RIP Diana Wynne Jones
Thank you so much for the stories. Thank you in particular for Fire & Hemlock, which is one of those books that have become deeply ingrained in the person that I am. Thank you for creating such memorable and human heroes and heroines, and for giving me the opportunity to spend time with them. Thank you for always respecting the intelligence of your readers, regardless of their age. Thank you for being a constant reminder than in children’s literature as anywhere else, fun and complexity can joyfully walk hand in hand. Thank you for creating stories I always felt I could come home to – they were often dark, but never despairing; warm and welcoming without being naïve. Thank you most of all for the kindness, wisdom, humour, heart and deep intelligence that permeated your books. They made the world a better place.
You will be very, very missed.
You will be very, very missed.
I'm in tears right now over the loss of such an amazing writer. She's brought such joy and variety to my reading life and she will be sorely missed.
ReplyDeleteI keep semi-hoping this isn't really true. I don't know if I've ever specifically said Diana Wynne Jones was my favorite author, but I can't think of any author whose books I love more, and more consistently. I thought she was doing better. I wanted to meet her someday. :(
ReplyDeleteI discovered Diana Wynne-Jones last year, thanks to you, Nymeth. Thank you for that and thank you for this heartfelt post. I will be reading Fire & Hemlock for OUAT V.
ReplyDeleteWhat? No! I just discovered her (thanks in part to you!). This is so sad.
ReplyDeleteI was just pulling my Once Upon a Time book-pool together earlier and came across my stack of Chrestomanci books I picked up last year. :( Such sad news.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad when an author you love passes away. I've been meaning to read her books since I saw Howl's Moving Castle and also your post. I'm just sad that I couldn't do so while she was still here.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written, and so very true, all of it. I was so saddened to learn of her passing today. She will be missed.
ReplyDeleteReading this new this morning made me so very sad. She was a wonderful author, for all of the reasons you've mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry. She was a gifted writer, and one of the CS's faves. The mark she has left on children's literature--and fantasy in general--is indelible.
ReplyDeleteI'm shocked by this. For some reason one expects creative giants like Diana Wynne Jones to go on forever, especially if they were a part of one's childhood.
ReplyDeleteI was so very sad to see your tweet when I got up this morning.
ReplyDeleteDiana Wynne Jones has been a part of my reading for almost as long as I can remember. My very first of her books was either "Dogsbody" or "Eight Days of Luke". I can't remember which all these years later, but I know it was one of the two.
I saw "Enchanted Glass" in the store when it came out and bought it on the spot. It was a lovely book and reminded me all over again how much I loved Ms Jones' writing.
It inspired me to track her down on the net (so to speak) where I found her fan website with the news that she was ill, but offering the opportunity to send her a message.
I did so, simply saying how much I have always loved her books through many years. Looking back now, I'm so glad I did. I don't know if she ever read my note or if it made any impact, but I'm glad I took the time.
It is a sad thing to think there will be no more books. But on the bright side, she wrote so many that there are still ones I haven't read.
I'll be reading at least one of her books in memory in the next couple of weeks.
I'm so sad about this. :( I've only been a fan for a few months now, but she's given me so much joy in that short time. I think I'll be reading many of her books over the next little while.
ReplyDeleteOh Ana, I am so very sorry. My heart breaks for her family and friends and all of her devoted fans, of course. But it really breaks for you, because I know how very, very much she means to you. *many hugs*
ReplyDeleteIt was my mum's birthday today - only really managed to check the online world in the evening and I found about this. :(
ReplyDeleteI am so sad. I am glad she is no longer suffering. I felt saddest I think last year when she came of chemo because I knew it was very bad then.
She's the best of authors. :(
Diana Wynne Jones, your stories will always have a special place in my heart. You have shaped the landscape of my imagination countless times.
ReplyDeleteVery sad news. Charmed Life is one of my favourites.
ReplyDeleteThank you for dropping by to mourn along with me, everyone. It's comforting to see how many passionate fans she has. I hope that has time passes, people continue to discover her books and to fall in love with her characters and worlds like so many of us have.
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful tribute. The only Diana Wynne Jones I've read is Howl's Moving Castle, and I loved it. I hope to read more of her work in the future, and I think it's so sad that she's gone.
ReplyDelete:(
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about this until right now. We were out all day yesterday, so I am just catching up on things now. I actually saw it on your Once Upon a Time post, and I had to read it twice because it surprised me... Fire & Hemlock was so great. We really should reread it this year. We were going to at some point and I never did, did you wind up doing so?
ReplyDelete:( about sums it up. I'm hoping that what usually happens with an author passes - there's a renewal of interest in their work - will also happen in her case. Her books deserve more readers.
ReplyDeleteKelly, I never got around to re-reading it either! We should definitely do it this year. My copy is back home, but I can bring it over in the summer.
wonderful words Ana. I read Fire and Hemlock because of you and it was one of the most complex and subtle and engaging story I can remember reading. I am looking forward to discovering more of her work in the future.
ReplyDeleteI was so sad to hear this news. I am glad DWJ was able to live such a full life and enrich so many of our lives. I also am glad I still have so many more of her books to read now- it's nice, in a way, that a beloved author never really passes out of our collective consciousness.
ReplyDeleteI still have some by her that I haven't yet read. But yes, it's always sad when an author dies, because you know there will be no more. With DWJ there will be no more even remotely like that, I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this wonderful post, Ana. Diana's books touched me and changed me as a reader and as a person, and you expressed exactly what I feel about them. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAnd Fire & Hemlock is one of those books that I'll never stop rereading. (Though my favourite of hers is Archer's Goon.)
I am still in shock, I only saw the news from yours and Memory's posts. I knew she was ill, but that she's gone - this is very sad, she is a real loss to the fantasy world. Thank you for writing about what her writing did for you, that's the highest gift you can give to an author. I wish we could all give each other a hug right now.
ReplyDeleteI've never read Diana Wynne Jones's books, but I know that I need to. I know the reading community has lost a beloved author.
ReplyDeleteI've been off the computer all day and just saw this--what sad news, although not a complete shock since I had heard she was ill. So sorry to hear it, though, and so touched by everyone's heartfelt comments.
ReplyDeleteI've read more than twenty of her books--and they have been such gifts.
The death of authors always get to me :(
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post this weekend I went to several news sites and found nothing about DWJ. Isn't it strange? She's so "big" the the book blog and reading communities in general that it's strange that BBC doesn't even mention it.
Oh, beautifully said. I just keep thinking about how, through all the different worlds she created, her characters had a connected inate strength of will and (often) of ethics. No author's work has meant more to me.
ReplyDeleteOh God! I didn't know this! Very sad!
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