#6degrees of separation: from The Turn of the Screw to Gone With The Wind

/ Theresa Smith Writes

It’s the first Saturday of the month so that means it’s #6degrees of separation time! This month’s starting book is The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.

You can find the details and rules of the #6degrees meme at booksaremyfavouriteandbest, but in a nutshell, on the first Saturday of every month, everyone has the same starting book and from there, you connect in a variety of ways to other books. Some of the connections made are so impressive, it’s a lot of fun to follow.

My first link is to the one and only Henry James novel I have read, The Portrait of a Lady. From here I’m linking to Mrs Osmond by John Banville, a contemporary written sequel to the classic, which I haven’t yet read but very much want to.

I quite like these contemporary written sequels and one in particular that I enjoyed was Wild Island by Jennifer Livett, a sequel of sorts Charlotte Bronte’s magnificent Jane Eyre.

One sequel to a classic that didn’t work for me was Alexandra Ripley’s Scarlett, the sequel to Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind. It was just as enormous as the novel it was inspired by, but was pretty much entirely forgettable.

Do you like contemporary sequels to classic novels?

That’s my six degrees for this month. 📚

39 thoughts on “#6degrees of separation: from The Turn of the Screw to Gone With The Wind”

  3. To be honest, I don’t usually care for fan fiction books – what you call contemporary sequels to classic novels. I know that there’s one author who was commissioned to write Agathe Christie books, but I’m not really tempted to read them (I would like to read more Christie, though).

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  4. Oh you should definitely give Agatha Christie a go, maybe save her for the next time you want some comfort reading, but I wouldn’t advise going anywhere near the modern sequels, they are a classic example of continuations which really don’t work.

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  5. They tend not to do much for me. In fact then only one I can recall trying was the successor to ‘Pride and Prejudice’ : ‘Pemberley’, which i now see comes in several versions and I can’t even remember which one I tried! ‘Wild Island’ sounds worth a go though.

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  6. Very interesting chain Theresa, and I must admit that I’m intrigued by Mrs Osmond by John Banville, because I like Banville, and I did like Portrait of a lady.

    However, no, I don’t much like sequels to classic novels unless they are one-offs done with a very particular goal rather than to tap into/satsify fandom of the original. When I’m a fan, I want to read the person I’m a fan of! But Banville, says she a bit snootily I suppose, must have had a reason for doing this.

    You are moving? Still in Mt Isa?

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      • Oh, are you from Rockhampton originally? A nice place, though it’s probably very different from when I last visit in the – hmm – 1960s! I like country towns and cities, but I do prefer ones to live in that are a bit more and closer to a variety of activities!

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      • Not from childhood, but I moved there for university and stayed on for 18 years, so it’s the place I consider home. It’s quite a big regional city now, but best of all, it’s close to other places and travel in and out doesn’t cost the earth like out here.

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      • Yes! And so many other family members too down in Victoria once we can travel again.
        I am hopeful my health will improve. My asthma has always been triggered by dry air and Rockhampton tends to be more humid than dry. I never had as many issues when I lived there.

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      • That’s great to hear. My asthma is worse in humidity. Both my asthma and eczema are. But, I don’t get much asthma these days. My asthma would also be triggered by change in temperature eg as I child I’d often get it at dusk, when night fell and the temperature dropped, particularly if I were still outside playing then.

        Anyhow, I’m really pleased for you if it’s better for your health as I hoped. I should be living in Adelaide or Perth – Mediterranean climates (hot dry summer, mild moist winter) seem to be my ideal climate.

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  8. I am not a fan of the sequels written by someone other than the original author. Even re-workings like the entire subgenre of Austenesque books don’t work for me.

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