Fic for sanguinity: The Professor's Daughter

Dec 01, 2015 15:00


Title: The Professor’s Daughter

Recipient: sanguinity

Author: blueonblue

Characters/Pairings: Patricia Donleavy from The Beekeeper’s Apprentice

Rating: T

Warnings: canon-typical violence

Summary: Inspired by the prompt: If you cared to do something about Patricia Donleavy, Spinster Mathematician, at any stage of her life -- her budding interest in mathematics, her own ( Read more... )

source: mary russell, 2015: gift: fic, pairing: none

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Comments 14

laurose8 December 1 2015, 20:27:12 UTC
Thank you for a most excellent read. A yay for every scene.

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sanguinity December 1 2015, 21:19:48 UTC
Dear Anon, I was biting my fist with delight from one end to the other.

That WAS a childish exercise she set for Mary, I'm so glad you agree! And Bobbie sees the Huntress in her, in both senses! (My goodness, when Bobbie threw herself to her knees, her hair unbound, pleading for mercy, mmf.) And I had wondered why Patricia went into theoretical mathematics, when her father had (presumably) been doing applied -- it's such a strange mix of homage and rejection! -- and here you have explained that perfectly, in a single sentence. (I think that question had been in a draft of my prompt, before I took it out again as an unfair thing to request. Because what if my assigned match Just Wasn't Into mathematical fanwank?? AND YET HERE IT IS ( ... )

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mundungus42 December 1 2015, 21:28:52 UTC
WOW WOW WOW! This is a work of brilliance, wit, and astounding skill! It's been quite some time since I read the earliest Mary Russell stoeis, but everything in this rings true, though even more beautifully and clearly thanks to the complex, beautifully rendered world you've written for her. Every scene is just perfect, and I second everything Sanguinity says about the remarkable job you've done balancing our sympathies. I absolutely love the final scene with the play, it made me shiver and giggle and clap my hands with delight. Thank you so much for writing this superb piece. I absolutely love it!

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graycardinal December 1 2015, 23:01:28 UTC
Oh, my. It's the first day of Holmestice, and already we have a new Russell-verse story...though a decidedly non-traditional one, what with the brilliant Ms. Donleavy as narrator and (dare we say it) heroine, at least in her own mind. (An interesting thought, that -- evidently there must be a surviving cache of Moriarty/Donleavy manuscripts just as there is a surviving trunkful of Russell's.)

Beyond that...dear me, how to phrase this properly? For the moment, let's just say that I quite agree with the sentiments expressed in the preceding comments, that the author of this piece knows the Russell-verse very well indeed, and that I'm very much looking forward to the reveal.

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sanguinity December 1 2015, 23:11:01 UTC
AHA. I didn't think this one was your work.

*goes back to squinting at Anon*

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graycardinal December 1 2015, 23:32:39 UTC
Heh. I seem to remember having a version of this discussion last round....

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sanguinity December 1 2015, 23:39:12 UTC
We did! I considered recapping it, but thought it likely you already knew what I would say...

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gardnerhill December 1 2015, 23:28:38 UTC
Beautifully written, and a great POV-shift on both the Professor and on those who have good reason to despise Sherlock Holmes. (My only quibble was that Patricia seems to adapt very quickly from "My father was a harmless math professor slandered and murdered by Holmes, and I'm just a student" to "[BANG!] Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.")

I like this story more than I like the entire Mary Russell series.

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