tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post5856831382548108438..comments2024-03-27T06:42:26.250-07:00Comments on Seven Miles of Steel Thistles: Magical Classics: 'The Wolves of Willoughby Chase' by Joan AikenKatherine Langrishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-46139043388155231102013-06-26T13:42:25.212-07:002013-06-26T13:42:25.212-07:00Thank you for the comments, everyone. Caleb, have ...Thank you for the comments, everyone. Caleb, have you read Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines series? I see these books as very steampunkesque (if that's a word), but they take place in a post apocalyptic setting. For me, a classic Victorian setting isn't the deciding factor. I recently stumbled across this lovely definition by the author Caitlyn Kittredge: “It’s sort of Victorian-industrial, but with more whimsy and fewer orphans.” Brilliant! Maggie, I loved the film as a child, and haven't seen it in years. <br /><br />Katy Moranhttp://www.katymoran.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-1648254697599199992013-06-26T07:48:30.595-07:002013-06-26T07:48:30.595-07:00I love that book! I must have read it a dozen time...I love that book! I must have read it a dozen times when I was a child, and now I'll have to read it again.<br /><br />If you Google Wolves of Willoughby Chase movie, you'll find a 1989 film on YouTube. I really enjoyed it. <br /><br />Thanks<br />MaggieMaggiehttp://www.mockingbirdsatmidnight.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-39204085352929519012013-06-18T01:39:00.772-07:002013-06-18T01:39:00.772-07:00That's a fair comment, Caleb - thankyou! I ado...That's a fair comment, Caleb - thankyou! I adore Dido Twite, and my one squabble with this book is that it doesn't yet include her! I'll add here a paragraph I posted on Terri Windling's facebook link to this post: <br /><br />I think Katy Moran's sense was that Aiken's is an alternative England with elements of sorcery (for example in The Cuckoo Tree) but no outright magic, and that Aiken includes in her fictional world - indeed revels in - the factory towns (Blastburn is clearly Manchester), poverty and deprivation of the Industrial Revolution. It may not be exactly steampunk as we know it today, but I think there's a good argument for 'The Wolves of Willoughby Chase' and other of Aiken 's titles - especially 'Midnight is a Place' and 'Iz' - to be looked at through the steampunk lens.<br /><br />You're quite right that TWOWC is not set in the Victorian era - on the other hand, it's an alternative England in which the Industrial Revolution has clearly begun. A case of Aiken having her cake and eating it, and a very good cake it is too! :)Katherine Langrishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-473887570607432092013-06-18T00:51:18.481-07:002013-06-18T00:51:18.481-07:00Great books! I particularly enjoyed Black Hearts i...Great books! I particularly enjoyed Black Hearts in Battersea, and I read through the series voraciously when I was in school - Dido Twite is a great protagonist.<br /><br />I don't think they're Victorian enough or sci-fi enough to be steampunk though. Earlier setting, more magic realism. Though people who enjoy steampunk will probably find much to enjoy here too...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14761353888872137118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-13429025446364082842013-06-14T10:12:14.128-07:002013-06-14T10:12:14.128-07:00Love that book! Really enjoyed revisiting it with ...Love that book! Really enjoyed revisiting it with my daughter. Thank you.Julietnoreply@blogger.com