Posted by Fiona on March 28, 2006 at 12:33:57 from 213.78.78.112 user Fiona.
In Reply to: Re: Missee Lee and Peter Duck posted by Peter H on March 27, 2006 at 10:57:12:
Many thanks Peter, she says blushing furiously, for your comments! I was only throwing in my own tuppence worth. TARS is no different from any other group/organisation where opinions are given and are often converted into 'fact' merely on account of the standing of the person involved. Christina, I'm sure, would have no objections to other opinions being equally stated although I'm sure that cannot be said of all the other TARy Grand Old Men/Women! I wrote a critique of AR and Crab Island a few years ago which was published in Mixed Moss and got lambasted by certain members for deigning to do such a thing (especially as I said he's got a lot of Caribbean things wrong - ooh, shock, horror!). I've just done the same for the archaeological & folklore bits of PM & GN, so am readying my tin helmet and flak jacket for when the next Literary Transactions comes out. AR dabbled in many things and included such information he felt was needful to his storyline in the various volumes. We forget that he was Jack-of-all-trades-and-really-master-of-none-or-at-least-a-large-number-of-them and so some are surprised when criticism can justifiably be used of such data. I wrote in conclusion: "The fascination with the story of the Picts and the misinterpretation of the known facts plays a large part in Ransome’s use of them as a literary device. Does it matter that for the most part he was wrong? Well, no, it doesn’t – it is hardly high-academia we are reading here. AR may have worried about the literary value of both of the books – and it is interesting that PM & GN were the last two he completed – but from a reader’s point of view, I think they are a series of cracking yarns that capture the imagination from the word ‘go’! I certainly have never felt that these were stories of someone played out, who was scrapping the barrel so to speak for ideas. His use of folklore is very interesting and for me, the Ds have always been my favourite characters – heretical, though, that may be deemed!" And I stand by that. TarBoard may sometimes descend to a discussion of Beckfoot drains or Blackett family trees or what sort of parrot/monkey did Titty & Roger have but as a previous paraphrased post said 'if they don't interest, I just skip over them'. What shouldn't be stopped is the constant debate on all things AR which can be quite stimulating in its own way. How many people from around the world read TarBoard? And though many are no doubt silent observers, a lot of pleasure is had by all.