books. She's also giving away a free copy of Madam, Will You Talk. So head over there and comment -- you could win! The contest closes tonight (May 6) at midnight.

Covers from Susanna Kearsley!

Susanna Kearsley (an author whose books I love and which are very reminiscent of Mary Stewart) scanned a bunch of her Mary Stewart covers and sent them to us. Yay! Thanks, Susanna!

I've added them all to the cover gallery on the website. Here are some of my favorites:


The Gabriel Hounds, original UK hardback, Hodder & Stoughton, 1967. I love the colors on this one.

Touch Not the Cat, UK hardback, Hodder & Stoughton, 1976


Thunder on the Right, US Fawcett paperback. I like this one, but why on earth is Jennifer Silver wearing a medieval costume??

Literary Guild Review -- This Rough Magic

A few years ago I was at the Strand (a great used bookstore in NYC) and found a beautifully preserved hardcover copy of my very favorite Mary Stewart book, This Rough Magic. When I opened it up a little pamphlet fell out--the Literary Guild Review that came with the book when the original owner received it in 1964. I did a little happy dance right there in the store. It contains an interview with Stewart and a summary illustrated with these fantastic drawings. I had some fun with Photoshop and added in little excerpts of the text.



Lucy meets Sir Julian Gale.



Oh, Max. *Swoon*



Such great adventures.

Wings: The Literary Guild Review, August 1964. Garden City, NY: Literary Guild of America, Inc., 1964.

Susan Wiggs likes Mary Stewart too

Bestselling author Susan Wiggs has posted a list of her five favorite authors. Mary Stewart didn't quite make her top five. But she had such trouble narrowing her list down, she added a few more, one of which was Mary Stewart.

Nice list, Ms. Wiggs!

The mighty Google recognizes us.

Again, we have to apologize for the long, long wait between blog posts. Infrequent updating is a cardinal sin in the world of blogging, but time has gotten away from us. We've got lots of good stuff to post, so hopefully we'll get some interesting things up in the next couple weeks. We've also received lots of emails lately, which we have not answered, but hope to get to very soon. Several people have sent some great old covers -- we'll post them soon.

Today's good news is that I've realized that Mary Stewart Novels now comes up as the third hit on Google when you search for Mary Stewart. Woo hoo! We used to be down on the third page somewhere. Thanks to everyone who has linked to us and let the Googlebot know we're here! And welcome to everyone who has found us recently.

Also of note today -- the blog Romance Vagabonds did a post called "Celebrating Women in Romance" this week, which lists Mary Stewart along with Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Georgette Heyer, and others. Very nice company for the "mother of the modern romantic suspense novel."

Merlin of the Crystal Cave

Sorry for the long lag between posts! I've been busy starting graduate school. But I'm determined to keep the Mary Stewart blog alive. Updating marystewartnovels.com will probably have to wait until winter break!

LadyTink has brought this movie to my attention. I thought that The Moon-Spinners was the only Mary Stewart book that had been made into a movie. I was oh-so-wrong. The Crystal Cave was apparently adapted into Merlin of the Crystal Cave in 1991. Here's the imdb page.

I've looked around at all my local libraries and no one seems to have a copy (not too surprising, I guess). Has anyone seen it? There appears to be a used copy on Amazon for $3. Is it worth it?