#Rose Tremain

[harleychick91]

Another great women loving women historical fiction novel is Islands of Mercy by Rose Tremain. The audiobook is narrated by the amazing Katie McGrath. The ebook can be found everywhere but the audiobook isn’t available in the United States. It has been put in a playlist on Spotify.

She was ‘The Angel of the Baths’, the one woman whose touch everybody yearned for. Yet she would do more. She was certain of that.

In the city of Bath, in the year 1865, an extraordinary young woman renowned for her nursing skills is convinced that some other destiny will one day show itself to her. But when she finds herself torn between a dangerous affair with a female lover and the promise of a conventional marriage to an apparently respectable doctor, her desires begin to lead her towards a future she had never imagined.

Meanwhile, on the wild island of Borneo, an eccentric British ‘rajah’, Sir Ralph Savage, overflowing with philanthropy but compromised by his passions, sees his schemes relentlessly undermined by his own fragility, by man’s innate greed and by the invasive power of the forest itself.

Jane’s quest for an altered life and Sir Ralph’s endeavours become locked together as the story journeys across the globe – from the confines of an English tearoom to the rainforests of a tropical island via the slums of Dublin and the transgressive fancy-dress boutiques of Paris.

Islands of Mercy is a novel that ignites the senses, and is a bold exploration of the human urge to seek places of sanctuary in a pitiless world.

[contremineur]

I lie awake and listen to the silence that has fallen upon London. It is Katharine who sleeps. Her tangled hair falls onto my shoulder and her arm is laid across my breast.

Rose Tremain, from Restoration (Hamish Hamilton 1989)

[orphanblaque]

does anyone know where i can find the audiobook for islands of mercy? every place seems to have it until i sign up for a free trial, then it's gone from the selection.

[judgingbooksbycovers]

Unused cover for

Gustav Sonata: A Novel

By Rose Tremain.

Design by Yang Kim.

[105nt]

And I observed how, in this Fen land, the crust of the earth appears thin, allowing water to seep and ooze upwards so that it is possible to imagine there are fishes and not worms in the soil.

Robert Merivel, Restoration by Rose Tremain

[joebloggshere]

Music & Silence by Rose Tremain

So, the person that recommended the Robert Harris Cicero trilogy to me, which I adored (Imperium https://www.tumblr.com/joebloggshere/679458295216570368/imperium-by-robert-harris-i-really-enjoyed-this - Lustrum https://www.tumblr.com/joebloggshere/692367732075790336/lustrum-by-robert-harris-the-second-book-of-the - Dictator https://www.tumblr.com/joebloggshere/704238607209218048/dictator-by-robert-harris-wow-the-third-book-in ) also highly recommended this book to me. Although Rose Tremain is not one of my favourite authors I thought I would give it a go.

What can I say, other than it is an interesting book about Denmark in the sixteen hundreds but I just didn’t love it. Sorry. There is some excellent writing, some interesting vignettes but as a whole I was not satisfied.

Having said that my friend has reread this book several times as has his wife and it won the Whitbread Novel Award in 1999 together with many amazing accolades, so I am obviously missing something here.

Why don’t you give it a go and see what you think?

[lilacswraith]

“Often, Lev had slept on a rag rug beside his daughter’s bed, when she was ill or afraid. And when his wife, Marina, was dying, he’d lain for five nights on an area of linoleum flooring no wider than his outstretched arm, between Marina’s hospital bed and a curtain patterned with pink and purple daisies, and sleep had come and gone in a mystifying kind of way, painting strange pictures in Lev’s brain that had never completely vanished.” - Rose Tremain, from ‘The Road Home’

[that-random-outsider]

This is just a joke lol I just thought it was funny how this fandom always seems to gravitate towards one specific cast member.

[leoisbabygirl]

it's giving sunshine x sunshine protector

[somedudenamedanthony]

I wish I could animate so I could do a lil video of the Charming/Tremaine cousins going on a quadruple karaoke date night with all their girlfriends

Chad and Audrey sing Love Story by Taylor Swift and slow dance with each other on stage

Anthony and Harriet sing Tyme Flyes When You're Havin' Rum by Pirates For Sail (and gag at the others doing "cringe love songs" like they're not sharing a cocktail and making out rn)

Dizzy and Celia sing Loverboy by A-Wall (Audrey made them do it because they couldn't pick a song fast enough)

Chloe and Red do Slumber Party by Ashnikko (Chloe sings it, Red plays guitar and does the moaning part while Chloe drags her around)

[tiredflowercrown]

Heyyyyy

Brat songs and what descendants characters they are

Remix

360 - Chad

Club classics - Ivy

Sympathy is a knife - Core 4, Audrey, Uma

I might say something stupid - Audrey, Jane, Carlos, Evie

Talk talk - Chad, Jay

Von Dutch- Evie, Chad

Rewind - Audrey

So I- Audrey, Mal

Girl, so confusing (so the order matters on this, first name is Charli second is lorde)- chad and Audrey (both ways), Audrey and Jane, Chad and Jane, Uma and Mal, Harry and Harriet

Everything is romantic- Anthony

Apple - Desi, Anthony, Em, Evie

B2b - Evie, Diego

Mean girls - Chad, Mal, Anthony

I think about it all the time - Evie, Mal

365 - Ivy

Guess - Ivy

[contremineur]

I lie awake and listen to the silence that has fallen upon London. It is Katharine who sleeps. Her tangled hair falls onto my shoulder and her arm is laid across my breast.

Rose Tremain, from Restoration (Hamish Hamilton 1989)

[missbrunettebarbie]

Descendants Sortings

Mal

Mal is a burned Lion Primary. It isn’t obvious at first, but the more her character developed over the course of the series, the more clear it became she is not a Snake -frankly, this girl would have been better off if she would have taken a more self-serving Snake mentality (uo, I know!) in the latter movies- and no Bird, as she shows none of the signs. I did debate whether she might be a Badger primary or no, but both her ‘I want’ songs (If Only and My once upon a time) show she is a burned Lion who is desperate to unburn, but well, her internal compass has been skewed by being raised by Maleficent: “I can't decide/ What's wrong, what's right/ Which way should I go?”/“You had a cause to serve, but did you serve it?”

Mal really really needs a Cause to work for. In Descendants 1, her Cause is making her mother proud by stealing the wand. In Descendants 2, her new Cause is to be the perfect lady of the court and girlfriend for Ben. And she feels like she’s failing miserably at it, which is why she lives for the Isle. This and the fact that Mal is pretty much facing an identity crisis here and feels like her entire life is being caged by the life everyone else is planning for her. Both nightmarish situations for a Lion who isn’t entirely unburned yet. In the third movie, Mal’s Cause is to be a good queen for Auradon, no matter the price. I personally find Mal’s arc very compelling and intriguing as I think we rarely see a protagonist who is loved by the narrative supporting a point of view the narrative disagrees with, but still be treated with empathy by it.

Her Secondary is even more interesting to me cause before rewatching, I would have never thought she is a Bird Sec, but yet it is so plain! Mal uses magic as a very efficient tool despite never being formally taught. She just gets handed a book and is told to figure it out on the fly. And she does it spectacularly … by paying attention to the instructions like with the love potion. She’s also the planner of the group, some of the plans being better than others (drugging Ben, giving Uma the fake wand etc.). And last, but not least: Mal is an information gatherer. One seemingly insignificant scene that showcases a great lot about Mal is in the car in the first movie, when she asked which button opens the barrier. They almost died, witnessed magic for the first time and are leaving their homes, yet this is on her mind.

Evie

Evie is the textbook Badger Secondary. She is defined by her sewing and hard work. The girl is so good at it, she manages to buy her own castle with the money! I do think she has a Snake Secondary Model in order to play the role of The Temptress that was forced on her.

I had a harder time figuring out the primary, but one thing is clear from the start: Evie is a Loyalist. She’s the one who is more or less keeping the group together and she sometimes clashes a little bit with Mal, as Loyalists don’t see the bigger picture the way Idealists do, which in Evie’s case, is a very good thing. I contemplated Badger, but I’m pretty sure she’s a Snake actually. Evie may be one of the biggest advocates for the Isle kids, but she only becomes one after she says Dizzy again. In D2, Evie is willing to go to the Isle to save Mal even though she’s afraid she might get stuck there. And yet she still volunteers to stay with Mal there, because Mal is her best friend. Evie is a Snake through and through and I think it’s very interesting how in the third movie, which shows the darker side of Lion primaries, it’s Snake!Evie (and Uma) that are framed as being right.

Jay

Jay has a Snake secondary he uses to steal and charm people. And sometimes to exploit loopholes eg. making Lonnie captain in the second movie. He is a Lion Primary, of the Glory Hound variety in the first movie. His entire arc there is to learn how to work inside a team.

Carlos de Vill

Carlos is also an immature primary, but unlike Jay, he is a Hedonistic Snake. When they first arrive in Auradon, he’s mostly interested in eating chocolate and playing video games. He’s also the one most annoyed later on by Evie and Mal always going off to chat amongst themselves leaving him and Jay out of the loop. Bird secondary: he is a tech genius and knowledge gatherer (see how he tries to see if his clapping can make the statue change in D1).

King Ben

Let’s make one thing clear, D1!Ben is smart. And a troll (see him introducing Mal to his parents or how he tells Mal he knew about the love potion). He is framed as the Big Damn Hero in both the first and the second movie, which of course made me think he had one of the ‘heroic’ primaries: Badger or Lion. I settled on Lion, as it is incredibly easy for him to go against the grain. Something not a lot of people can say in this franchise. He’s also extremely concerned with upholding his role as a good king. He forgives Mal for the love potion because she risks her life to save him, which convinces him she is not an evil person. Ben has very firm convictions. He is the only one who stands up for the VKs at Family Day despite being the one with an actual reason to hate them.

He definitely has a Fluid Secondary, as a huge part of his charm is the fact that he tries to make himself liked. But he’s also a hard worker who disapproves heavily of taking shortcuts (see his fight with Mal over her using magic for everything) which made me go with Badger.

Uma

Uma is a classic (exploded) Snake primary. It seems to be all about Mal in D2. She’s enraged when Mal says she’s never given Uma a thought since she left. Ben offers her to come to Auradon and be part of a solution for saving other VKs. But Uma refuses. And I think it’s both because she wants to do things her way, but also because Uma is not exactly looking at the bigger picture here the way Ben is. ‘You don’t get to win everytime.’ These are her words to Mal when she realizes she had been tricked with a fake wand. Her secondary is a little trickier but I’m going with Bird because, here’s the thing, Uma is Mal’s mirror. Ben clocks it almost immediately: “She’s an angry girl with a bad plan. Not so different from you when you first came to Auradon.” Mal also constantly shows that she understands Uma and her methods better than anyone. Uma even uses the same plan as Mal when she uses the love spell on Ben. These girls are two sides of the same coin. (A bit of a side note, but I’m really curious how they are going to handle Uma as the Principal of Auradon Prep in D4. The clips we’ve seen so far make me really optimistic. Plus, since I’ve been hopelessly contaminated by TVD and never cured, Uma as principal reminded me of Caroline as headmistress in Legacies and yeah, I’m very optimistic this means good things for Uma xDD).

Li Lonnie

Lion Secondary as she is extremely honest and straightforward: “I know you hate us. And you are evil. But I’ve got money.” she says when she wants Mal to give her a new haircut. You don’t really get more Lion than that. Her primary was harder but from the first movie she looked to me like an Idealist with the way she saw the world: “Even villains love their kids.” I’m thinking Lion as in D2, she clearly goes to the Isle to prove herself by saving the king. Sounds familiar? Well, Lion primary Mulan did the same.

Princess Audrey

Audrey is another Lion Secondary girl in Auradon. Seriously this girl’s attempts at manipulation, make Mal look subtle: “Make me your queen and I’ll wake everybody up.” Villain!Audrey was a hammer: all raw power, no finesse. D1!Audrey was no better either, see her very blunt introduction to the VKs.

Audrey is a Badger Primary, no doubt in my mind about it. She’s very upset when the VKs disturb the Auradon Prep hierarchy and she exhibits some very typical Badger prejudices. “And then everybody looks good. So where would I be?” Audrey asks when she realizes Mal is giving the other girl make-overs, because she needs the social validation from being the prettiest princess there. In D3 it kills her that she did everything right and still someone else gets to be queen. I find it super interesting that Audrey asks Ben to ‘make [her] queen’ when she definitely had the power to crown herself. You might think it was because she loved him, but Queen of Mean ,which is her ‘I want’ song, shows very clearly that it was never about Ben the person. What she wants is his validation, because Audrey was raised to believe that his opinion, as the King, is the most important one. Audrey isn’t a Snake looking to have Ben for herself, a Lion seeking glory or a Bird trying to ‘rectify’ a system that is wrong; she is a Badger who is working within the confines of her society to achieve the status she wants.

Jane

Jane is so so Burned, I can’t help but wonder what the hell was Fairy Godmother doing cause she sure as hell wasn’t parenting her daughter the way she was supposed to. Jane is a Badger Primary who was ostracized by her only community so of course she latches onto Mal and Evie the first time they show her kindness. But D1 is a story about the failings of Badger primaries and the sheep mentality, so when she gains status and the VKs lose it following the events of Family Day, of course Jane aligns herself with the popular kids. She’s not gonna risk becoming an outcast again. This is also the driving force behind her stealing the wand. Her secondary is also super burned, but I’m betting on Lion. Not only is she extremely honest and impulsive, but Lion seems to be the default secondary for Auradon girls. Which is super interesting since generally Lion is not the secondary framed as the most feminine, but here it is.

...I just realized Jane is the burned version of Audrey. Oh, the irony!

Harry Hook

Double Snake, most likely. He is loyal to Uma and Uma only. He also has the ~vibe of a Snake secondary.

Prince Chad Charming

Chad is such a Snake Primary with Audrey as his person. He’s also pretty hedonistic as seen in D2: Ben might be dying, but the most important think is well, could Chad be second in line for the throne? I was a bit unsure of his secondary, but I think it is Badger as the only two times he’s successful (getting Evie in trouble for using the mirror, snapping at the VKs at Family Day) is when he involves other people.

Doug

Another Badger Primary. After Family Day, he gives into the peer pressure and shuns the VKs like everyone else. Maybe Badger Secondary too? Who knows, honestly this guy doesn’t have that much of a personality. But he seems to be a Bookkeeper Badger with the way he and Evie understand each other.

Gil

Gil doesn’t get to shine much, but I think he may be another Double Badger, and probably one of the sweetest Badger in the whole series. And considering he is the son of Gaston, I can’t help but appreciate the irony.

Dizzy

Dizzy is framed as a mirror for Evie in the second movie: the girl who could be so much more, if only she got the chance. This makes me think the two house share and Dizzy is a Snake Badger too. Which honestly tracks with the way she works at the salon and seems to hold no grudge on Evie getting to achieve her dreams while she doesn’t. Because Evie is her person, so of course Dizzy can’t be mad at her.

Celia Facillier

Celia is a Snake Primary who wants the guarantee of being able to see her father after she comes to Auradon, because she loves her father. It’s that simple. Considering how she throws the ember in the water out of rage when she realizes Mal has been lying to her, I’m thinking Lion Secondary.

Tl; Dr

Mal - (burned) Lion/Bird

Evie - Snake/Badger with Snake model

Jay - Glory Hound Lion/Snake

Carlos - hedonistic Snake/Bird

Ben - Lion/Badger

Uma - (exploded) Snake/Bird

Lonnie - Lion/Lion

Audrey - Badger/Lion

Jane - burned Badger/bunred Lion

Harry - Snake/Snake

Chad - Snake/Badger

Doug - Badger/Badger

Gil - Badger/Badger

Dizzy - Snake/Badger

Celia - Snake/Lion

[panthera-tigris-venenata]

Hunger Games & Descendants crossover

Aka me showing Descendants characters into vaguely hunger games setting because it sparks joy. Keeping one (1) Hunger Games character: Ceasar Flickerman, for the reason that Descendants Verse moderator (Snow White) would faint within a minute of having to share a stage with exhibitionistic pirates.

Also. Haymitch. I feel like he and Harriet & James Hook should meet.

Anyway.

(I hope you don't expect any plot)

The Hooks are the Fourth District. The sea side one. Uma, too, and the Smees.

James Hook is a Victor long past, and he lost a hand in his games. He had it replaced by a hook, because he's committing to the bit. Drama queen. He's a Capitol favourite and still very much haunted by the children he fought in his arena. (He's so perfect for this au, I can't)

Harriet is also a Victor, from two years prior.

She volunteered and didn't have a good time ever since. (Didn't have a good time ever ✨)

She didn't lose a hand. This does not stop the Capitol from styling her with a hook.

Both of them are rather heavy alcoholics by this point.

Harriet was a difficult Victor. Stubborn and way too happy to speak her mind. It took Capitol pointing at her siblings and going „If you don't shut up, they'll be next“ to get her to cooperate.

She shut up. She was not happy about it but she's not letting her siblings die in the arena – or otherwise.

Either way, after her, the Capitol needed a Good Victor (tm). They found their Victor in Claudine Frollo, a brainwashed career from District One.

She was ready to lie on her knife for her (District) people rebelling against the Capitol, but her Games were pretty heavily rigged. She was not allowed near sharp things by the gamemakers.

Her trauma from the arena is unsurprisingly not helping. Claudine gets unresponsive for huge amounts of time, and she's still not allowed near sharp things.

��You were raised in a fucking cult!“ „...oh.“ This conversation between Harriet and Claudine definitely happens. Harriet is this close to snapping at Claudine at live TV.

Either way, deal somewhat holds, right? Younger Hook siblings are not reaped.

... wouldn't be the Hooks if there wasn't more chaos, okay?

Next year, Uma is reaped, and there is no way Harry is letting her go alone. He volunteers before the boys are even reaped, threatening murder to career girls who didn't take Uma's place and career boys who would take his in the same breath.

This flies, because Capitol lives for drama.

Also, surprisingly, Uma's reaping wasn't rigged. And even if it was, she was not a part of any deal.

Ursula was an actress, a singer, dragged to Capitol from District four and tossed back when they got bored; when she got too old or otherwise unsuitable. She blames Uma for this. Her most famous role was that of a Sea Witch because Why Not.

Uma wasn't a career, but Harry was. He didn't graduate yet, and his older sister insisted he doesn't volunteer.

Anyway. Since this is AU, I feel like it should be possible for the Games to have multiple Victors if the people like them enough.

It's not something common, but it can happen. It has happened before.

Mulan and Shang pulled it off. Mulan while posing as her brother or male cousin all the while. It was one of the earlier games, but people loved it. (Consequently, their son got reaped the year before Harriet. Pure coincidence, you see. He survived, though.)

The other people winning together were Raya and Namaari, because I said so. They had no children for reasons called "they're lesbians, your honour."

And Uma and Harry are gonna win together too because this is MY self-indulgent AU with zero actual plot.

They're having way too much fun on the stage. Survival instinct (the bit that Uma has) gets overshadowed by the need to a) shock as much people as possible and b) drama✨

They end up making out at the tribute interview. Ceasar is having the time of his life. He hasn't had this interesting tributes since Harriet Hook and Ivy de Vil.

(they obviously make out at the Victors interview too)

De Vils now, yeah?

Third district. Technology, for Carlos. They're inovators, the driving force.

Cruella, much like Hook, is a victor of long past. She went mad in her Games. Her victor talent is fashion, obviously, and Capitol has no problems with the more unethical aspects of her designs.

Her reaping-age relatives have the unfortunate tendency to, well, get reaped. She lost a brother, two nephews and a niece this way.

You see, de Vils are rebels. They need to stand out, they need to be heard. (Much like Hooks, but in better clothes, thank you for asking.)

Ivy was the last one reaped. Now, she knew her odds – one in twenty four and worse yet. The Capitol is not letting a de Vil win again.

Consequently, she might have started riot on her tribute interview. I mean, what are they gonna do? Kill her?

Yeah, I thought so.

I'm getting lost, aren't I.

Tremaines. Officers family from District Eight that thinks themselves way too important (they really aren't). All accusations of Anthony's reaping being rigged will be denied.

Anthony is in the same games as Uma and Harry because Drama.

His stylist is Audrey Rose who got caught high in public one too many times. But hey. They're vibing. Also, this conversation:

Anthony, talking about Harriet: "... she's just so pretty-“

Audrey, an aro ace, just trying to do her job: „...I suppose? She could use to wear something different than the red, and a bit less eyeliner...“

(Ginny, barging in: „YES SHE IS.“)

(I'm projecting on Audrey and you cannot stop me.) (She isn't being mean, she's just struggling to see it.) (Struggling in general. Girl is dissociating more than not, but actually trying her best as a tribute stylist.) (She and Claudine should meet. Attend some therapy together.)

Ginny is Capitol, too. She's a medical student, a medic apprentice, whatever you want to call it. Aesthetics and cosmetics surgery specifically. She's shadowing some doctors at tribute-victor-centre.

Which, let's be honest, mainly means that she, Anthony and Harriet can meet ✨

Like Anthony, she thinks that Harriet is gorgeous. She thinks the same about Anthony.

She flatlines Anthony's medical tracker while he's sleeping but still very much alive in the arena. This goes unnoticed because Harry and Uma are kicking up too much drama. And Ginny and Anthony are pretty good at disguises.

Faciliers. They live in Capitol. With documents that are certainly both legal and theirs.

But hey. No one is gping to kick them out. They smuggle in expensive drugs and absinth and other interesting stuff.

They also know way too much blackmail.

Celia and Freddie have accidentally befriended the gamemakers while making deliveries and now the gamemakers let them play a bit and design new fun mutts!

(Stuff of nightmares, I tell you)

Mal is a way too Capitol-propaganda enthusiastic Victor from one of the poor Districts.

Jay is from District Two, a secret rebel. Jade died in the Games.

Oh! CJ sneaked into the Capitol with her older siblings despite being specifically forbidden to do so, and is now setting something on fire. Ceasar practically gave her a permission by calling her "a little firecracker" in the interview with Harry.

The Smees were supposed to watch her, but the Smees couldn't be paid enough for that.

I'm almost certain I forgot someone. Please, ask if I did or if you find something interesting and want me to elaborate?

[105nt]

I splurged on a Rivers of London boxed set for holiday reading and have read the first three. I love the narrator - he's very engaging, and the other characters are brilliant, but I am finding some of the mysteries oddly underwhelming. Might be just me, I often read a detective story and get more out of it the second or the third time, because the characters are always what I love first.

Taking a break with Restoration, which is completely and absurdly my kind of book. 😁 I have had a paperback copy in my reading pile for ages but then I found this lovely so I'll be passing that on.