Recent reading
Sep. 6th, 2020 08:37 pmThe Dark Mile by D K Broster (1929, third in the Jacobite trilogy)
I was not predisposed to like this book (no Keith, not that much Ewen), but in fact I ended up enjoying it a lot in the moment. In fact the book was not much like I had expected it to be? I'd expected the main focus to be on the Ian Stewart/Olivia Campbell romance, but I felt like the fallout of GitN took up more space, with a lot of action/adventure/plotting which I enjoyed, and also a quite moving resolution to that fallout. As![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
regshoe said, Finlay MacPhair of Glenshian is a moustache-twirling villain, but I found David Maitland to be an interesting character, and Ewen's confrontation with that motive for the betrayal of Archie Cameron must have been thought-provoking for him. Definitely a lot more nuance in her portrayal of political motivations and loyalties than in Broster's earlier books set in France...
It isn't actually slashy, but I feel like the relationship between Ian Stewart and Hector Grant is given as much space as Ian Stewart/Olivia Campbell. An A+ duel, as usual with Broster! She writes those so well. And poor Ian--I think it washyarrowen who said that Alan and Ian are kind of like Boromir and Faramir with respect to their father issues.
I did not mind the Ian Stewart/Olivia Campbell romance, but neither was I very invested in it, and I thought the resolution of the obstacles between them was far too pat. I would have much preferred if they'd had to struggle with and resolve those issues as they were--if they were actually resolved by that revelation, which I don't think they were (sorry, I'm trying to be vague to avoid spoilers). Also, after all my historical reading, I think the portrayal of the clan enmity is not very nuanced: in the book, it is as if all Campbells are anathema to an Appin Stewart, because of the '45. But there were Jacobite Campbells! Lochiel was married to one of them, and three of his twelve(!) sisters were also married to Campbells (don't know their political opinions though). There were Campbells who fought for the Jacobites in both the '45 and the '15, though of course most of them were on the other side. In general the Campbells acted pretty well in the aftermath of Culloden, and it wasn't unusual for Jacobite clansmen to say that they would surrender, but only to a Campbell. Another thing is the Campbell expansionism which must have threatened Appin, but that's not mentioned. I've also read that much of the upper classes in Scotland refused to let the Whig/Jacobite divide affect social relations--like, there were many Whigs who testified on behalf of their Jacobite neighbors, and so on. Of course, Ian in the book is given a more concrete reason to object to Olivia: that her father led the militia who killed his brother at Culloden. So I guess that in itself is fine, but I would've liked more nuance.
I did feel that Alison and Aunt Margaret were pretty side-lined. : ( Alison is very much the Wife and Mother, and Aunt Margaret gets one lovely scene confronting Glenshian ("by nature she relished a fight"), but then not much more. Sigh. I mean, I am sad that Keith is not in the book, but if I can't get Ewen/Keith, then I do want Alison to be more of an actual character. I thought Broster did better by her in GitN.
I don't really agree withregshoe that the story is told from Ian's POV--I read it as omniscient POV that shows us several different characters (quite many, in fact). Also: regshoe, what is the line about Ewen that's obliquely about Keith? You mentioned there would be one, but I totally missed it...
Also, I was surprised when Ewen and Ian arrive in a carriage from Invernacree to Ardroy, really? I would not have thought there was a good enough road up to Ardroy for that.
I was not predisposed to like this book (no Keith, not that much Ewen), but in fact I ended up enjoying it a lot in the moment. In fact the book was not much like I had expected it to be? I'd expected the main focus to be on the Ian Stewart/Olivia Campbell romance, but I felt like the fallout of GitN took up more space, with a lot of action/adventure/plotting which I enjoyed, and also a quite moving resolution to that fallout. As
regshoe said, Finlay MacPhair of Glenshian is a moustache-twirling villain, but I found David Maitland to be an interesting character, and Ewen's confrontation with that motive for the betrayal of Archie Cameron must have been thought-provoking for him. Definitely a lot more nuance in her portrayal of political motivations and loyalties than in Broster's earlier books set in France...It isn't actually slashy, but I feel like the relationship between Ian Stewart and Hector Grant is given as much space as Ian Stewart/Olivia Campbell. An A+ duel, as usual with Broster! She writes those so well. And poor Ian--I think it was
hyarrowen who said that Alan and Ian are kind of like Boromir and Faramir with respect to their father issues. I did not mind the Ian Stewart/Olivia Campbell romance, but neither was I very invested in it, and I thought the resolution of the obstacles between them was far too pat. I would have much preferred if they'd had to struggle with and resolve those issues as they were--if they were actually resolved by that revelation, which I don't think they were (sorry, I'm trying to be vague to avoid spoilers). Also, after all my historical reading, I think the portrayal of the clan enmity is not very nuanced: in the book, it is as if all Campbells are anathema to an Appin Stewart, because of the '45. But there were Jacobite Campbells! Lochiel was married to one of them, and three of his twelve(!) sisters were also married to Campbells (don't know their political opinions though). There were Campbells who fought for the Jacobites in both the '45 and the '15, though of course most of them were on the other side. In general the Campbells acted pretty well in the aftermath of Culloden, and it wasn't unusual for Jacobite clansmen to say that they would surrender, but only to a Campbell. Another thing is the Campbell expansionism which must have threatened Appin, but that's not mentioned. I've also read that much of the upper classes in Scotland refused to let the Whig/Jacobite divide affect social relations--like, there were many Whigs who testified on behalf of their Jacobite neighbors, and so on. Of course, Ian in the book is given a more concrete reason to object to Olivia: that her father led the militia who killed his brother at Culloden. So I guess that in itself is fine, but I would've liked more nuance.
I did feel that Alison and Aunt Margaret were pretty side-lined. : ( Alison is very much the Wife and Mother, and Aunt Margaret gets one lovely scene confronting Glenshian ("by nature she relished a fight"), but then not much more. Sigh. I mean, I am sad that Keith is not in the book, but if I can't get Ewen/Keith, then I do want Alison to be more of an actual character. I thought Broster did better by her in GitN.
I don't really agree with
regshoe that the story is told from Ian's POV--I read it as omniscient POV that shows us several different characters (quite many, in fact). Also: regshoe, what is the line about Ewen that's obliquely about Keith? You mentioned there would be one, but I totally missed it...Also, I was surprised when Ewen and Ian arrive in a carriage from Invernacree to Ardroy, really? I would not have thought there was a good enough road up to Ardroy for that.
