25-year-old actress Lucy Waring, disappointed by the folding of her first major role after a short and unsuccessful run in the West End, is running away to Corfu. (This is fair. If I had a sister who had married a wealthy Corfiote landlord, thus allowing me to run away to a Greek island every time something in my career didn’t come off, I would do just that). When she arrives, her sister Phyllida tells her that the big, crumbling old villa owned by her husband has been rented out to famous actor Sir Julian Gale and his son. Julian is Lucy’s hero – she’s seen him on stage at least ten times – but he dropped into obscurity after his abrupt retirement. Phyllida hints that there might be a reason he disappeared from the stage so suddenly. Still, swimming in the sea and walking among the local flora is a balm to Lucy’s wounded ambition, and she settles in well. But it isn’t long before an islander drowns in somewhat suspicious circumstances, a friendly local dolphin is under threat from a mysterious assailant, and Phyllida loses her diamond ring…
This Rough Magic (1964), by Mary Stewart, is a bit different from my usual fare. Stewart’s genre is, I believe, what is commonly termed “romantic suspense”. I heard about it in the Greece episode of Strong Sense of Place. Because I’d had a previously underwhelming experience with Stewart*, I wouldn’t have picked it up, but the description was so appealing that I thought I would risk it. Overall I am very glad I did. The title is a quote from The Tempest, and part of the novel’s premise is that Corfu may be the inspiration for the nameless island in that play. Of course, a book containing two actors and set on a possible Shakespearean island spends quite a lot of time discussing that particular literary mystery, and I really enjoyed the way it was threaded into the wider plot. Another theme that runs through the book is the tension between Greece and Albania. Corfu is closer geographically to Albania than it is to mainland Greece, but was liberated from successive Italian and Nazi occupations by British troops, then rebuilt post-WWII by the Greek government. In 1964, when the book is set, all these tensions are very much a live issue. Some of the islanders have a sideline in smuggling luxury goods to communist Albania, which is lucrative but dangerous.
The mystery and action scenes are done wonderfully. I saw this described in a review as “Enid Blyton for grown-ups”, and while I feel that is seriously underselling Stewart’s talents as a writer, it definitely has some of that vibe. It’s almost more adventure story than mystery. The big, brooding, crumbling Castello dei Fiori where the Gales live looms over the story, giving it a gothic feeling that intersects with the sunny, beachy setting. The setting is the real star, in fact. The characters are painted with fairly broad strokes and didn’t stay with me – except Julian Gale, who is probably the most nuanced of a fairly unnuanced bunch – but the setting is rendered in very loving detail. I really don’t have a visual imagination, but there were scenes in this that I could almost see, which always impresses me. I truly felt like I’d been to Corfu with Lucy. This time of year is always stressful at work (somehow I forget every year just how rough October and November are), and this was just what I wanted to read – deliciously escapist and using up precisely the right amount of brain space.
It’s not a perfect book, though. The novel was published in the 60s and there are a few throwaway phrases that I doubt would be in there these days, especially with regard to the deference working-class Corfiote islanders show to the wealthy British woman who employs them. It only crops up a couple of times and I don’t think Lucy, who is the point-of-view character, expects or demands it – but she doesn’t question it either. It simply lingers in the background, accepted as natural. Because it isn’t integral to the story, it didn’t bother me too much, but I definitely noticed it – especially in a few scenes towards the end. More of an issue is the fact that Lucy jumps to conclusions so quickly. To be fair to Stewart, this is clearly an intentional character flaw – it’s just one that I happen to find very irritating. Because it’s a first-person narration, I felt like I was being asked to share her perspective, whereas in real life I would definitely want more information before making such snap decisions either way. It seemed clear that one of the characters she was jumping to conclusions about was a potential love interest for her, so it felt like an artificial obstacle put there to complicate their relationship. Annoyingly, she is soon given good reason to be suspicious – if Stewart had only waited a couple of chapters before Lucy takes against him, it would have felt much more believable. And, while we’re here, I might as well add that characters falling in love “at first sight” (or as near as) stretches my credulity in every story where I encounter it, and this book was no exception.
Despite all my grumbles, though, this novel was exactly what the doctor ordered. I can’t imagine managing more than one on the trot, but I will definitely be reading more Mary Stewart. In fact, I can easily see myself hunting down old copies of her novels so that I have them on hand for the dark part of the year. Recommended if you fancy an exciting adventure in Corfu, especially as the nights draw in and the days grow cold!
*At least, I thought I had – I thought she was responsible for a dreadful Christmas mystery set in Scotland and riddled with clichés and stereotypes that I read a few years ago, but a) I can’t find it anywhere in her bibliography, and b) apparently she married a Scot and lived most of her life in Edinburgh, whereas the book I’m thinking of had a distinct air of “written by someone who once saw a picture of Groundskeeper Willie; might be able to locate Scotland on a map but don’t bet on it”. Probably there’s another novelist of a similar name responsible for that particular crime against literature. (I can’t even remember the name of the book to warn you all off of it. Clearly it’s a mostly-suppressed memory).
louloureads 
I haven’t read anything by her but a couple of bloggers I follow are fans and their reviews mean that I have Nine Coaches Waiting sitting on my TBR. Despite the flaws, this one sounds like fun – I’d be quite happy to read an “Enid Blyton for grown-ups”!
It is a lot of fun! One of my friends reads almost entirely books like The Little Beach Street Bakery and A Cosy Cottage in Ireland – those books really don’t appeal to me, but in some ways this serves a similar function of fun and escapism, albeit with a body or two and some creepy caves!
This does sound fun! I feel like I’ve read something by Mary Stewart but I can’t think what it was. Maybe she just has one of those names?
I am laughing at the idea of parents who name one daughter Lucy and the other Phyllida though!
Mary Stewart is such a common name that I’m sure there are other authors with similar names out there. It is really fun!
You’re right, there are probably hundreds of Mary Stewart’s out there!
I swear I remember you making the Groundskeeper Willie comment because I was in stitches when I first read that. No clue which book it was, though. October and November are so very hard! It feels like the poor professors are trying to drag the rapidly-cooling corpses of worn out students across an artificial finish line. While I am feeling the stress as a student, I’m also aware that at this point in time, I’m getting into the stride of things, too. Today, I was mildly awful to a classmate, who is 19 and saying she wished class were canceled because she’s so busy, especially with being on the soccer team, though her position on the team does not award her a scholarship and she’s always sitting on the bench and not getting any game play. I said, “You paid to be here, you dork! Why would you want classes canceled? And just go to the gym if you want to run around without getting paid or playing in a game!” She giggled, and I didn’t say it in a mean spirit, but sometimes I wonder about the choices people make.
My students didn’t start until late September, so they aren’t exhausted, but lots of them go out on placement in late November so we are trying to cram in as much of their teaching as possible before they go out. It’s busy busy busy. (And of course, even though they didn’t start until late September, we’ve been busy since late August getting the course ready and doing admin tasks and so on). My students tend to be pretty committed to the course – I actually spend quite a lot of my tutorials saying “but are you having any fun? You’re working very hard but university is also supposed to be fun. Don’t get burnt out!”
Remind them that hacky sacks and Frisbees exist! Do people even play with those anymore? They were quintessential college activities when I was around that age.