Posted by Eric Abraham on March 08, 2002 at 14:49:55 from 199.240.138.98:
In Reply to: Re: The Great Aunt as a sympathetic character posted by Peter H on March 08, 2002 at 10:39:45:
Isn't that what makes for GREAT fiction - where the characters are more real than "real" - even Peter Roche! (And -- I have read the RocheReport in its entirety.) - (It won't come up at the moment ----) I think that most authors get so involved with the folks they are writing about that they take on a life of their own. If they don't, then the work is simply that - labored work - something no-one wants to read. Great writing is also Magic, as is all GA (Great Art), a process that becomes special and unexplainable. I'm sure the Great Aunt is no exception in that she grew and developed almost independently in the mind of Arthur Ransome as a character within the series -- obviously, since without her we would not have "Swallowdale" or "Picts and Martyrs".
Eric Abraham