In my ongoing book purge, I occasionally have to read a book to decide if it goes or stays. Such is the case with Mary Stewart, whose gentle mystery/romances I devoured in my younger days.
So I was surprised when, on rereading This Rough Magic, a book I'd loved, set on Corfu and full of ties to Prospero and Shakespeare's Tempest as well as gorgeous passages of description, to find myself losing interest and being a tad annoyed at the well- worn trope of the young woman who is at first antagonistic to the young man with whom she will sooner or later fall in love.
I don't know--I still love Pride and Prejudice--possibly the grandmother of this trope. But I eventually put the book down and added it to the box destined for the next library book sale.
But then I gave Stewart another chance and am currently rereading her Arthurian quartet -- The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, The Last Enchantment, and The Wicked Day. And am delighted to say that the magic I remembered is still there. Her descriptions are gorgeous and if the Matter of Britain--the story of Merlin and Arthur--is more enchanting than the proto chick-lit of her earlier books, well it's not to be wondered at.
And on a blessedly rainy afternoon and evening, it's a delight!
