photo: Raphael Coffey
Happy Friday! Last weekend was sweltering in the Bay Area. We sought refuge with friends at an indoor lunch at Marin Brewing Company (picture above) followed by an air-conditioned matinee (Fantastic Four, which was quite good). This weekend is starting delightfully cooler. We are back at Marin Brewing Company, a favorite haunt, outside listening to jazz. A favorite Friday night activity.
The survey of a few weeks ago and some follow emailing with readers have stirred some more questions. Here is Part II of the survey. As before, feel free to answer as few or many questions as you like or just to use this as a jumping off place for discussing other things.
1. Most interesting real historical character.
2. Historical character and/or event not yet in the series you’d like to see Malcolm and Suzanne interact with.
3. Favorite three characters in the series other than Malcolm and Suzanne.
4. Couple in the series you think has the most stable relationship.
5. Couple in the series you think is most likely to separate (don’t panic, this doesn’t mean any couple actually will or, if they did, that it would be permanent).
6. Couple you’d most like to see have a child in the next book or so.
7. What you’d most like to see happen in an upcoming book.
Have a great weekend! I’m excited to hear the 2016 Merola artists at tomorrow’s Merola Grand Finale!
Cheers,
Tracy
Tracy Grant - Novelist 
August 22, 2015 at 2:07 am
Faves.–David, Simon and Harry. Most stable–thinking the Blackwells
August 22, 2015 at 2:14 am
Hi Patti! Nice to “see” you here! Love hearing your faves, and I think you have a good point about the Blackwells being most stable.
August 22, 2015 at 2:39 pm
1 – Historical figure / Count Talleyrand
2 – I would like to see something related to the court of King George IV and his wife Queen Caroline who thought she was poisoned
3 – Laura, Aunt Frances and Cordelia (I really like how you handle strong female characters)
4 – Gisele (Malcolm’s sister) and Andrew
5 – Isobel and Oliver Lydgate
6 – Crispin and Manon
7 – I would like to see David tell his father the truth about his relationship with Simon, but knowing Carfax he might have Simon killed and that would be heartbreaking. I would also like to see Inspector Roth get more in the action and get a love interest since Laura is now with Raoul.
August 22, 2015 at 4:51 pm
Love your answers, Kim! I’d like to do something with George IV’s attempt to divorce Caroline after he became king. My mom and I wrote a Regency romance, Frivolous Pretence, about those events, and it would be fun to revisit them with Malcolm and Suzanne.
I think it’s interesting that Patti’s three favorite characters were men and yours are women.
Great speculation about the couples. The Lydgates definitely have issues.
I think Carfax knows about Simon but is deliberately turning a blind eye. I suspect that will come to a head in the next book or so.
And you aren’t the first to request I find someone for Roth….
August 22, 2015 at 6:25 pm
Carfax does seem to know EVERYTHING so I’m sure he knows about Simon. It also means, I think he already knows about Suzanne…
August 22, 2015 at 7:05 pm
I thought I read Carfax DID know about Suz–maybe I just inferred the reading
August 22, 2015 at 7:18 pm
Intriguing, Patti – is there a scene/line that made you think Carfax knows about Suzanne?
August 22, 2015 at 9:25 pm
I love Simon too–for the theatre personality as well as his unapologetic political stance
August 22, 2015 at 9:41 pm
I love Simon not only for his theatre personality but his unapologetic (to David or anyone else) of his political stance
August 23, 2015 at 8:30 pm
I love Simon for his political stance too, Patti! And the fact that he’s unapologetic about it to everyone, including the man he loves, adds to his appeal for me as well!
August 22, 2015 at 6:49 pm
He could know about Suzanne – I’d say that’s less clear from the text so far.
Who’s your favorite of the men other than Malcolm?
August 22, 2015 at 7:04 pm
Simon. He seems the most stable. He knows David loves him and the burden they both share because of it. He understands their relationship is precious, but could destroy both he and David. He is a good friend and appreciates his friendships.
August 22, 2015 at 7:17 pm
I love Simon. I love all my characters, but Simon, being a playwright and theatre person, is very special to me.
August 22, 2015 at 11:21 pm
I also think Simon knows–or is that another thing I think I know. A list of those who know about Suz is pretty long–Roth, Tallyrand, Fouche, Craven and Trenchard (both dead but if they know wouldn’t Carfax, Laura Dudley, Aunt Frances,
August 23, 2015 at 3:30 am
Patti has an interesting point. Simon may know something. I don’t think he knows that Suzanne was a French spy, but he trusts her because she doesn’t judge him and David.
August 23, 2015 at 8:32 pm
Lady Frances actually doesn’t know about Suzanne, at least not based on anything that’s been revealed so far (she does know Raoul is Malcolm’s father). What Simon knows is open to question – Suzanne thinks he knows she isn’t quite what she seems on the surface. As an outsider, he recognizes a fellow. Harry and Cordy also potentially suspect something, but it’s not clear what. They certainly know something’s gone wrong between Malcolm and Suzanne in Berkeley.
August 22, 2015 at 9:27 pm
I do not remember just what scene made me believe Carfax knows about Suz but will keep an eye out on a future re read
August 23, 2015 at 8:33 pm
Let me know!
August 23, 2015 at 4:58 pm
From the Charles and Melanie series, Roth had children and a “dead” wife do you intend to keep that backstory in the Malcolm and Suzanne series or will he just be a lonely bachelor until you give him a love interest?
August 23, 2015 at 8:28 pm
Good memory, Kim! Yes, I don’t think it’s been referred to in the Rannoch world yet, but Roth still has a wife who left him, two sons, and a sister who lives with him and helps with the children.
August 24, 2015 at 12:58 am
Well if you keep Roth married we have the same problem with him as we do with Raoul. How can we give him a love interest if he has a wife that cold turn up at any time. Maybe she could come back with a boyfriend how gets killed and Malcolm and Suzanne would have to investigate with Roth…
August 24, 2015 at 5:46 am
It is a problem – but then problems make for good drama. My thought has always been that Roth will fall in love and then his wife will return and…well… Lots of interesting options and none of these characters have easy lives. I realized emailing with a reader about this recently that I have always had Laura destined for a man with an estranged wife one way or another.
August 23, 2015 at 5:46 pm
1. Prince Metternich – I hadn’t heard of him before.
3. David, Geoffrey Blackwell, Laura/Jane
5. Raoul and his wife – although technically I guess they are separated, but I would like to see the marriage dissolved.
6. Raoul and Laura – I would like to see Raoul have a child he can acknowledge and love openly.
August 23, 2015 at 8:35 pm
Thanks, Betty! I’m loving all the different favorite character answers. Great to see affection shared around for a lot of characters and also interesting to see who pops up on multiple lists.
Raoul and his wife are one I hadn’t thought about for the separate question, but it’s certainly true that if things move forwards for Raoul and Laura it would be more comfortable if he wasn’t married – particularly if your answer to 6. ever comes to pass.
August 24, 2015 at 3:01 am
As Raoul fought in the Irish Rebellion I take it he is Catholic? In which case divorce is an impossibility. One of my Irish relatives came to Australia about 20 years ago and at the time she was married to one man but living with another. That seemed to be acceptable at the time but divorce was not, so she was stuck with the husband for the duration. Realistically I think the only way for Raoul to be free is kill the wife off. A typhoid epidemic perhaps? Drunk driver (yes, they had those in the 19th century)? My great, great grandfather was driving home drunk one night in a gig and he was killed.
I agree with Patti with the answer to no.4, I think the most stable relationship is the Blackwells.
I haven’t answered your other questions yet because this is something that requires a great deal of thought..
August 25, 2015 at 2:21 am
I think that’s the only way either David or Simon would entertain the idea of such a marriage, Betty. It’s possible, but it’s tricky, because what if she later fell in love herself? I’m so glad you think it’s interesting to see where it will go – I find it a very intriguing dilemma as a writer, and I’m still not entirely sure where it’s going, though the next full book does move things along. So glad you love the theatre element – I love that aspect of the series (it was really fun writing the theatre scenes in Berkeley Square), and I love that David and Simon, and Malcolm, met that way.
August 24, 2015 at 5:43 am
Thanks for chiming in, Suzanne! Do post your answers to any of the other questions when you think about them.
Raoul is an atheist, but his wife Margaret is an Anglo-Irish Protestant, and they were married in a Protestant ceremony. It seems a bit too convenient to me for her to die, and I don’t like someone’s death leading to a happy ending. So I’m pondering options…
August 24, 2015 at 12:29 pm
I understand we want our characters to be happy and settled-but in real life not everyone is. Would Raoul and Roth be the men they are if they had a happy home life?
August 24, 2015 at 6:48 pm
Good point, Patti! I think it’s very much part of who both Raoul and Roth are that they have led unsettled lives and have tangled romantic histories including unhappy marriages. Whether that will continue in the future is another question. Certainly there are some characters, such as Rupert and Bertrand (who I think are much more “settled” than David and Simon), for whom even a “happy ending” means making the best of circumstances in a world where they can’t openly be a couple. It’s possible Roth and/or Raoul could end up in a situation like that. Or that not all the characters wil be “settled” at all.
Which brings up another question? Do you want all the characters happy and settled or do you like the more real life feel of not everyone being so?
August 24, 2015 at 7:08 pm
I tend to like a little realism in my fantasies! Roth would not be able to commit all his time to solving cases nor would Raoul be able to leave the country at a moments notice if they had a settled life. I hesitate to even think of what it would be like for David and Simon if Carfax died
August 24, 2015 at 7:32 pm
Books where everyone is happy are boring… I agree with Patti that Raoul can never really “stable” he is still fighting for equal rights everywhere and I don’t see Roth having another woman without resolving his issue with the wife. As for Carfax, killing him would destroy the series. We all have to have a character we love to hate and Carfax is our man!!
August 24, 2015 at 7:22 pm
Roth has a family now, so I think he could be married and investigate, though there would be times he’d be consumed by a case and probably home only to sleep, if that.
Raoul’s life would have change quite a bit if he were ever to “settle down” – whether and how he might or might not do that is as much a question for his future with Laura as the fact that he has a wife. Even if he were free to marry now, he’d be absent much of the time, running risks, in danger of not coming back.
Do you think David and Simon’s life would be easier or harder if Carfax died? They wouldn’t have to fear Carfax’s machinations, but David would be Earl Carfax, and I think would feel the burden of the position even more keenly.
I’m really curious to hear what others think about this!
August 24, 2015 at 7:40 pm
I think if Carfax was dead, David would feel the pressure to marry. I think his mother and sister would suggest he marry and make an “arrangement” with Simon which of course Simon would never agree to.
August 24, 2015 at 7:43 pm
Oh so much harder. I barely want to think how much. I am sure his sisters would want him to “be responsible”. I don’t know his nephews but is there one -perhaps one of Louisa sons–is she had one—that could inherit. OR would David want HIS son to inherit–and how that would hurt SImon . .
NOT that I want Carfax dead but . . .
August 24, 2015 at 7:46 pm
Books where everyone is happy are boring… I agree with Patti that Raoul can never really “stable” he is still fighting for equal rights everywhere and I don’t see Roth having another woman without resolving his issue with the wife. As for Carfax, killing him would destroy the series. We all have to have a character we love to hate and Carfax is our man!!
This is such a great question – love getting people’s take on the “happy and settled” issue. I think Roth could fall in love without resolving his issue with his wife – people can fall in love at all sort of inconvenient times. But it would cause endless complications (which might be good for the series).
Right now Raoul is in no position to lead anything like a stable life as you say. He tells Laura as much in Mayfair. With her past, Laura, as she tells him, doesn’t want a conventional relationship so what they can give each other works for the present. Whether that continues or whether one or both of them changes in what they want and can give is going to be interesting to explore.
I agree about Carfax. I always say “never say never” about possible future plot developments, but it is really hard to imagine the series without Carfax!
August 24, 2015 at 7:47 pm
Oops – I cut and pasted Kim’s interesting response so I could see it while I typed my reply and then I left it in when I posted – so it shows at the top of my comment.
August 24, 2015 at 7:55 pm
I agree in general, Patti and Kim. Carfax’s maneuvering is a constant threat to David and Simon – hard to tell what he might do and how far he might go. But David also feels a sense of obligation to the earldom on his own account, so if he actually became the earl that pressure would be stronger.
The title has to go through the male line, so none of his sister’s children can inherit. Carfax’s had one brother who died, along with his son, (making Carfax the early and David the heir to the earldom when David was at Harrow; Malcolm remembers how the pressure changed David). If David doesn’t have a son (at least in name – he could technically marry a woman who had a lover father a child with her, but I don’t think David would be comfortable with that or that Simon would go along with any sort of arrangement) the title will go the descendant of David’s grandfather’s brother. So a second cousin. A bit like Downton Abbey :-).
August 25, 2015 at 1:11 am
Reading these responses does generate more thoughts. First of all I need to clarify mine by saying I have not read the Charles and Melanie books, so I think I am missing some information, especially about Roth in this discussion. I am glad to have Raoul’s and his wife’s religious status clarified as I think that gives more options. I know his life would never be completely settled, but I think Laura would understand that. I really see Raoul as an honorable man – his wife made her own choices, so it seems like that relationship is ended in thought anyway. I think he is honorable in his work as well as in his friendships.
David’s responsibility to the title gives me pause to ponder. It seems to me he would have grown up realizing and pretty much accepting this even though his love lies with Simon. I would think Simon would realize that also, so is it beyond belief that Simon would trust David enough to know that fathering an heir would not destroy their relationship? I can’t see him accepting a full blown marriage, but certainly a wife in the background might be possible. After all Rupert and Bertrand seem to be handling that situation although it is a bit different. I see Simon as a stronger person than David in this relationship – am I wrong?
Also, I think Carfax has to stay alive. I look forward to seeing how his feelings toward his family may or may not change in the future. I am halfway through the Sebastian St. Cyr series, and I don’t see Carfax as being as diabolical as Lord Jarvis. Lord Jarvis can barely stand his wife, but I think Carfax seems to care about his. Still, all in all, he wants to do what’s best for the country.
August 25, 2015 at 1:37 am
Love getting your take, Betty! I think the only thing you’re missing from the Charles & Melanie books is that Roth has a wife who abandoned him and their two sons. It really isn’t elaborated on more than that. Though I think Raoul would say he has often acted dishonorably, yes, I think he’s quite honorable in his work and relationships (though spies end up compromising and the compromises bother him more than he’d admit). His marriage was a mistake on both sides and his wife isn’t pining for him (more on that in the next book). He’s honorable enough that he worries about Laura giving up her chance of marriage and a more stable relationship to be with him. But for Laura, I think he’s worth it :-).
(The question of whether or not readers view Raoul as honorable is another interesting one for readers to chime in on).
David’s and Simon’s situation is very complicated. David takes his responsibilities very seriously (he wasn’t born the heir but he became the heir at about 12 when his father’s older brother’s only son died; Cahrles remembers seeing the mantle of the earldom almost physically settle on his shoulders). But Simon is an unapologetic republican (with a small r – if he lived in the US today he’d most definitely not be a Republican 🙂 who doesn’t believe in inherited privilege. So for him to go along with a sham marriage to perpetuate a title would go against everything he believes in. In a sense for David and Simon to stay together long term one of them has to deny who he is and what he stands for in life. It’s a conundrum. I think they’d also both be very concerned for the feelings of the wife in such a situation. Rupert married Gabrielle thinking Bertrand was dead. He didn’t expect to love Gabrielle romantically and didn’t realize she loved him. But he went into the marriage intending to take it seriously and to be faithful (and he actually was until the truth came out and Bertrand came back). They’re all making it work now, but I don’t think Rupert or Bertrand would ever have asked Gaby to enter into such an arrangement.
I think Carfax’s relationship to his family is one of the most intriguing things about him. He does love his wife, one difference from Jarvis (a wonderful character in a great series). I think Jarvis is probably a bit more diaboloical than Carfax, though it’s tough to divide up the honors between them :-).
August 25, 2015 at 1:59 am
This is exactly what I have been thinking about. I think left to themselves David and Simon have a very stable relationship, but circumstances and the time they live in are considering against them. Sadly, I think they are the most likely to split up as per question 5. I can see the day coming when Carfax tells David to get married, have an heir, or else!! He has the power to cut off David’s allowance and destroy his political career if he doesn’t do what his father believes is due to the family. Unlike everybody else I have been thinking that David and Simon’s only hope of staying as they are is if Carfax dies before he can order a marriage, and it would have to be suddenly, no deathbed changes of his will. Then David would have to choose between some distant cousin inheriting and Simon rather than Simon and losing everything.
August 25, 2015 at 2:00 am
Oooh, I forgot to add that I think everybody ending up happy is a bit too sugary and unrealistic too. Some conflict is good.
August 25, 2015 at 2:11 am
Thanks, Suzanne! Great to get your take. Simon has money of his own, so I think if it were just that David would live in more straightened circumstances with Simon, and I think he’d give up his political career, just as Malcolm would give up his for Suzanne if they had to flee the country. But David takes his responsibility to the earldom seriously on his own account so he has the choose between what he thinks is his duty to his name and heritage and his duty to the man he loves.
August 25, 2015 at 2:11 am
I definitely see the David and Simon conundrum a little better after your explanation Tracy. I also see them being concerned for the wife, but I was thinking if it were a woman who would have a horrible life otherwise, maybe they would be saving her – have I been reading too many regency books? Still very interesting to think where their relationship will go. I also should have mentioned earlier that I love Simon’s theater career and that he and David met over acting.
August 24, 2015 at 4:34 am
Wow! When you generate conversation it just takes off! I love everybody’s contributions and will add mine finally (I had to think about it):
1. Tallyrand – very interesting man
2. Anyone you choose…
3. Raoul, Cordy and Harry,.. it’s really hard to pick 3.
4. The Blackwells
5. Simon and David – but I hope not
6. Laura and Raoul – but we need to get his first wife out of the picture permanently first.
I love that everyone has a slightly different perspective on all our favorite characters.
August 24, 2015 at 5:50 am
Great to hear your answers, Lynne, and do chime in with more as you think about it!
I love the overlaps and the slightly different answers from different readers. Shows the commonalities and differences in how everyone reads the series. I was trying think if there was even one answer that was more common than others and so far there isn’t. Though if I’m counting right, Laura, Cordy, Harry, and David all show up twice.
August 25, 2015 at 2:16 am
I have already answered questions 4 and 5 above but the others have taken quite a lot of thought.
1. I don’t know, they are all good.
2. I would like to see some more of William Lamb. As Melbourne, where I live, is named after him I have always had a soft spot for him. He is usually just shoved in the background whilst people write about his wife and Lord Byron, but there is so much more to him, he was a really interesting character. I was really pleased that Julian Fellowes gave him a big part in The Young Victoria, but on the whole is isn’t really recognised in historical fiction.
3. Raoul, Cordy and Harry.
4. The Blackwells.
5. Sadly, David and Simon.
6. Malcolm and Suzanne. It isn’t really practical at the moment whilst they worry about who knows, but in the future I think having a larger family would finally dispel Malcolm’s last bits of insecurity and prove to him that Suzanne really does love him and isn’t even contemplating leaving him, now or ever.
7. That I don’t know but I am sure that anything you come up with will be good.
August 25, 2015 at 2:30 am
Love reading your answers, Suzanne! I would love to do more with William Lamb. He’s fascinating, and listening to the audio book recently I really like his scene with Malcolm, I think they are good foils for each other too.
I think Cordy and Harry now have the most favorite character votes – maybe Raoul has an equal number. So fun hearing people’s favorites!
The Simon and David discussion we’ve been having is really interesting and ties into a lot of issues in my WIP, so it’s very timely for me to think about.
At least at present my thought is that Malcolm and Suzanne will eventually have more children, but probably not for a while. Challenging right now both in terms of their lives and in terms of what needs to happen in the books.
August 27, 2015 at 7:06 pm
After reading the answers about David, I was wondering about the Duke of Strathdon. Since Malcolm’s mother didn’t have any brothers is Malcolm the heir to his grandfather’s dukedom? In Scotland titles can be passed via female children and it appears that Malcolm is the oldest grandchild.
August 27, 2015 at 7:19 pm
Excellent point, Kim. I hadn’t intended it that way – I’d been thinking a cousin would inherit. But you’re right, if it’s the sort of title that can go through the female line, Malcolm would be the heir. Must ponder that.
August 27, 2015 at 7:37 pm
Pease don’t kill off the Duke anytime soon. He is important part of Malcolm’s Scottish back story.
August 27, 2015 at 7:52 pm
Thanks for stating this–all along I could not understand why Malcolm was not a Lord or Earl if this grandfather was a Duke
August 27, 2015 at 8:12 pm
Kim, I definitely don’t have plans to kill off Strathdon. He’s an intriguing character and an important part of Malcolm’s backstory, as you say. And there’s lots more for him to do in the series. Also, even if Malcolm is the heir, I’m not sure I like the idea of him and Suzanne as duke and duchess..
August 27, 2015 at 11:15 pm
I like the idea of Malcolm being the heir to a title especially because it goes against his political stance. It would also add additional concerns to the whole Suzanne and Colin issue. Never a boring story, but please don’t kill off the Duke.
August 27, 2015 at 8:21 pm
Patti, I know it’s confusing, but it’s because it’s Charles’s mother who’s father is a duke not his father. Even if Charles can inherit the title, he’d be heir presumptive not heir apparent, so he wouldn’t have an heir’s courtesy title (just as Matthew doesn’t have one in Downton Abbey though he could if he was Grantham’s son). Because Strathdon could still marry again and have more children and a son who take precedence over Charles.
August 27, 2015 at 8:32 pm
and if all this was in the plans–David would have said things like–oh you MUST when Charles would say things like he would NEVER marry
August 27, 2015 at 8:45 pm
Good point, Patti! It’s possible David wouldn’t mention it because his own feelings about marrying are so conflicted. But it’s true that I’ve written the series so far as though Charles wasn’t the heir. To be honest, I knew that about Scottish titles but I wasn’t thinking about it until Kim brought it up. So I suspect Strathdon’s title is set up so it goes through the male line. But I need to ponder before I commit it to paper!
August 27, 2015 at 11:41 pm
I like aspects of Malcolm being the duke too, Kim, because as you say it goes against his political stance – and really goes against Suzanne’s – and because as you also point out the focus on them would put Suzanne and Colin more at risk. That’s why I want to think it through before I commit one way or another in the series. But I definitely won’t kill the duke off!
August 27, 2015 at 11:48 pm
I’m sure you will come up with an imaginative way of solving the problem. I love the series and can’t wait for the novella in November.
August 27, 2015 at 11:51 pm
Thanks, Kim! Of course I could always have the duke marry again and father a son :-).
Just finished a draft of the novella. Excited about it, and about getting back to London Gambit, the next full length book.
August 28, 2015 at 12:32 am
[…] week’s survey post yielded some fascinating discussion on the series and characters. One point that particularly […]
September 6, 2015 at 1:00 am
[…] great theatre, eating great meals, and spending time with wonderful friends, I was mulling a comment Betty made a couple of weeks ago about Raoul. “I know his life would never be completely settled, […]