Posted by Alex Forbes on February 20, 2004 at 06:02:18 from 209.86.3.85 user Pitsligo.
In Reply to: Re: Captain Flint's wealth and insurance posted by Jim McDowell on February 19, 2004 at 20:52:16:
"As to GN?, to me that tale has always seemed not to fit with the rest of the series, and a fantasy or, perhaps, a bad dream might explain it."
Having just re-read it, I was actually struck by how well it did fit. PD and ML are so dramatically fantasy, invented by the kids (Titty?), it seems that CF, after hearing the fantasies unfold over the holidays, might have done something to make them "real". Even though he can't afford a schooner, he might borrow a boat big enough for them all and show them a bit of salt water. The kids are old enough now, and have had a fair bit of experience in small boats and, in the case of the Swallows in WDMTGTS, have shown themselves ready for something a bit more challenging. (Note that for all Nancy's leadership, it's still John who has the mate's berth. A nod to his judgement and seamanship aboard the Goblin?)
So CF sends a telegram to his old friend, Mac: "Does Sea Bear need exercise?" Mac gets the hint, and after appropriate arrangements with Mac and assorted parents, CF borrows Sea Bear for the holidays.
After that, everything is pretty well in character and believable. CF is a bit grouchier than usual, being under a captain's stress; Roger is a donk and doesn't miss a cue to put it to good use, especially being snippy when he thinks one of the others labled him "Sleeping Beauty"; even Jemmerling is nothing more than a particularly odious Hullabaloo --in pink pyjamas, no less. The one fantastic element is finding Divers; other than that, everything plays (to me) entirely believably. There is a gun, but no one shoots at another human, as in ML. They are "stalked", but given that the stalking effort is being organized by a lad a bit older than Roger, even with Angus's guiding hand on the reins it could easily turn into a dramatic production --especially when it collides with Nancy's own drama. That one seed of fantasy, the birds, necessary to the plot, seems pretty acceptable among all the other escapades we see throughout the ten reality-based books.
So anyway, GN seems entirely reasonable to me.
And to all those I riled by saying Dick and Dot made me gnash my teeth in frustration at their ineptitude, I apologise. In their own element, they (especially Dick) more than pull their weight.
But I have to ask: do Great Northern Divers nest in the Isles? If so, for how long has it been accepted? Or did they never not nest there? What's the reality behind that seed of fantasy?
Alex