tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post7274371453449433849..comments2024-03-29T11:36:25.050+00:00Comments on Clothes In Books: Spinsters in Jeopardy by Ngaio MarshClothes In Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-52342995213231536702017-08-07T11:37:05.508+01:002017-08-07T11:37:05.508+01:00Although this one is more thriller-esque than GA v...Although this one is more thriller-esque than GA village crime, so might almost be more to your taste...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-41010566086470662852017-08-07T05:25:26.980+01:002017-08-07T05:25:26.980+01:00Avoid, though I will try her one day. Not this one...Avoid, though I will try her one day. Not this one though.col2910https://www.blogger.com/profile/06422138069939709043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-73995847263943586682017-08-06T23:05:31.785+01:002017-08-06T23:05:31.785+01:00In Christie they are always subordinate to the nee...In Christie they are always subordinate to the needs of the plot - might be nice, might be nasty, but its detection driven, not because AC wants to tell you what to think. Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-83694642434427193652017-08-06T23:02:36.629+01:002017-08-06T23:02:36.629+01:00Oh well I love anything about opera, even being ru...Oh well I love anything about opera, even being rude, and even if not very good... Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-19334866811814405632017-08-06T10:39:17.922+01:002017-08-06T10:39:17.922+01:00Spot on about Allingham, Belle and Aunt Caroline! ...Spot on about Allingham, Belle and Aunt Caroline! Though poor Donna Beatrice is a figure of fun.Lucy R. Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08632983296994349550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-75570464050922830772017-08-06T10:35:38.703+01:002017-08-06T10:35:38.703+01:00In Photo Finish she is very acid about opera. Troy...In Photo Finish she is very acid about opera. Troy is drawing the singers at rehearsals, and wonders why singing makes people look grotesque. There's a beautiful (closed) setting, and a friendly singing teacher, but that's about all.Lucy R. Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08632983296994349550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-11035440814369882532017-08-04T20:04:28.977+01:002017-08-04T20:04:28.977+01:00I keep thinking I'll find the right Marsh to r...I keep thinking I'll find the right Marsh to recommend to you, Sergio, but am giving up hope... Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-73094700734182207462017-08-04T20:03:29.512+01:002017-08-04T20:03:29.512+01:00Old ladies in GA fiction! There's a topic I co...Old ladies in GA fiction! There's a topic I could read or write to death. <br />Nearly all children in adult novels of the era are pretty dire, but you are right, give me the Campion family any day. Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-78695201530284004942017-08-04T20:02:01.421+01:002017-08-04T20:02:01.421+01:00I think I pretty much have reversed my opinions - ...I think I pretty much have reversed my opinions - the ones I disliked years ago I quite like now, and vice versa. I guess to a fan of thrillers this one might be more attractive?Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-23228660707335462742017-08-04T20:01:02.840+01:002017-08-04T20:01:02.840+01:00So sorry about the comment! When I was a comment e...So sorry about the comment! When I was a comment editor I used to suggest to people, when they complained about losing them, that they write them out first then post. But, I was thinking 'as if anyone would actually do that in real life.'<br />Interesting suggestion about Wentworth... Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-35952097993685335662017-08-04T19:59:39.456+01:002017-08-04T19:59:39.456+01:00I second Lucy's choices. I also very much like...I second Lucy's choices. I also very much liked 2 of the NZ-set ones: Colour Scheme and Died in the Wool.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-10248561758341106172017-08-04T08:01:13.847+01:002017-08-04T08:01:13.847+01:00There should be a Marsh exchange, like for Marmite...There should be a Marsh exchange, like for Marmite ... :)Sergio (Tipping My Fedora)https://bloodymurder.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-86133495679150051512017-08-04T07:26:43.434+01:002017-08-04T07:26:43.434+01:00The mixture of Marsh that I've read doesn'...The mixture of Marsh that I've read doesn't include this one, and it sounds like I had a narrow escape (you suffer so that we don't have to!). She can be very good, but of the big 4 Golden Age Female crime writers I think that she was the weakest. <br /><br />It's intersting to compare her attitude to old women with the others. Allingham is always rather gushing about Grand Dames in her earlier books, whereas Christie is very clear sighted about the elderly (Marple may be the heroine of several stories, but she's also terrifying). Sayers is pretty much the same way. The Alleyn family are pretty horrible, never, ever feeling like a real family unit. Allingham's (and later Mike Ripley's) Campion family outings are much more fun because they do feel much more like people that you would like to meet.<br /><br />ggaryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-88315786937563060162017-08-04T04:34:35.165+01:002017-08-04T04:34:35.165+01:00Sorry: I remember little about this one except tha...Sorry: I remember little about this one except that, when I read it decades ago, I thought it was very good indeed. It's feasible that, when I reread the book to discover if my younger self was an idiot, I'll revise my opinion on this one, but so far, as I've reread Marsh, exactly the opposite has been true.noirencyclopediahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02843963811822980754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-70688240847395698072017-08-04T04:22:25.700+01:002017-08-04T04:22:25.700+01:00I wrote an utterly brilliant comment, but WordPres...I wrote an utterly brilliant comment, but WordPress was not impressed and it was lost to posterity. In short, I completely agree with you about Spinsters in Jeopardy. I tried to read it and also to listen to it, but I couldn't get through it. I find her books hard to re-read although I loved many of them 20 years ago.I wonder if the string bag crack was a jab at Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver?Elizabeth Tierneynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-70501976105912123862017-08-03T23:08:52.820+01:002017-08-03T23:08:52.820+01:00Night at the Vulcan - Opening Night in the UK - is...Night at the Vulcan - Opening Night in the UK - is one of her best. Perhaps THE best. If you liked that one, you might like "Scales"! Or Death at the Dolphin. Lucy R. Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08632983296994349550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-20554412301435991672017-08-03T21:56:19.412+01:002017-08-03T21:56:19.412+01:00Scales of Justice shines out for me from the 2nd h...Scales of Justice shines out for me from the 2nd half of her career, but Lucy is the real expert! She has really useful lists of the Marsh books on her blog, with a couple of lines on each book. Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-29217678268135754112017-08-03T20:58:15.912+01:002017-08-03T20:58:15.912+01:00I still haven't read a Ngaio Marsh since Night...I still haven't read a Ngaio Marsh since Night at the Vulcan, in 2012. I wanted to read through the second half of the series but now I am not sure I ever will (or should). When I do finally read one, I need to pick one that you and Lucy like.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-43698971753595504362017-08-03T20:29:05.152+01:002017-08-03T20:29:05.152+01:00Thanks, they both sound interesting: I don't n...Thanks, they both sound interesting: I don't need a great crime plot if the setting is good...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-46647318789019280122017-08-03T20:28:00.540+01:002017-08-03T20:28:00.540+01:00They are SO British-abroad, I wish it was satire. ...They are SO British-abroad, I wish it was satire. I meant to mention their oddity in tipping. Raoul gets offered 500 francs for helping with an operation. concierge gets 1000, for no reason at all. 500 francs for a woman to take a message, 200 for a normal tip. <br />Will get to Clutch soon...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-76700657135490823732017-08-03T20:19:24.944+01:002017-08-03T20:19:24.944+01:00Yes indeed, uneven is the word. This is one to put...Yes indeed, uneven is the word. This is one to put away and forget, I won't be re-reading it ever.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-33506426407740469202017-08-03T20:18:14.582+01:002017-08-03T20:18:14.582+01:00It's definitely the worst one I've read. S...It's definitely the worst one I've read. So strange when she can do it so well, and Scales of Justice was the next one...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-39578281577818174352017-08-03T17:32:18.567+01:002017-08-03T17:32:18.567+01:00Light Thickens, her final book is set in the theat...Light Thickens, her final book is set in the theater and as usual her depiction of putting on a play is interesting. The theatrical intrigue is more interesting than the murder but I enjoyed the book. Her second to last book, Photo Finish, does I fear feature a not-young unsympathetic lady but on the whole I enjoyed it. It is set in New Zealand, which is always fun.Johanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14957635441637987216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-31859575898836794892017-08-03T13:58:07.677+01:002017-08-03T13:58:07.677+01:00The earlier Death in Ecstasy is a better attempt a...The earlier Death in Ecstasy is a better attempt at satirising tiny cults that prey on their adherents. She's recycled the idea in this one. Yes, I agree with you about her cruelty to older women, though the one described above turns out to be rather admirable. And Ricky is utterly appalling. Oh dear, oh dear! I also can't stand her patronising depiction of the heroic chauffeur and his girlfriend, who speak broken English. They are beautiful, but have dirty feet and "stuffy" bedrooms.<br /><br />Try Clutch of Constables, though there is a caricatured elderly lady in it. (She's about 15 years younger than me.)Lucy R. Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08632983296994349550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-55568706561649808992017-08-03T12:23:53.072+01:002017-08-03T12:23:53.072+01:00This is definitely not Marsh at her best, Moira, i...This is definitely not Marsh at her best, Moira, is it? And it's interesting how her work can be a bit uneven that way. The ageism in the book is definitely there (even in the title), and I couldn't agree with you more about the lack of wit (usually an important quality of a Marsh novel). Oh, well, I suppose they can't all be perfect...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com