This is the book I've always recommended to those new to her writing and in re-visiting it, I remember why. I've recently decided to reread all her books, eking them out to savour them, and while some have really jarred with modern sensibilities - with women far too subservient to the men in the story - the heroine of this book, along with her cousin, represent two strong women and - while of their era - their actions power the story. I first read this book about 50 years ago! (gulp!) and it was Mary Stewart's books set in Greece that made me long to go there as a teenager. I don't give 5 stars lightly: sometimes Mary Stewart can spend soooo long on descriptive material that it lowers your engagement with the plot and there are some strongly descriptive passages but in this book, it doesn't detract from the plot at all and really helps you envisage the landscape where the story takes place. As to Daphne Kouma, a really good first attempt. Shame in some ways that the narrators are such a scatter gun mixture, rather than a single voice, but just glad they are all recorded. For Mary Stewart readers, Christmas has come early. OK, her Colin age 15 sometimes sounds like a bit childish by today's standards, but on the whole her voices and accents are excellent Now onto My Brother Michael, The Ivy Tree and The Gabriel Hounds, all also released yesterday. Kouma's characterisation is not bad at all, giving us the very believable light touch of the rather lovely (despite everything) Tony and the sadness and worry of Sophia - and as with all Stewart's practical heroes, Max sounds good. It's of its time, as all Mary Stewart books are, The Boy meets Girl is from a more innocent age, but the murder and general nastiness is not. Seriously? Nobody had heard of psychiatry? But apart from the limited knowledge of pronunciation, this was good. That’s a shame as someone could have guided her: the saddest was Psyche - we got sickie all the way through. I'm assuming that as this seems to be her first narration for Audible? Some unfamiliar words do defeat her, (deprecate was pronounced depreciate and it seems nobody in the studio had heard of the Levites, who became levity). Language evolves, we all know that, and it's been interesting to hear how this, one of her earliest and best loved novels from the 1960s, (Hayley Mills was young when they filmed it) would sound in the hands of a young 21C female actor. The balance, mainly her later, shorter, titles are due to follow in November. Those of us who are Mary Stewart aficionados have been so pleased over these past few months to find all of her books have been, or are about to be, recorded unabridged (thanks Audible).
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