I concluded that while Camilla and Simon both reflect the attitudes of their era - he holds open car doors for her and so on - this novel does not propagate problematic gender relationships. This time, rereading it, I found myself wondering whether there were out-dated, sexist overtones to their relationship - manly, capable (physically fit and attractive) man rescues damsel in distress, because women are weak and men have a responsibility to rescue them, etc. It's all very understated and all the more convincing in consequence. And Camilla has just broken things off with her former fiancé, so she has good reason to be cautious.)īut there are these ambiguous moments of conversation which elude to the - the romance, if you will.

(They really haven't known each other that long. The other thing I love the subtlety of the growing romance, which Camilla is not really ready to openly acknowledge. I love how Stewart's heroines (generally) have an appreciation of poetry and literature. Mary Stewart's use of language and attention to detail is vivid and evocative she effectively captures the landscape, the food, the personalities and mannerisms of her characters, and incorporates references to Greek mythology.

It becomes an atmospheric setting for a tense mystery - more of a thriller than a murder mystery. The appeal of My Brother Michael is how it depicts a time and a place: Greece in the 1950s. Show More also a Classics teacher - who is investigating the circumstances of his brother's death during WWII.

My brother michael by mary stewart