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Vanessa Kelly | WHAT IS IT ABOUT SISTERS?
What is it about the topic of sisters that causes so much controversy? My new
Regency-set historical, Mastering The Marquess, is partly a story about a pair of
sisters, and the life-threatening situation they confront together. Meredith,
my heroine, will do anything to keep her little sister Annabel out of harmβs
wayβeven if it means putting her own life at risk. And she does that without
blaming Annabel for their predicament, or feeling resentful that she must
potentially sacrifice her own chance for happiness.
Meredithβs selflessness didnβt seem odd or out of character to me, likely
because I have an older sister who has always been uber-protective of her
siblings. She would take on a herd of charging elephants without a second
thought if it meant keeping me or my brothers safe. But to my surprise, a few
readers of Mastering The
Marquess expressed discomfort with Meredithβs willingness to sacrifice
herself for Annabel. They thought their relationship was too perfectβthat real
sisters fought more, and that Meredith should, at the very least, be resentful
of Annabel. That took me aback since I can count the number of times Iβve
fought with my sister on one hand, with a few fingers still left over. Maybe
Iβve been lucky and I just happened to win the grand prize in the sister
lottery, or it could be that weβre just a pair of really irritating goody two-
shoes!
Sisters are an enduring topic in fiction, and they figure prominently in many
of my favorite romances. Eloisa James wrote a wonderful four book series about
the Essex sisters. Their relationships are complicated and emotional, but
through all the twists and turns of familial conflict they remain devoted to
each other. Susan Elizabeth
Phillips has also created an unforgettable pair of sisters, Phoebe and
Molly Somerville, as the linchpin of her Chicago Stars series. And
then thereβs Sophie Dempsey from Jennifer Crusieβs Welcome To Temptation. Sophie has the bad habit of putting her
sister Amy before everything and everyone else, including herself.
So, dear reader, whatβs your relationship like with your sister(s)? Is it all
sweetness and light, or do you fight like cats and dogs? And who are some your
favorite fictional sisters?
Comments
10 comments posted.
Re: Vanessa Kelly | WHAT IS IT ABOUT SISTERS?
Hi Vanessa. I liked your post, but I commented on the other blog.
(Stacy Ahlgren 6:55am April 16, 2009)
I have six sisters - oh the drama, lol. I'm
the oldest. When we were young there
were tiffs. Not so much anymore. But
we're also spread all over the US!
(Mary Hundley 8:53am April 16, 2009)
No sisters. But, I grew up the eldest with one brother and three very close cousins who I was supposed to watch over. My mother often told people that we never fought and that was true. The boys wanted to play cowboys and we girls wanted to play house - so the cowboys came home to dinner!
(Karin Tillotson 11:34am April 16, 2009)
I'm an only child, so I don't know personally about having a sister, but I used to watch my younger cousins fight all the time and then I would tell them they would be best friends someday. For the most part, I was right!! As for sisters in fiction, I love the sisters of the heart in Sherryl Woods Sweet Magnolias series. And I also love the sisters (and brothers) from Dee Henderson's O'Malley Family series1
(Kelli Jo Calvert 12:31pm April 16, 2009)
As the mother of three children, I know how all their personalities are so very different. I love to see that in novels. I think the sister fascination for many readers goes way back to "Little Women." Those girls were portrayed as different personalities and that's one reason why I enjoyed the book.
(LuAnn Morgan 12:32pm April 16, 2009)
I have three sisters!. We had our spats when we were younger but are really close now. We always had each others back and tried to keeep everyone out of trouble.
(JoAnn White 2:27pm April 16, 2009)
I have two sister and we didn't get along at all when we where younger as children at all, but we get along great now!
(Gail Hurt 2:49pm April 16, 2009)
Yep, sisters - it always generates a lot of discussion! I had forgotten about Little Women. I love that book - and I still cry at all the versions of the movies! Thanks for your comments, everyone. It's really interesting to hear about your different experiences.
(Vanessa Kelly 4:47pm April 16, 2009)
I have a sister who is 18 months older. We got into a few tiffs when we were younger but as adults we are very close!! We have two older brothers too... one tends to be more close than the other who is the "odd man out" in our family with different politics and religion etc. We still love him though!! Recently read a book where the younger sister really took advantage of the older... stole her boyfriends etc. Not so nice! Can't think of any others right now.
(Martha Eskuchen 6:34pm April 16, 2009)
As the oldest of 6, I always felt like the
odd man out. My relationship with my
middle sister wasn't all that great
when we were younger, but we both
have grown up and our good friends
now. My baby sister was never really
involved in the sibling rivalry thing - I
was out of college and overseas by the
time she was in 5th grade. Can
actually relate to the sisters in Pride
and Prejudice. They are all very
different and that is the way it should
be.
(Patricia Barraclough 11:35pm April 16, 2009)
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