The Buckling of the Swash

[laurawise]

The Concise OED is not very helpful on the etymology of "swashbuckling," but the OED proper notes that "swashbuckler" -- first recorded in the 1500s -- is "one who makes a noise by striking his opponent's or his own shield with a sword

Comments

[mobile_alh]

I love, love, love Lymond (and Niccolo as well) but since I read the first series out of order,I've always been a little grumpy about the first book because I knew a lot of what was going to happen before I read it. I almost love Christian as much as I do Philippa...

Dumas is more challenging, as there are huge swathes (or swashes) that get left out in translation. I finally waded through the Folio Society Man in the Iron Mask only to find that the film versions did some serious rewriting....and it goes on a LOT longer than I was led to expect.

But, oh, I did love Oliver Reed's Athos!

Still, I applaud your energy!

ETA: and where did auto-correct get Lymong?

[laurawise]

The first time I read the Lymond Chronicles I started with the second book, which I loved, and when I went back to The Game of Kings, it went slowly then, too. :)

I remember enjoying the Richard Lester Musketeers movies, but I don't remember specifics. I'll have to revisit them, too!

Hugs and a great Friday, ALH.

[mamculuna]

I love the Inda series, if that's really swashbuckling. Some of it is, for sure. I get bogged down in Dunnett, too.

[laurawise]

I think I've got the first in the Inda series somewhere around here....

Cheers and a great Friday!

[stateless82]

I was thirteen or so the first time I saw Captain Blood on the late show, and right after that came Michael York, Richard Chamberlain and Oliver Reed in the Musketeer movies, and The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Man in the Iron Mask. *sigh*

Then I found my grandmother's copy of Tiffany Thayer's Three Musketeers which I stole from her and still have. I was a little older before I read any Dumas.

The seventies were kind of all about swashbuckling, now that I think of it- there was Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series, the Elric books, Thieves World, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Jessica Salmonson...

On the other hand, I still haven't gotten past the first hundred pages of The Game of Kings and I've started it at least three or four times.

[laurawise]

There WERE a lot of swashbucklers in the 70s, weren't there? As the kids today say, that was formative. :)

I'm thinking of the early pages of The Game of Kings sort of like the early pages of a Dickens novel -- get to page 250 or so, and everything starts to come together!

Hugs! Happy Friday!

[kathyh]

My two best loved swashbucklers are the two you are currently reading :) I read the Lymond series out of order so I came to the first book after reading the second and fourth, but I agree that the first is hard going to begin with.

When I read "The Three Musketeers" I was actually surprised at how funny it was. I haven't read it for years but I remember finding it really entertaining with a great combination of drama, humour and angst. There are three more novels in the series but I gave up after "Twenty Years After" as I like my musketeers young :)

[laurawise]

As I said to ALH, I ALSO read Queen's Play first, my first time through the Chronicles, and it made The Game of Kings more difficult. But we persevere.

I'm already seeing the humor in Dumas! Oh, D'Artagnan, so noisy. :)

Hugs! Happy Friday!

[paratti]

I read Checkmate first.

In my defense I snagged it from the school library and didn't realise it was teh last in a series. Then I read Queen's Play.

[laurawise]

Wow. Checkmate first! It boggles the mind. :)

[gwynnega]

I still need to read the Lymond books!

Basil Rathbone was an excellent swashbuckler. :-)

::hugs::

[laurawise]

Mr Rathbone WAS an excellent swashbuckler!

I'm actually wondering if my beloved Scarlet Pimpernel counts.... Let's say yes. :)

Hugs! Happy Friday!