tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747768554703669866.post5837714884050611633..comments2024-03-22T19:13:05.266-04:00Comments on The Dusty Bookcase: Portrait of a Former MistressBrian Busbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04120341319506205062noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747768554703669866.post-19917897811157110012018-01-16T14:50:55.067-05:002018-01-16T14:50:55.067-05:00Thank you for this. I know "The Stone Dog&quo...Thank you for this. I know "The Stone Dog" only as a title, and had mistakenly assumed it was another of his animal stories.<br /><br />Each time I see the John le Carré <i>nom de plume</i> I think immediately of Jean Carré.<br /><br />(I bet I'm not alone in having to stop myself from saying "Jean le Carré" instead of "John le Carré.")Brian Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04120341319506205062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747768554703669866.post-37187445054133668672018-01-15T18:51:44.191-05:002018-01-15T18:51:44.191-05:00Roberts was a well-rounded and prolific writer. Th...Roberts was a well-rounded and prolific writer. There is even at least one horror story called "The Stone Dog," published in Longman's Magazine (November 1885). I have his own bound copy. A quote: "As I descended the steps the sound of running water faded out, with a suddenness which caught my ear though failing to fix my attention. But as I made to grasp the great rusty iron doorhandle, which was curiously wrought of two dragons intertwisted neck and tail, again my every sense sprang on the alert, and a chill of terror crept tingling through my frame."<br /><br />The name Jean Carré of Guernsey interests me. I am reading John le Carré just now, his new book which he sets partly in Brittany. I wonder whether le Carré knew a real person of that name. J.P Wardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747768554703669866.post-20471470507261505292010-01-13T16:45:16.541-05:002010-01-13T16:45:16.541-05:00I always think of Roberts as the "animal stor...I always think of Roberts as the "animal story man", though I haven't read a one. I've dipped into his poetry here and there, but have never felt the urge to go for a long swim. That said, I do remember liking <i>The Heart of the Ancient Wood</i> which I read for a course on, of all things, Canadian Children's Literature. The folly of youth.Brian Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04120341319506205062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747768554703669866.post-14263424915587240792010-01-11T11:17:58.395-05:002010-01-11T11:17:58.395-05:00I found this very interesting. Know next to nothin...I found this very interesting. Know next to nothing about Roberts.<br /><br />I have a couple of his books from the 1890s -"New York Nocturnes" and "Songs of the Common Day". Picked them up many years ago in a group of Canadian poetry books that looked quite nice - never have had an interest to read. <br /><br />Looking at them now for the first time in years, I still have no interest. Can't get past all the different ways he rhymes.bowdlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09504137974544195250noreply@blogger.com