The Mary Stewart Romantic Suspense Canon
Although the author of many works – poetry, children’s literature, fantasy and historical fiction – Mary Stewart’s largest body of work falls into the romantic suspense genre. Most of these were written in the fifties and sixties with a few later exceptions.
Fifteen books in total, it amounted to. Some are more romance than suspense, some are more suspense than romance, some are more coming-into-her-own than either suspense or romance. But all keep their well-written focus on a woman making discoveries, whether inside a cave or inside herself. The fast-paced action of the earlier volumes turns into gentle examinations in the latter works.
RELATED: MY BROTHER MICHAEL (1959) BY MARY STEWART: DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS TITLE!
And, yeah, yeah, the works can be a bit dated in their descriptions of the Other, in their gender roles, etc. They’re of their time, but that in no way demeans their value, their enjoyment, their good writing.
I admit that I have not read them all myself yet, but I’m working on it. A few of my personal favorites, up until this point, include: Madame, Will You Talk (1955), My Brother Michael (1959), The Moonspinners (1962), This Rough Magic (1964), Touch Not the Cat (1976) and Thornyhold (1988).
But here’s the full list of Mary Stewart’s romantic suspense tales. Surely, you can find one that will appeal to you. So, give Mary Stewart a read. She tells some swooningly gripping tales.
Mary Stewart’s Books of Romantic Suspense
(In chronological order)
Madame, Will You Talk? (1955)
It sounds idyllic: a leisurely drive through the sun-drenched landscape of Provence. But Charity’s dream holiday turns into a nightmare when she becomes embroiled in a sinister plot to kidnap a young boy. She soon finds herself in a deadly pursuit and must uncover who to trust . . . and who to fall for.
Wildfire at Midnight (1956)
Following a heart-breaking divorce, Gianetta retreats to the Isle of Skye hoping to find tranquillity in the island’s savage beauty. But shortly before her arrival a girl’s body is found on the craggy slopes of the looming Blue Mountain, and with the murderer still on the loose, there’s nothing to stop him from setting his sights on Gianetta next . . .
Thunder on the Right (1957)
High in the rugged Pyrenees lies the Valley of the Storms, where a tiny convent clings to the beautiful but lonely mountainside. Jenny Silver arrives seeking her missing cousin and is devastated when she learns of Gillian’s death following a terrible car accident. But Jenny’s suspicions are aroused when she’s told the blue flowers ornamenting her cousin’s grave were Gillian’s favorite. Jenny knows Gillian was color-blind – and so starts her mission to uncover what really happened to her.
Nine Coaches Waiting (1958)
Linda Martin understands what is to be lonely: her parents died when she was young, and she was raised in an orphanage. When she is hired as a governess to the orphaned young Philippe, Comte de Valmy, Linda finds a kindred spirit in the lonely little boy. But Philippe is the heir to a vast estate in Savoy, and his dangerously handsome uncle may be willing to kill to ensure that Philippe never inherits it.
My Brother Michael (1959)
‘Nothing ever happens to me…’ So begins Camilla Haven’s letter home during her quiet holiday in Athens. But when a stranger begs her to drive a car to Delphi, swearing that it is a matter of life and death, Camilla impulsively takes the opportunity she’s been offered. Before long she is caught up in a whirlwind of intrigue, deceit and murder as she spins along the dusty Greek roads in a race against time to solve a fourteen-year-old mystery.
The Ivy Tree (1961)
Whitescar is a beautiful old house and farm situated in Roman Wall country. It will make a rich inheritance for its heirs, but in order to secure it, they enlist the help of a young woman named Mary who bears remarkable resemblance to missing Whitescar heiress, Annabel Winslow. Their deception will spark a powder-keg of ambition, obsession and long-dead love.
The Moonspinners (1962)
While on a walking holiday through the beautiful, deserted hills of Crete, Nicola Ferris stumbles across a critically injured Englishman, guarded by a fierce Greek. Nicola cannot abandon them and so sets off on a perilous search for their lost companion – all the while being pursued by someone who wants to make sure none of them leave the island . . .
This Rough Magic (1964)
Lucy Waring, a young, out-of-work actress from London, leaps at the chance to visit her sister for a summer on the island paradise of Corfu, and what’s more, a famous but reclusive actor is staying in a villa nearby. But Lucy’s hopes for rest and romance are shattered when a body washes up on the beach and she finds herself swept up in a chilling chain of events.
Airs Above the Ground (1965)
Vanessa March’s husband Lewis is meant to be on a business trip in Stockholm – so why does he briefly appear in newsreel footage of a fire at a circus in Vienna, with his arm around another woman? Vanessa flies to Austria to find her husband, inadvertently becoming involved in a mystery that spans three countries… and the famous dancing stallions of the Spanish Riding School.
The Gabriel Hounds (1967)
Legend has it that when the Gabriel Hounds run howling over the crumbling palace of Dar Ibrahim, high in the Adonis Valley of Lebanon, death will follow on their heels. When rich, spoilt Christie Mansel arrives at the decaying palace to look after her eccentric Aunt Harriet, she arrives to the sound of howling dogs. The palace is riddled with hidden passages and the servants are unwilling to let anyone see Harriet during the day. It seems the palace hides an extraordinary secret . . . one that somebody is willing to kill to keep.
The Wind Off the Small Isles (1968)
1879. Lanzarote. A wealthy young woman elopes with an impoverished fisherman, leaving her family distraught.
1968. Perdita West, secretary to a famous author, visits Lanzarote on a research trip and begins to fall in love with the unusual, beautiful little island. When, while snorkelling, a landslide traps Perdita in an underwater cave, her efforts to save herself will reveal what happened to the ill-fated couple who fell in love at this very spot almost a century ago . . .
Touch Not the Cat (1976)
Ashley Court: the tumbledown ancestral home of the Ashley family, all blessed with ‘the gift’ of being able to speak to each other without words. When Bryony Ashley’s father dies under mysterious circumstances, his final words a cryptic warning to her, Bryony returns from abroad to uncover Ashley Court’s secrets. What did her father’s message mean? What lies at the centre of the overgrown maze in the gardens? And who is trying to prevent Bryony from discovering the truth?
Thornyhold (1988)
The rambling house called Thornyhold is like something out of a fairy tale. Left to Gilly Ramsey by the cousin whose occasional visits brightened her childhood, the cottage, set deep in a wild wood, has come just in time to save her from a bleak future. With its reputation for magic and its resident black cat, Thornyhold offers Gilly more than just a new home. It offers her a chance to start over.
Stormy Petrel (1991)
When Rose Fenemore takes a desperately needed holiday to an isolated cottage on the Scottish island of Moila she doesn’t expect much in the way of adventure – just a few quiet weeks of writing, walking and bird-watching. And then, late one night during a wild storm, two young men appear in her doorway, seeking shelter from the wind and rain. Neither man is quite who he claims, and the question of who to trust will put Rose in grave peril . . .
Rose Cottage (1997)
Summer, 1947. Kate Herrick, a war widow, returns to her childhood home for a final visit before the house is sold. But Rose Cottage is not the idyllic paradise she remembers from her youth and someone has been there before her. As Kate uncovers an old secret that haunts the home she thought she knew, she is forced to confront a dark truth from her own past . . .
Have you read Mary Stewart? Do you have a favorite novel?
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