I keep thinking about Anne Golon now

[petronia]

Trying to figure out how Dunnett's Prince of Condé** is related to Golon's Prince of Condé; grandfather, I think? The Wikipedia genealogy, good grief. XD;

And thus, this is stuck in my head. It's always the Nana Mouskouri version; at the time I was just bowled over that it was a song I knew, I think.

I don't think a lot of NAmericans have read the Angélique books? On my flist, anyway. You'd need access to a library that carries the old translations, the quality of which I can't vouch for in any case. (I've heard there were edits.) They're de rigueur for Francophones, though probably everyone just watches the movies. (Which I've never seen, because UBER-KITSCH I can't even imagine.) Whatever impact Dunnett might have had on people who read her as a teenager, I suspect, that was Serge and Anne Golon in my world. Except the protagonist is a woman, and a woman with bucketloads of agency at that, sexual and otherwise.*** In retrospective memory, the dudes are totally ridic. XD I don't go in for ranked lists, but the relative hotness of Angélique's paramours would make for lively debate (it'd have to be a group activity; my opinion is no better than the next reader's). These books do all the work you'd expect of bodice rippers and then some. But they're not fluff; the history is spot on, the first book contains Chekhov's Guns for the next five, and... well. Don't get attached to any of the characters, that's all I can say. My ninth-grade trauma, let me show you it. XD;



** d'Enghien, etc. I mentally shorthand the Bourbons/de Guises and whatnot to "the F4", thus increasing my enjoyment of Queen's Play by 7%

*** In my mind the series was first published in the 70s and not the 50s, WTF. They are resolutely heterosexual, though; I can't mentally dredge up a hint of queerness. If it was going to be anyone it would have been poor Philippe du Plessis-Bellière, who loved his king as well or better than his wife, whom I feel guilty about feeling sorry for (because he's a total dickwad), even though you're supposed to feel sorry for him. Thus my irregular Nana Mouskouri hauntings that continue to this day. My ninth-grade ~feelings~

Comments

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

OMG Angelique. I think... I read one of them in the early 60s? They were out in English and available then, along with Frank Yerby and that ilk. (The memories, dear god, the memories- opening the pharaoh's tomb and catching the brief scent of lotuses.) One of my high school BFFs was mad about them-- only now I can't even remember which BFF it was. Eheu fugaces.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

The equivalent in high school for us was the Clan of the Cave Bear books - the real still-publishing 70s mainstay. But neither the prose nor the paleontology hold up, in those. XD;

(Anne Golon is still writing! But I didn't think the story needed to continue beyond Quebec ahaha, so I didn't keep reading.)

[galerian-ash.livejournal.com]

A~ah, Angélique...! Sure brings back some nice childhood memories. I used to read those, along with Casca and Larry & Stretch -- interesting mix, now that I think about it XD;

[incandescens]

I think I vaguely remember reading the first Angelique book when I was at school, somewhere between thirteen and eighteen. A battered copy showed up in our house library, and I, as usual desperate for stuff to read, ended up ploughing through it.

(It's amazing what shows up in battered boarding house library collections.)

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's worth reading the series, at least up to book five or six, if you can find them. They're not standalones at all.

[incandescens]

I'll have to look them out. Thanks!

[supacat.livejournal.com]

d'Enghien, etc. I mentally shorthand the Bourbons/de Guises and whatnot to "the F4", thus increasing my enjoyment of Queen's Play by 7%

ILU FOREVER

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Cat, I like how you were all "Oh Lymond arguably sleeps with one dude if you do some close reading"... Close reading? One dude??

[supacat.livejournal.com]

In my defense, I don't think he sleeps with the whole F4, just d'Enghien, and the rest is General Debauchery. I've had friends read that book and not pick up on any of it, if you can believe that. XD

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Oh, the Vidame was totally gunning for it too. I think he didn't succeed due to timing of Unfortunate Events, because he tries again at the end(!) These dudes are indefatigable.

I don't feel that I'm missing anything at all when I read these, funny to say, but every time I go online I see confused people. XD; (Although, I'm pretty sure that if I'd read these as a teen I wouldn't have grokked a lot of the character development. I would've understood it, but not understood it, if you know what I mean.)