In The Beginning

[sonetka]

One thing about Dorothy Sayers' books which I've wondered about for a long time (though my interest was refreshed by a combox discussion in, I think, October) is the question of what brought Philip Boyes and Harriet Vane together in the first place. The explanation in Strong Poison is reasonable enough on the face of it, but while we're told that

Comments

[persephone_kore]

Ooh, this is interesting.

[sonetka]

Thank you! I'm hoping they're at least somewhat on-target. Harriet and Philip both make very balky subjects for fic (well, Later Philip is pretty straightforward but Early Philip is a puzzle) but I really would like to figure out how this happened in the first place.

[lopezuna_writes]

What fun!

Argh, he sent her all his books! That's just what he would do. What a wart and a pimple on the face of humanity. Run away Harriet! Fast!!

I always had the impression that as a not-conventionally-attractive bluestocking, Harriet had few admirers and was therefore flattered by the attention of a handsome older man. Being the obnoxious ass that he was, Boyes saw this and decided to exploit it (tired of independent Bohemian women who were not appropriately submissive). Hence her persistent insecurity about her own attractiveness. But maybe I'm conflating her and Ann Dorland. And with her strict upbringing she couldn't just sleep with him, she had to persuade herself she was in love with him first. Hence the persuading herself into appropriate feelings.

[sonetka]

Thanks for reading! I've really enjoyed reading your fics as well (the one that comes to mind especially is the morning-after one after Crutchley is executed but they're all great

[nineveh_uk]

I do love that you gave Vaughan a job as a bank clerk.

[sonetka]

I feel just a little bit bad for Vaughan. He's working long hours at a job he can't stand and starts drinking as soon as he's off the clock so he can forget about it. He wishes he were an artist and is willing to put up with unbelievable amounts of garbage from Philip while paying his rent in the meantime -- and Philip, not being the soul of gratitude, just sees that Vaughan has become drunk, depressing company and is looking for some way to get away from him. Of course, Vaughan will blame Evil Harriet for the breakup of their household -- nothing could possibly be Philip's fault.

[nineveh_uk]

Much as I wish I'd been able to get to this sooner, it was worth the wait to read it properly, because it's fabulous. Harriet feels completely in character, and early Boyes is very plausible as someone who can do charm when it suits him, but is fundamentally focussed on himself. I note that his opinion of Harriet's physical attraction increases the more that he thinks about what she could do for him practically! The sense of Harriet's isolation you mention in your comment below is very striking; Boyes is asking her out, and for her opinion, even if he's doing it for himself and not her. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that Sylvia has taken herself out of the running as a person that Harriet is likely to turn to for some good advice on what to do

[sonetka]

I'm glad you liked it! I'm especially glad that Harriet sounds IC -- she was tricky to work with, especially since this is the pre-arrest Harriet. Her attractiveness growing along with her usefulness to Philip was very much intentional, though I doubt he makes the connection himself. As for Sylvia, I think everyone's had an experience like that -- assuming that someone else found something amusing or ridiculous and discovering a few sentences too late that they didn't see it that way At. All. She's in an awkward position because she didn't expect Harriet to take to Philip, and while she thinks he's an obnoxious egomaniac she doesn't really have any concrete reasons to offer as to why seeing him would be a bad idea and she doesn't want to alienate Harriet by being too strident about her dislike of him. (I don't know if you read the second part yet or not, but her leaving the country for a few months also makes confidences difficult. It's not quite the same in a letter as it is when you're just sitting and talking).

And yes, I'm sure

[nineveh_uk]

I think that Harriet is miles trickier to write than Peter. It isn't that she hasn't got a distinctive voice/personality in canon, because of course she has, but it's not got convenient handles. I think your take on her is very convincing as the person who might grow into the woman we see a bit later.

[lopezuna_writes]

Agreed 100% about Harriet. She's impossible. Especially when she makes claims about herself (devilish temper) for which there is relatively little canonical evidence (I don't count her losing her temper with Peter because mostly he deserves it). Now I want so badly to see her losing it with Phil who obviously deserves it too!

[learnsslowly]

I like this very much - so completely convincing. (Loved the Paramecia - fringed costumes?)

[sonetka]

Thank you! Very likely the costumes were fringed (the 1920s did love fringes) but I think Harriet was too taken aback by the music to really notice much about them.

[tudorpot]

So glad I was pointed this way by Nineveh. Well done, rushing on to the next part.

[sonetka]

Thanks! I really appreciate it.