Inkling Exploration April 2016: Majesty


The Light of  Western Stars was one of the first novels with which my heart completely soared and to which it still very much does, a fact owing not a little to the glorious descriptions so perfectly twined within it. So for this months Inkling Explorations, I instantly knew I must do Madeline aka Majesty. :)

In the past Miss Hammond's sense of humor had often helped her to overlook critical exactions natural to her breeding. She kept silence, and she imagined it was just as well that her veil hid her face at the moment. She had been prepared to find cowboys rather striking, and she had been warned not to laugh at them.

Can't you just feel her bubbling yet demur sense of humor? I love it very much indeed. :)


And then this one from later in the story -

Madeline smiled a little sadly. Perhaps when she had put on that exquisite white gown something had come to her of the manner which befitted the wearing of it. She could not resist the desire to look fair once more in the eyes of these hypercritical friends. The sad smile had been for the days that were gone. For she knew that what society had once been pleased to call her beauty had trebled since it had last been seen in a drawing-room. Madeline wore no jewels, but at her waist she had pinned two great crimson roses. Against the dead white they had the life and fire and redness of the desert.

Pretty is it not? But read below for the deeper purpose in my placing it here -

As he looked up to see her standing there, dressed to receive her Eastern guests, he checked his advance with a violent action which recalled to Madeline the one he had made on the night she had met him, when she disclosed her identity. It was not fear nor embarrassment nor awkwardness. And it was only momentary. Yet, slight as had been his pause, Madeline received from it an impression of some strong halting force. A man struck by a bullet might have had an instant jerk of muscular control such as convulsed Stewart. In that instant, as her keen gaze searched his dust-caked face, she met the full, free look of his eyes. Her own did not fall, though she felt a warmth steal to her cheeks. Madeline very seldom blushed. And now, conscious of her sudden color a genuine blush flamed on her face. It was irritating because it was incomprehensible. She received the papers from Stewart and thanked him. He bowed, then led the black down the path toward the corrals.

It is most obviously a description of  Stewart, of course, but one of the other things I love about it is  how through his reaction you see her reflected so clearly. Yes, the feels in this scene are AMAZING!


Finally, from the last pages of the story -

Madeline watched him, with pride, love, pain, glory combating for a mastery over her.... 

She wanted to run to meet him. Nevertheless, she stood rooted to her covert... 

With all that tumult in her mind and heart Madeline still fell prey to the incomprehensible variations of emotion possible to a woman... 

She tried to lift her hands, failed, tried again, and held them out, trembling...

...and the feels and emotions and  SPLENDOR overflows. The above excerpts, severely edited though they are to guard the secrets of the story, yet tingle with the intensity of Majesty's sensations and you can almost see how hard her heart must be pounding!


Comments

  1. I am definitely going to check out this book!! I love Westerns.

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    1. Erudessa Aranduriel,
      Terrific! Thanks for the follow and (I hope this doesn't sound strange), but something about your profile description just makes me happy. :)

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  2. I've never read this book. I need to check this one out. I enjoy westerns! :)

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    1. Katie,
      I hope you do! Thanks for your comment. :)

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  3. Eek! This sounds amazing! This book was already on my TBR list, but it has now skyrocketed up near the top. :)

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    1. Natalie,
      Great! It's one of those kinds of stories that I'm always constantly reading, but I really need to read the entire thing straight through again soon, too!

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  4. Quick question: have you seen the movie??? I am seriously considering getting it (and yes, it's partly because a certain fellow named Alan Ladd has a small part in it), so just wondering if it was worth the watch. Because if they totally ruined the story, then I'm not buying it. The book was so good!

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    1. Hamlette,
      You mean the 1940's one, right? A confession - I haven't seen the whole movie. However, I have watched the end, because I was also not going to watch an entire movie of one of my favorite stories only to have them ruin it! And... honestly I don't know about it. I think you might like it as they seem to wrap up some things which are rather loose in the book, but on the other hand I can't tell how much they change Certain Important things and Victor Jory is not in the least like my image of Gene Stewart. In fact, I find the idea VERY disturbing, so yes, I don't know what I think about it! ANYWAY it is up for free on Youtube, so if you wanted you could watch it that way, and then you could tell me about it. ;)

      Oh, and me too!! I almost think I might watch it just for Alan Ladd! :)

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    2. AHA! Thanks for the tip that it's on YouTube -- I will totally try to watch it that way.

      I have been watching a LOT of things just for Alan Ladd, lately, and haven't regretted a single one so far :-)

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    3. Hamlette,
      I always get a gigantic thrill when comments cross over like this. :)

      Great, and I really do look forward to hearing what you think!

      I know literally nothing about Alan Ladd, but he does simply look splendid. :)

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    4. Well, then try to find Shane, Whispering Smith, or Branded, three westerns he starred in that I think you might like. I've reviewed the first two, and hope to review Branded soon.

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    5. Hamlette,
      Thanks for the list! I've seen two of the Whispering Smith episodes with Audie Murphy, but never that one. However, come to think of it, I do remember it from your review. I will be sure to look up the others as well!

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    6. And I haven't seen any of Audie Murphy's show yet :-o

      BTW, have you seen And Now Tomorrow? Alan Ladd plays the doctor in that. I think Heidi mentioned once that she'd seen it, or that some of her sisters had. Or read the book. Or something! Been a while.

      I did watch that version of Light of the Western Stars, btw, over the course of about a week. It was okay. Changed some stuff up, and the major villain from the book was gone, it was all stuff between the rotten sheriff and Gene, etc. I thought Victor Jory was okay as Gene, but I'd been thinking more James Arness, so not my ideal casting either. (Alan Ladd wasn't in much of it, but he was goon in his bits, and I loved seeing him young and in cowboy duds, so there's that.)

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    7. GOOD! He was good in his small part, not a goon. Sigh.

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    8. Hamlette,
      Audie Murphy has really become one of my favorite actors. He really seemed like a terribly authentic person (if that makes any sense), which is fun.

      It was actually my younger sister who saw And Now Tomorrow but yes, she ADORES it!

      Okay, not long after you left this comment I went and watched The Light of Western Stars myself and, honestly, I really didn't like it. Majesty seemed lovely enough and I really liked her brother and his girl but Victor Jory... ouch I don't think I've ever seen anyone who I could bear so little. Let's just say I scarcely survived the experience. :)

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    9. I actually cast Audie Murphy in one of my upcoming novels. He's really got a great presence. And I get what you're saying about authenticity -- he's very "normal," if that's possible.

      I'm kind of cracking up over your antipathy toward Victor Jory :-D That's okay! Not my favorite either -- I'm just kind of indifferent to him. I'm glad you did survive!

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    1. Olivia,
      My common saying when summing up the story is, "Be still my heart!"So 'incredible' is a terrific way to describe it.

      BTW: Seeing your THREE comments pop in my inbox was one of the best moments in my day. :)

      Have a lovely evening!

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