things discovered through procrastinating

[acchikocchi]

Fun fact: Mary Renault beta-read for Patrick O'Brien. I probably should not find that as entertaining as I do.

Comments

[sara-tanaquil.livejournal.com]

The Charioteer is love! I know so few people who appreciate that book. (What's the difference between the 1953 and 1959 version? I wonder which one I read so often I wore the spine out.)

My favorites of the historicals are Last of the Wine (one of the best opening sentences ever) and The Mask of Apollo. Of course the Alexander trilogy is very good as well, but I haven't reread those as often (except maybe The Persian Boy...).

[acchikocchi.livejournal.com]

Ooh, yes! I love it so. :D So much reticence and repressed feeling that the barest interaction means so much... *_* The 1959 edition is the "definitive" edition, so to speak - what happened was Renault got the chance to further edit her manuscript before its American release so she made some pretty significant edits, mainly stylistic, cutting back descriptive passages and such. There's more left to inference and less straightforward emotion, and her prose is sparser and cooler. But nothing really big plot-wise, ahem. All subsequent editions were based on this one so that's probably the one you read, but who knows. :D

sdkla;sd you named my two favorites! Niko. ♥ Though the last... third? quarter? of The Last of the Wine just kills me, poor conflicted Alexias. Same on the Alexander trilogy - they were the first books of hers that I read and I am extraordinarily fond of Hephaistion in Fire From Heaven, but I don't get the rereading impulse so much.