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| The Rescue by Lindelea | 4 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/25/2008 |
| Freddy is beginning to realize the dangers besetting the Shire. And is, perhaps, getting some inspiration from his cousin Ferdibrand. I love Rosemary in this--she is such a practical hobbit-mum, making games of cozening the ruffians for her children. On the one hand, it probably helps the children to not be so frightened of the new enemy on their doorstep, and on the other hand it actually gives them a real job to do, and a real purpose. I'm sure they can sense that *this* particular game is more important than most of the others they play. And I love her explanations to Freddy. He has to understand what he's sending his sister into... Looking forward to more... Author Reply: I do love Rosemary. She had to grow up quickly, as it were, for the sake of love, and now for the sake of love she has to play the game and make sure her children get it right. If they become frightened, the game's up, so she must be the consummate actress. And her dear Hally has grown up alongside her; how I love that steady and sensible Hobbit. Not an adventurous bone in his body, but he does what he needs to do. I'm sure he'd be much happier if Ferdi didn't keep coming round, gathering news for the Thain. Then again, maybe not, for Ferdi's visits kept Rosemary from pining for the Green Hills and home, all the long years of her exile. I'm thinking in the "new version" her father disowned her for her own protection. Perhaps she was implicated in Lalia's death somehow, some carelessness of hers, young as she was, and Pearl took the blame for the accident, and Ferdinand sent her off and publicly disowned her to get her out of the Tookland and away from worse and more malicious gossip than eloping would bring. Don't know, as it's rather fuzzy at the moment. But something like that. Poor Freddy. He seems the unlikeliest Rebel I can think of. But perhaps that's what makes him so effective in the role. Thanks! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/25/2008 |
| Oh, yes, this is the reality of it for these, who must trick the Ruffians and evade them to merely survive! Yes, Freddy is beginning to understand the harsh reality with which the Tooks now live. Author Reply: Indeed. As the ruffians' anger at the Tooks grows, Rosemary's only protection (and a thin one it is) is that the Tooks cast her out and disowned her. It also puts her children in danger, for if the ruffians wanted they could burn their home and leave them as homeless wanderers. It's a wonder that Rosemary and Hally are only *pretending* to be collaborators! | |
| Celeritas | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/25/2008 |
| Oh, those children playing such a delightfully dangerous game! I can imagine they'll have tales to tell down the years, probably along the lines of "Yes, but it really wasn't that horrid for us" and ending in reminiscences of dear old Mum and her ability to get them through those days with their innocence mostly in tact. The contrast of gentry and "honest labour" is really well drawn out and not something that's emphasized as much in a lot of other fan fiction out there. It works particularly well in this tale since Estella has to move from one to the other--both give up and gain. Rosemary is so very sharp--a number of hobbits already inadvertently owe her their lives, and I imagine that number will get greater as the Troubles increase! Author Reply: Delightfully dangerous game, yes, it reminds me of some of the stories I've read of the Resistance in WWII, like "Snow Treasure" where the children smuggled Norway's gold to safety on their sleds, right under the noses of the occupying Nazis. Hally and Rosemary will be shunned by their neighbours for a time, tarred with the label of "collaborator" but there will come a time when their true colours will be known. (Actually, during the desperately reckless rescue of Ferdi, captured at last and doomed to worse than the Lockholes.) But at the moment, the neighbours have no idea! Thanks! | |
| Celeritas | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/25/2008 |
| Oh, those children playing such a delightfully dangerous game! I can imagine they'll have tales to tell down the years, probably along the lines of "Yes, but it really wasn't that horrid for us" and ending in reminiscences of dear old Mum and her ability to get them through those days with their innocence mostly in tact. The contrast of gentry and "honest labour" is really well drawn out and not something that's emphasized as much in a lot of other fan fiction out there. It works particularly well in this tale since Estella has to move from one to the other--both give up and gain. Rosemary is so very sharp--a number of hobbits already inadvertently owe her their lives, and I imagine that number will get greater as the Troubles increase! Author Reply: I forgot to respond to the class distinctions you pointed out. You're right, it's not seen in a lot of fanfic. I've even been criticized for it, by those who think that hobbits ought to be egalitarian... but Sam's attitude as JRRT wrote him reminded me so much of Bunter, in the Lord Peter stories, and to a lesser degree Bertie Wooster's Jeeves. Bunter was a batman, and later valet to Lord Peter, though he did much more than a mere valet, as did Jeeves. Both were highly skilled, competent men, who deferred to their "masters" yet also held a certain amount of power over them--in being correct and insisting on correctness they could force the so-called masters into specific ways of bearing themselves or speaking or acting. It's a fascinating relationship to contemplate. I expect I was influenced by "Upstairs, Downstairs" in which the head butler and head cook were even more strict about maintaining class distinctions than the "Upstairs" people were. I also found the story of "The Duchess of Duke Street" to be fascinating, and the difference "Sara Crewe" found when her status changed from star pupil to orphaned servant, and the stories from the book "Backstairs at the White House". I find it simply fascinating that the servant class put as much or even more emphasis on "place" than their employers, finding some sort of stability, even safety in the concept. Very strange, to my thinking, and so I keep coming back to explore the concept to try and understand it better. Yikes, you've caught me sleepless with a cough and so I've meandered and practically written you a chapter in reply. Thanks for listening. | |