Speaking of spunky heroines, a friend of mine told me that the original Nancy Drew books had Nancy as a much more independent heroine, and that they were watered down when republished in the '60s. Has anyone here heard anything about this? My friend has forwarded some Snopes-disproved stuff in the past, so I don't know how much to credit this theory. I suppose I could ebay some Nancy Drew first editions and compare them to later reprints, but I'm not quite at that level of curious.
That's disturbing. You're emotionally scarred and will end up badly.
Anya ,'Bring On The Night'
We're Literary 2: To Read Makes Our Speaking English Good
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Calli - Jun 11, 2004 12:03:06 pm PDT #3240 of 10002
I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul—Calvin and Hobbs
Connie Neil - Jun 11, 2004 12:21:27 pm PDT #3241 of 10002
brillig
The 30s and 40s were actually a very good time for spunky/sassy heroines. I think the post-WWII "the men are home from the wars, time for the women to get back to womanly things" trend was what changed things. IE, the 50s.
Hil R. - Jun 11, 2004 12:21:50 pm PDT #3242 of 10002
Sometimes I think I might just move up to Vermont, open a bookstore or a vegan restaurant. Adam Schlesinger, z''l
There are definite differences between the various reprints of Nancy Drew (I remember once finding a few different versions of the same title and comparing them -- it wasn't just small changes, but entire scenes were changed), but I really can't remember enough to say whether the original was more independent or not.
Calli - Jun 11, 2004 12:29:34 pm PDT #3243 of 10002
I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul—Calvin and Hobbs
The Nancy Drews I read were all my sister's. She was born in 1959, so they were probably mid- to late-60s imprints. So I've no idea what the originals were like.
Harriet Vane, from the Dorothy Sayers books in the 30s, seemed pretty spunky. I like the beginning of Have His Carcase:
The best remedy for a bruised heart is not, as so many people seem to think, repose upon a manly bosom. Much more efficacious are honest work, physical activity, and the sudden acquisition of wealth.
Sounds good to me. Although I wouldn't mind having both cures.
Susan W. - Jun 12, 2004 9:18:20 pm PDT #3244 of 10002
Good Trouble and Righteous Fights
Mmm, that reminds me it's been over a year since my last Wimsey re-read.
§ ita § - Jun 13, 2004 8:01:29 am PDT #3245 of 10002
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Does anyone know how on or off Neal Stephenson is with the theology/anthropology/linguistics behind Snow Crash? I'm finding myself incredibly distracted.
Nutty - Jun 14, 2004 4:42:07 am PDT #3246 of 10002
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."
ita, my general impression of Snow Crash was that it was a pile of inelegant hooey, badly infodumped, but I can't break that down into details. (I didn't like the book enough to remember which parts felt like hooey and which didn't.)
Anne W. - Jun 14, 2004 5:01:09 am PDT #3247 of 10002
The lost sheep grow teeth, forsake their lambs, and lie with the lions.
"Beauty" is a pretty limp heroine IMHO, McKinley's version or no. Even if she is a bibliophile.
This is why I think her re-visiting of the trope in Rose Daughter is so much better.
Still, for me, The Blue Sword will forever remain the OTMcKinleyNovel.
§ ita § - Jun 14, 2004 5:13:00 am PDT #3248 of 10002
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
So far we are of one mind on this, Nutty. I can't work out why I didn't hate it the first time, so I'm reluctant to cut bait on it.
I'll make my way out of this particular piece of exposition (how could your protagonist (sorry -- Protagonist) sitting around talking to an AI (of limited I) for yonks not kill a story?)
Volans - Jun 14, 2004 1:32:39 pm PDT #3249 of 10002
move out and draw fire
Oddly, I'm rereading Snow Crash right now. I'm liking it better than I did the first time, but a lot of that is because I am reading it in small chunks, rather than slamming through it trying to get to the story, and then being cranky when the story didn't really get all the way onstage, and wasn't clearly resolved. Now I'm just enjoying the writing choices for each scene and character and the social commentary.
As far as there being no direct lingual descendant of Sumerian, I believe that's true. The Enki and Inanna stuff is also pretty much accurate. What I DON'T buy is that every hacker in the world thinks in binary to the point that they've built new neural pathways in their brain and know every power of 2 ad infinitum.