"a drawing of a horse, an orchid, or in fact any related object"

December 22, 2021 8:24 AM

"Mother, if I see another insipid line drawing of the wonders of Twinklebed Falls, I don't know what will happen, but I know it will be disgraceful." "The Watercolors of Elfland" by Marissa Lingen (previously) is a gentle comedy-of-manners fantasy story involving a party with light refreshments, a botanical discovery, and just-out-of-frame Sidhe.

From "The Watercolors of Elfland":

Miss Ellen Tainfoot was a plump girl with a round, grave face, a determined chin, and solemn blue eyes. Had I seen her promenading in the park, I would have known her at once for a friend of Chessy's even without any introduction; she had that same forthright air that brooked no nonsense. As it was, I remembered her of old. "Miss Tainfoot," I said, giving her a very correct bow. "Francesca tells me that you have lately become interested in botany."

"Francesca pays no more attention to her bosom friends than one might expect of a goat," said Ellen, and immediately I decided that she was my favorite Tainfoot. "I have been doing camera lucida drawings of interesting foliage since we were girls. It is only that Chess cannot stir herself to attend to them."

"It's all the little labels," said Chessy, without the least hint of apology in her voice. "They make me want to go off and actually read something."

"Well, do that, then," said Ellen. "You know where the library is. I'll show your brother Alice's and my things."

"I like reading things, too," I said plaintively, but no one proposed to give me a pleasant evening in the library with whatever field guides Ellen had managed to collect. Chess darted away, and Ellen led me around to look at each painstaking drawing and filmy watercolor.

"I would have thought your work would take a more--naturalistic direction," I said. "With the camera lucida--"

"Oh, mine? None of this is mine. This section is Alice's. Alice, dear child, do come and meet Chessy's brother Lord Elias and tell him all about this lovely miniature of the--er--the dancers of Elfland, I suppose this is."

If she could get that out of the mess of color before me, more power to her. Her youngest sister was huge-eyed and dreamy, barely out of the schoolroom and not accustomed to talking to gentlemen, or so I gathered from her attempts at conversation.

"They danced," she said.

"One might rather hope they would," I said. "The dancers of Elfland on a break would be--actually, I would like to see that picture, if you think someone might--"

posted by brainwane (2 comments total)

a fanciful diversion
posted by ovvl at 4:37 PM on December 22, 2021

That was thoroughly delightful.

"My mother made a curious noise that in a less elegant person might well have been a snort. I expect that some ash from the fire got in her throat."

"After supper, Chess steered me into my rooms, which I suppose was what passed for the gentlemen leaving to smoke and have their brandy, although I felt no need to offer my sister either a cigar or a snifter."

Just wonderful.

I liked everyone in this, even the dottier sisters, even if Elias didn't.

Thank you so much for posting this, brainwane!
posted by kristi at 1:48 PM on December 23, 2021 [1 favorite]