Norah Lofts Message Board
Mary posts on 3/1/2009 10:56:05 PM
After writing a longish message about (1) the 16th century Dukes of Norfolk, (2) a possible candidate for the castle that stood on the site of Merravay, (3) the Iceni, and (4) examples of NL's negative portrayals of the Welsh, I received this message when I tried to post it: 'Your message will not be posted. You cannot (a) promote other sites, (b) use foul language or (c) write in baby talk (lol!). Off-topic postings are also subject to removal.' My message did not do ANY of those things! What can I do?
Rita posts on 3/1/2009 10:52:00 PM
Layer Wood had several bad things happen. Jon Borage's death, for one.
And the girl who drowned herself because of love, think it was in Pargeters. And the little boy who died there of expposure, in one of the Knight's Acre books, I think. Once I started trying to run a time line about places, like Layer Wood, and the Hawk in Hand, as to who was there at what time but when I had to down size and move into a Senior Citizens Apt complex I lost it. And now I cant remember it all.
Barbara posts on 3/1/2009 7:55:11 PM
I'm a bit inclined to the Jon Borage association, as it was so powerful, and kind of adapted itself to 'false' or 'true' loves. I wondered if the Day of the Butterfly die-away was NL settin up for a sequel maybe...
On another topic altogether.. I am on another board, ( not Goodreads) in which a reader refers to the estate in Bless This House given to Tom Rowhedge by Queen Elizabeth on which Merravey was built. It was a ruined castle and lands, lying between Slipwell and Nettleton 'left derelict since my lord of Norfolk went to the Tower'
The reader said that her gran had read a book ( she said a NL ) in which this castle featured. I can't think of one, can you ? Unless maybe in The Concubine? or The King's Pleasure ?
Mary posts on 3/1/2009 4:11:56 PM
Could the haunted place in Layer Wood be the spot where Jon Borage evidently had his last and fatal epileptic seizure after he and Elixabath Rawley lay in the mud? [New paragraph] In The Day of the Butterfly,are we supposed to see some ominous signficane in the way John Skelton leaves Wichfield? On p.149 of my book, the servants discuss the fact that there's no horse or vehicle missing, and the nearest coach stop is three miles away. I wonder whether NL meant to have him turn up as a skeleton, a la Jon, years later but then dropped the idea. Or did I miss something? [New paragraph] Rita, I'm 67--have been reading NL for over fifty years!
Barbara posts on 3/1/2009 12:15:14 AM
I think , (unless it's in Wayside Tavern?) , that Madselin is the historically earliest setting in which Layer Wood features. That's immediately after the Norman conquest of 1066 and the defeated English are in the hands of the Norman overlords, but they are allowed, if they can possibly manage it, to carve out an existence for themslelves in the woods . Many minor family tragedies must have eventuated. Could that be the misery that remained to haunt parts of Layer? Much much later, in Civil War times, Alice Rowhedge was arrested for witchery and the place of her last ride was supposed to be haunted by her.
Rita, I'm 62, but I don't know how it happened...........
Tryna Pizzicaroli posts on 2/28/2009 3:20:06 PM
In several NL books, a haunted place in the Woods is mentioned. Remembering Day of the Butterfly, Bless this House, even Knights Acre, apart from where Sybilla ends up haunting. Anyone read why that is?
Rita posts on 2/28/2009 12:03:18 PM
I so enjoy reading all your postings and I am just curious as to what age brackets you all fall into. I could well be described as being in the twilight of my life and I love NL's books so much. I was wondering if she appeals as much to younger folks. I would be interested if Barbara and Mary and the rest of you would post your ages. And also: are there any male fans? My son appreciated the first part of A Wayside Tavern, about the Roman Soldier, but he was raised with 6 sisters and he laughingly describes himself as being "half girl". (He's not)
BarbaraH posts on 2/25/2009 7:26:02 PM
Hi Theresa and Rita
Yes, I think the Iceni are ancient British - NL writes as if they were untrustworthy barbarians in Wayside Taven doesn;t she?
NL is such a find isn't she , and once in while you think you've found one you never heard of - only to discover it's an American title-change! So disappointing.
I have posted quite few NL questiosn on the Goodreads Neverending quiz, do you go there? At the moment I am re-reading Women in the Old Testament, one of her nonfiction ones. It's very very good, bringing real life to them , even if none are called Jassy or Linda, or Gilda ..
Theresa Ojinmah posts on 2/25/2009 1:48:34 PM
I own every book Norah Lofts published, both fiction and non-fiction, and my favorite scene was the entire book, "Bless This House". The f irst book I read when I was 11 was "The Townhouse".
Rita posts on 2/24/2009 11:11:17 PM
I had thought that the Iceni tribe was Welsh but I think I must be wrong; That was Queen Boudicca's bunch, wasn't it?
I know the protagonist in A Wayside Tavern did not like the Iceni. That, incidentally, was my favorite NL book. But the first NL book I ever read was Scent of Cloves. NL began writing the year I was born, but it took me about 3 decades to find her.
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