The Grub-And-Stakers Quilt A Bee (1987) - Plot & Excerpts
I just reread this for the umpteenth time (I'm rereading the series). A charming-silly-slightly brooding romp--which is what one expects of MacLeod, and is certainly true of all the Grub-and-Stakers books. But I was struck this time around, because I have been doing a lot of thinking about the creative personality, and the nature of the pursuit of writing, by what it had to say about writers. Both Osbert Monk (husband of the protagonist, the former Dittany Henbit) and his aunt Arethusa are genre fictionists--he writes Westerns, she writes Regency Romances. MacLeod tended to trick her characters out with themed characteristics--so Osbert (who grew up in a big city) drawls and wears fringed buckskin while Arethua swirls around in velvet cloaks and uses Georgette Heyerisms left, right and rat's ramble. But when MacLeod talks about how they create, they become real: in one immortal exchange in this book another character remarks about an absurd declaration of love "I never heard such drivel in my life" to which Arethusa ripostes "Madam, I write such drivel!" One can't help but suspect that MacLeod's portraits of Osbert and Arethusa are in some sense portraits of her own writing persona.
Ms. MacLeod produces another zany adventure with Regency and Western novel references, intriguing characters, and another odd murder. My only question . . . Why would any upstanding Lobelia Falls native take an outlander's part over a long-time friend and associate's? That part just did not ring true. For the rest, I really enjoyed disliking Mrs. Fairfield, especially since Ms. MacLeod makes it so clear that she is trying to take over the museum by assuming that she will get the position after her husband's death. Sneaky, conniving, manipulative, pushy . . . all the things you love to hate. Great read!
What do You think about The Grub-And-Stakers Quilt A Bee (1987)?
