[COMPLETE] Clouds of Witness, by Dorothy Sayers - tg

[TriciaG]

That's a common solution to the "I'm subscribed but don't get notifications" problem. I've experienced it myself.

[Kirsten Wever]

Hey, Tricia, chapter 1 in MW!!!

[Kirsten Wever]

And ... Chapter 2.

[TriciaG]

And we're off!

Chapter 1 OK!

Chapter 2:
14:49 - stumble & repeat: "How do you like this beastly weather"

[Kirsten Wever]

Chapter 2, it's read as written ..."How do you like this billi- ... beastly weather? " I think "billi-" must be the beginning of a word not to be spoken in polite company, though all I can think of is bilious, which doesn't make sense. Anyhow, it's not an error.

[TriciaG]

Okay, great!

[Kirsten Wever]

Chapter 3 in MW.

[TriciaG]

3 PL OK!

[Kirsten Wever]

I was cruelly lulled into believing that three days without jack hammers in my closet were the herald of a return to relative peace and quiet. But alas, and also alack! Phase 2 of major construction begins tomorrow and lasts for an indeterminate time. O, fair lady, pity me! The noise is truly apocryphal, something like what I imagine a World War I war zone to have been. I can't record, talk, think, and I still can't walk (that is, go elsewhere).

Silver lining? I suppose I can clean. Tonight I'm recording non-stop in the hope that the holocaust won't prevent my editing.

Enough grousing. This really is a really well written, well plotted book. I think round about chapter 6 you'll begin to see a little light.

Thanks for listening (to the jammering, not the book).

K

[TriciaG]

So far, of course, it looks like the sister, but it's way too early for that to be correct.

[Kirsten Wever]

Well, Lady Mary is responsible for much juvenile drama creation, red herring floatation and all around mystification. But so, it turns out, is the poor, muddled Duke himself.

[Kirsten Wever]

Query:

I've found a misprint, and want advice about whether I should correct it - in the way we routinely correct obvious scanning errors.

It's a reference, made by a French woman, to Lady Mary's exalted status as "the daughter of the English milady."

In this context, the point is Mary's extremely lofty class status, which could not possibly derive from her mother, the Dowager Duchess. It would only make sense if her mother were still the Duchess.

Sayers must have referred to her simply as "the English milady."

Should I, being certain this is a misprint, and being confident that " the English milady" is what Sayers originally wrote, read it this way? Or read it as (mistakenly) printed? Or look for other editions to see how it's handled there?

Or relax and move on?

K

[TriciaG]

Dowager:

noun
a woman who holds some title or property from her deceased husband, especially the widow of a king, duke, etc. (often used as an additional title to differentiate her from the wife of the present king, duke, etc.): a queen dowager; an empress dowager.

an elderly woman of stately dignity, especially one of elevated social position: a wealthy dowager.

So, she doesn't lose her duchess status, and Mary could still be called "the daughter of milady". I don't see a problem. Or am I misunderstanding you?

[Kirsten Wever]

You're not misunderstanding. I just happen to know from historical and literary studies that in facta dowager didn't confer status in the way implied.

HOWEVER. I don't think it's worth fighting with the actual printed word - though finessing a mis-scan is, I think, a no brainer.

Thanks for your response and get ready for 6 chapters

[Kirsten Wever]

Chapters 4-9 in MW.