The Attenbury Emeralds

[miss_eponine]

I've recently learned of the forthcoming publication of The Attenbury Emeralds by Jill Paton Walsh, and I was kind of curious as to what others thought of this.

Comments

[jlh]

I would say that they're worth reading so you can find out for yourself, as they don't entirely suck, and if you can get them from a friend or a library or similar then that's the way to go.

I own Thrones, Dominations and I do reread it on occasion.

(Funnily enough I was recently trying to remember that whole bit about Mock Turtle in Gaudy Night and the friend I was talking to about it was horrified at the entire scene and insisted that it must be in "one of those horrible continuations." When I finally tracked it down she was unamused to hear that yes, that entire sequence was written by Sayers.)

[bristow1941]

They are pale imitations and I was able to guess the page where it shifted successfully on my first try. Still, it's really well written (and even edited) fanfiction. Borrow it from a library, but I do regret encouraging the estate by buying both of them in more profligate days.

The truly sad part is I really enjoy Walsh's own series featuring Imogen Quy are very good - I wish she would go back to her own writing.

[whimsy_chan]

I thought Thrones, Dominations was dreadful. I've read non-professional fanfiction that captured Sayers' voice better, and that holds up better against the canon. I was so completely turned off that I've been ignoring the existence of Thrones, Dominations--I didn't even know JPW wrote another Wimsey novel. Borrow them from the library if you're curious, but I wouldn't waste the money to buy them.

[veriloquently]

I'm going to join the contingent that enjoyed Thrones, Dominations. That being said, by the end of it I felt ready to stop with Harriet and Peter--like their story was done for me. So I've never picked up Presumption of Death, which is not how I felt about any of the other Wimsey books, which I devoured and finished wanting more. I'm not sure if it's just that JPW ended at a satisfactory place, or if there was something about Thrones that was missing. As I said, I enjoyed it and will definitely read it again. In fact, I thought it was much better than a lot of the fanfiction I've found, and came closest (of what I've read) to capturing Sayers' voice. But then, Sayers is so distinctive, I do think it's impossible to ever really get her right. I also really enjoyed JPW's Imogen Quy series, which is clearly very influenced by Gaudy Night. So....while this premise sounds fascinating, and while I might pick it up in a library one day, I won't be rushing out to the bookstores, unless it's to replace my worn and much-loved, much-read copy

[antisoppist]

I actually prefer Presumption of Death to Thrones. I like JPW's own crime novels and I think she does better at inventing her own plot rather than having to work round what Sayers left behind. But it isn't Sayers, they are not Sayers' Peter and Harriet and the things that are hugely irritating in Thrones are still hugely irritating. *damns with faint praise*