Customer Reviews

The Dorothy Dunnett Companion

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The fine folks at Vintage Books have done a great favor to those of us who are longtime fans of Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond and Niccolo chronicles as well as those who have only just discovered her writing. The Companion first was published in 1994 and inexplicably was allowed to go out of print, so that the only copies available recently were used books that seemed to start around [price]...and up. Some readers of Dunnett's books might have the benefit of a classical education that allows them to understand who all the historical characters are, what all the literary allusions are to, and what all of the quotations in foreign languages mean. For all of the rest of us, Elspeth Morrison has performed the invaluable labor of tracking down Dorothy Dunnett's original sources and fleshing out the details. Dunnett's books remind me of Medieval and Renaissance tapestries--rich in intricate symbolism and detail. You can look at them and enjoy them as fine art, but when you know what the details mean, your experience is that much deeper and richer. Fervent thanks to Morrison for making this illumination available!

The book is wonderful and is truly an asset to anyone who loves Dorothy Dunnett's books. All the poetry, historical references, historical figures etc are explained or translated. It is an encyclopedic addition that completes your Dunnett collection. Dorothy herself is helping with the second volume to finish up the Niccolo books and tie everything together. A definite "must-have".

Unless you are Francis Crawford reincarnate, you will need this book to get through the Lymond Chronicles (and I assume the same is true for the Niccolo series as well).

I constantly found myself looking up songs, quotations, names, etc. that came up in the six books.

The book is well researched and obviously a labor of love on the part of Ms. Morrison.

The one problem and I think it is substantial was the decision to provide entries in an alphabetical format rather than a format that followed the books.

The book would be much more helpful if it was arranged so that entries appeared in the order they appeared in the books -- so the entries that appeared in the Game of Kings would come first, followed by Queen's Play and so on -- rather than in alphabetical order where there are quotes from a Pawn In Frankincense next to a quote from Checkmate next to a quote from Disorderly Knights.

This would make it easier to use as a companion to the books as you are reading -- instead I have to put down the book, pick up the companion and look up the quote. This may sound petty and if there were only a few quotes to look up that may not be so bad -- but when there are dozens and dozens (Checkmate is brimming with quotes) it slows the reader down tremendously and forces them out of the rigorous concentration required.

Having said that -- the book remains a necessity -- If you are going to read the Lymond Chronicles (and I highly encourage you to do so) buy this book - you should have this with you at all times. It is well researched and fairly comprehensive.

I just wish it was in a different format.

I was fortunate to buy a copy of the Michael Joseph hardcover version of the Companion when it was first released in 1994, and have used it extensively.

The first Companion was published before the last books in the House of Niccolo and so it only covers the Lymond Chronicles and the first five books of the House of Niccolo. While written as a comprehensive guide to Lymond and Niccolo, the Companion gives us some history, literature and - thankfully - translations of some references that are obscure to many readers.
The Companion can be enjoyed on three levels:
a glimpse into the research undertaken by Lady Dunnett;
a starting point for some of the historical events and people introduced into the novels; and
as 'a cornucopia of things'.

I like the layout. It invites me to browse. I go to find one reference, and emerge at least half an hour later having been side-tracked by all manner of things. Such is the world of Dunnett!

It is well worth acquiring a copy of this version of the Companion if you were not able to obtain a copy of the first edition. Volume II complements this book, it does not replace it.

Highly recommended to all Dunnett fans!

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

I found both of the Companions difficult to use in relation to the novels. They would have been much more helpful if Ms. Morrison would have begun with either the Lymond or Niccolo Series and followed it through with references page by page from, for example, The Game of Kings, then from Queen's Play, etc. then doing the same with the other series rather than placing all references from all books of both series at the same time in alphabetical order. Also, sometimes I would search for terms or quotes that I felt should be included based on those already in the Companions but didn't find them so do not know what the criteria was for including some and not others.

I absolutely love Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles. They are by far my favourite book series. I first read them and loved them without this companion. I then reread them using the companion and it was like discovering a dear friend all over again and on a deeper level. The translations add depth to the dialogue and explain the subtle innuendos the text hints at. I also found that I spent hours flipping through page by page of the companion reading the historic background of the characters the companion also includes. It is possible to read the splendid series without this book, but you get so much more out of it if you keep it immediately next to you while you read; I highly recommend getting this! Don't be confused either- you need volume one of the companion, as volume two only covers the references not included in the first. It does not replace volume one.

I know the book has loads of great information, but initially I've been disappointed because many of the terms or phrases I am curious about aren't listed. For instance, in The Disorderly Knights, should I know what Lymond means when he says (at Kindle location 1656) "The three mutes with a bowstring"? And what does "stooters" mean in "hell-bent on stooters"? Also, I agree with the review "Disappointing, August 22, 2005" for the way the book is structured. It would have been nice to have the unusual terms, sayings, foreign language quotes, and historical references in the order of their appearance (I found a partial list at [...]/zine/azurite/gknotes.html). Musings: How about WITHIN each book footnotes, annotations, and an alphabetical index in the back. But then you'd need to republish the books. The Kindle would be perfect for that, as long as they supplemented the dictionary with terms from the books and added footnotes to perhaps jump to the Companion or Companion-like appendix and/or a supplemental dictionary tailored to the book; the current dictionary does provide a surprising number of historical definitions and background, but not enough. In any case, I love the Lymond Chronicles and look forward to the House of Nicolo series.

This book -- a great idea -- could have been made 6 times more useful by a simple editing decision. Since most of us read just one Lymond novel at a time, why not present the items alphabetized, BUT IN BOOK ORDER? Thus, if you are reading Game of Kings, you will not have to stumble over pages with irrelevant entries from the Niccolo series of novels.

And -- since there are not so many entries per book as to overwhelm -- an interested reader could just read all the entries pertaining to one novel, and then proceed with that novel.

I read the Lymond Chronicles years ago when they first came out and wish I'd had something like this then. I was running between the story and a French/English dictionary through the whole set. However, it is one of the most fantastic pieces of "fiction" history I've ever read and I've never found anything that held my interest for as long since.

The publisher's review of this volume indicated it was released after the final 8th volume of the House of Niccolo series so I think I can legitimately express surprise when I discovered that it only covered the first five of these books? Very disappointing.

The second Dunnett companion volume apparently completes and expands the coverage but the current price for the paperback of this book exceeds the price I paid for the whole series in this binding! Whats up with this?