The Grantchester Mysteries: Book Talk

[MissLucas]

Since I spent the hiatus between season one and two catching up with the books I thought a thread about the books would be a good idea. So there's no spoiling going on in the episode threads.

 

I've seen all of season 2 and think they deviated quite a bit from the books probably because the books rush through so much plot in relatively little time. Which was okay with me - but the direction they took with Sidney's love-life is annoying and I really hope we'll see some course-correction during season 3.

[M. Darcy]

Yeah, I've read all the books (except the newest one) and I don't understand why they (so far*) have dropped the marriage on the tv series.  

 

Note:  by so far, I just meant that during series 2 that we've seen in the US he isn't married - I have no idea if that will change in the rest of 2 or in series 3.  I don't want people to think I'm spoiling something.

Edited April 14, 2016 by M. Darcy

[MissLucas]

Well, I thought they might want to drag out that particular plot and that's the reason they keep bringing up the Amanda-Sidney drama. I thought the books took their dear time too - but at least the narrative of book 2 occasionally returned to what we're talking about here. That they completely dropped that sub-plot is annoying.

[magdalene]

Can we talk about book spoilers in here without spoiler bars?

[MissLucas]

I would assume yes. That seems to be the rule in forums with book talk otherwise we would have to create different threads for different books and AFAIK that isn't done in any of the forums for shows adapted from books (I checked for GoT and The Magicians).

 

In other words: all bets are off, let's talk about Mrs Maguire chucking Amanda into the village pond!

[statsgirl]

I'm wondering.... (and please answer with spoilers bars if necessary)

I haven't read any of the books but I heard that in them Sidney marries Hildegard. Is it true? And if so , why would the show decide to get rid of her?

[MissLucas]

Well, since it looks as if non-readers get lost in here and I did not add a spoiler warning to the the thread-title here goes - attention also mild spoilers for the rest of season 2

Sidney does marry Hildegard. But their courtship is not without any problems and it takes quite a while to get there. No idea why the show dropped all of this in season 2 - that's another Grantchester mystery

[photo fox]

Hi, all, I went ahead and added the "Spoilers" tag to the topic title.  Hopefully that will make the truly spoiler-free pause before they click.

 

As for what to use spoiler tags for in here, let's do this.  Anything from the books is fair game to post without spoiler tags.  The only thing I'd tag would be plot points from future episodes that aren't in the books.

 

So, for example, I know that in the books Sidney marries Hildegard.  So discussion of their marriage, disappointment that the show is going in a different direction, etc., could all be posted without tags.

 

Then let's say (for the sake of explanation) that in the season/series 2 finale that Geordie leaves Cathy and runs off with Amanda (which I'm assuming doesn't happen in the books! lol)  Since that's a plot point that would be a spoiler even to those who have read all of the stories, that would need to be spoiler tagged in here.

 

Let me know if you have questions!

[MissLucas]

Thanks for clearing the whole spoiler issue. And just to be clear: Mrs Maguire does not chuck Amanda into the village pond (alas).

[photo fox]

Dang, I was so hoping that was true.

[M. Darcy]

 

Geordie leaves Cathy and runs off with Amanda (which I'm assuming doesn't happen in the books! lol)

Hee, that made me laugh because that would be such a Little Mo thing to happen (Kacey Ainsworth will always be Little Mo to me).

Edited April 18, 2016 by M. Darcy

[MissLucas]

Dang, I was so hoping that was true.

 

Don't we all! To be fair Book-Amanda is nothing like Show-Amanda. I don't have vol. 1 at hand but here's how Amanda was introduced in vol. 2:

"Sidney had been immensely attracted to her when he was younger but, since his ordination, Amanda had stated that any romantic potential had evaporated with his decision 'to put God first' and he, in turn, had concentrated on her Roman nose and a snaggle tooth on the top right-hand side of her mouth in order to avoid infatuation."

 

Actually Book-Amanda is quite a cool character. She's a good friend (there are moments of regret but handled in a mature way) who even played a part in nudging Sidney towards Hildegard. She's also not a moping trophy wife but has her own career as a single art historian and a good friend to Sidney and Hildegard. In short: the show has completely butchered her character.

[magdalene]

The show would have done well to emulate the books more. Like it was said up-thread Amanda is a lovely character in the books. Eventually Sidney and Hildegard have a little girl together.  The one thing that really upset me in the books was that Dickens dies of old age - I had wanted that dog to live forever.

 

As to why they cut the Hildegard marriage from the show? Maybe they want to keep him single and "fancy free"?  Anyways, the direction they are taking the show in is ruining it for me.

[MissLucas]

Yes, I'm struggling with the show too. And it's not just Amanda's part in Sidney's life which is already a highly problematic deviation from the books. The books are clearly written in the genre of cozy mystery and I think season 1 respected that whereas season 2 thought it necessary to make the narrative grittier  - mind you there's enough grit in the books when it comes to the crimes but it gets counterbalanced by Sidney's private life (even prior to his marriage) while season 2 (no spoilers) turns even that into a dark grim character study which is more in line with Scandinavian crime fiction.

[statsgirl]

I was looking for background and was interested to learn that James Runcie, the author of the books, is the son of Robert Runcie, who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991.  So I guess he does know his Church stuff.

 

The more I hear about the books, the more I wish the TV series followed them more.

[HoodlumSheep]

The more I hear about the books, the more I wish the TV series followed them more.

This. I'm also very tempted to add them to my summer reading list, but I have other books already on backlog.

[dargosmydaddy]

 

The more I hear about the books, the more I wish the TV series followed them more.

 

In regards to Sydney's romances, yes. In general, however, I think the books have their own issues. There is a lot less development of characters other than Sydney, and even Sydney himself is somewhat... I don't know, boring? Which admittedly might be preferable to what we're getting of Sydney this season, but I liked season one-Sydney a lot more than I liked book-Sydney. The show just needs to dial back the angst.

[MissLucas]

I agree that book Sidney is a touch too calm and a bit of angsting as added in season one was a good idea but they've gone completely overboard with it in season 2. Not to mention what they did to Geordie. But to be fair: Show-Leonard is actually more interesting than book-Leonard.

Edited April 27, 2016 by MissLucas

[dargosmydaddy]

Did anyone read Sidney Chambers and the Dangers of Temptation (book 5)? I was rather bored by most of the stories, but rather liked the last one, which was Leonard-centric. 

Apparently book 6 will be out later this year.

[molshoop]

I picked up a copy of the first book at a rummage sale last week.  I was so excited to read it, but now I'm ready to give up on it.

I think the book is deadly dull.  Book Sydney is nice, but boring.  I love the show and wont try any more of the books.

I guess it depends on which one you came across first. 

[MissLucas]

I always thought that what comes first (show or books) is what you'll end up liking better. But now I've come across 'The Expanse' series, watched the first two seasons of the show then picked up the books and love them just as much.

Grantchester is a weird animal as I like certain aspects of the show better than the books - but then the show trampled allover my favorite part of the books: Sidney's love-story with Hildegard. I'm still not sure why they did that but maybe part of the problem is pacing. The books cover years which makes Sidney's involvement in criminal cases somewhat more realistic and allows for a slow-burn when it comes to romance. The show on the other hand can't afford to do that, every episode needs to deal with another crime and they can't extend the time-line to add months (or years) in between cases. The sedate pacing of Hildegard-Sidney did not fit the show's tempo hence we get the Amanda-Sidney drama. There's generally more dynamic in the show beyond that. Sidney's angst is never as pronounced in the books, everything is more dramatic in the show (i.e. the fight between Sidney and Geordie last season). I can understand why the books are not working if you've come to know the characters by the show first.

[teddysmom]

Quote

I picked up a copy of the first book at a rummage sale last week.  I was so excited to read it, but now I'm ready to give up on it.

I got a couple from the library when the show first came on PBS but I agree, BORING. 

The show is silly but fun. Grantchester is like the Cabot Cove of the UK.  

[dargosmydaddy]

Did anyone else read the latest book (Persistence of Love, I think?)? Yikes, that was grim...

[HoodlumSheep]

Started reading the first book: I'm almost 60 pages in and not a single whisper of amanda yet. I'm in heaven right now. Yet it also makes me even more bitter that we got stuck with...that *waves to everything amanda in the pbs adaptation* :(

sidney doesn't have red hair. That's the biggest shocker so far. And reading this first mystery; good to have hildegard back. I was (and still am) one of those who liked her in the first series of the show, so let's see how things go in the book.

[HoodlumSheep]

Update: finished mystery #1 of book one (so part 1? Chapter 1?). 

Can confirm there is literally no mention of amanda in the first mystery. I'm now questioning why we got what we got in the pbs series. Whhhyyyyyy?????

Sidney and hildegard are adorable, imo. Loved their bonding. Anyways, she even suggests that sidney come visit her in germany and you know he totally already likes her based on his being sad and unable to focus after she leaves. 

Some differences: Sidney overall seems more...quiet? Soft spoken? Just plain soft? compared to his show counterpart. Also, definitely has the church, churchy things on the mind much more than show! Sidney. 

I've noticed that the war ptsd aspect doesn't really seem to exist in the book (from what i've read so far). There's only been very minor mentions of the war usually asking what basically boils down to 'did you serve?'...'yes.' The ptsd storyline was something i actually really liked in the first season and was kinda sad to see go when sidney seemed to be fine from season 2+ (i mean good for him, but in terms of storylines i always wished it was explored just a bit more). 

Final thoughts: i find the series relatively enjoyable so far. I guess in terms of mysteries they're probably pretty basic, but as someone who normally doesn't read mysteries they're satisfactory enough.

Thinking about rewatching the first season as i read further along.

[HoodlumSheep]

Finished mystery #2: the one where amanda finally shows up and her engagement ring gets snatched

• Book! Amanda >>>> pbs! Amanda already
• Yes, sidney still has a thing for amanda but at least it doesn't consume his entire being like it does in the show, so while i'm not thrilled i can at least read about it without getting the urge to punch a wall
• Leonard makes his debut!
• You know all those discussions we've had in the episode threads about the 50s and society, etc. in terms of amanda rejecting guy, divorcing him and so and so forth??? Well guess what? Toss that all out the window because book! Amanda basically flips the bird on all of that by rejecting guy's proposal basically on the night it happened bc he acted like a total twat. Book amanda ain't got time to waste on him. And she's richer than him to boot in the first place. 
• Hildegard sent sidney a bday card :')

rewatched the very first episode of the series yesterday, too. Happier times.

Differences: None of the scenes w/ amanda should exist, dickens doesn't exist :'(, they changed to where sidney and geordie were basically meeting for the first time instead of already being drinking/backgammon buddies before the story starts, and they cut out a lot of the sidney/hildegard bonding/flirting. Obviously you can't fit all that into an hour of tv, but those are the biggest differences imo.

[HoodlumSheep]

Incoming ramble happening very late at night so sorry if this is a hot mess (you have the season 4 premiere to thank). Just some random thoughts after making it almost 2 books further in:

Halfway through the third book: sidney and hildegard are married!!! and happy!!! And the show robbed us of sidney and hildegard swimming across a river to escape the germany split!!!! Dickens exists now but is getting old!!!!! Leonard is leaving!!!! It's the 60s!!!!

Miffed that we were robbed of the germany plotline. The show stays much closer to home most of the time.

Anyways, sidney and amanda's whole thing was wrapped up nicely in the books and now they are a delightful pair of wonderful friends and sidney has his wonderful wife.

Finished the 'nude' mystery if that gives people a better idea of where i'm at in the books.

One thing that is interesting: I think the show begins to diverge from the books quite early on. Basically it starts diverging in episode 2. For some reason the creators like to add murder into some of the mysteries when that was not the cas.e The engagememt ring mystery never involved murder, the near-kevorkian case never technically involved murder (it was a very skirting-the-line issue) and boy did they change stuff around in that one, which is a shame bc i actually really liked it in the book). There have been other mysteries involving stolen paintings that i'm sure the show would have twisted to involve murder. It would have been nice to see more non-murder mysterie included in the show than like the two or whatever we got.

Sidney never slept with the jazz singer, obviously. 

I like how the kgb storyline carried over for more than one chapter/mystery. 

Geordie kinda pushes things with the reporter woman who has popped up a few times, but he doesn't cheat on his dear wife (as of yet?). So his character hasn't been destroyed yet like in the show.

weirdly enough, as much as the secondary/minor characters aren't really explored in the books i've enjoyed them more than most of the ones on the show, including their show counterparts. There's a better sense of community in the books.

No romance for leonard. Boy did they change that mystery around. They somehow turned a simple housefire mystery into an extremely depressing, soul sucking multi-episode murder/trial plotline. 

There's no jack yet either.

The one mystery involving a murder on stage of the theatre felt like a total ripoff of ms. marple. The minor character who got murdered had been involved in a previous mystery and i was kinda fond of him :'(

you also get a much better sense of time passing in the books. Where i'm at has been about an eight year jump. Sidney mentions civil rights and new fads and shifting culture of the younger crowd. Dickens is getting old :'(. Sidney and Hildegard's courting lasted an entirety of seven whole years. Geordie's oldest is mentioned to be a teeny-bopper. Whereas in the books i know time has passed but it honestly doesn't feel that long. I suppose bc the show has only been on for 4 years compared to the 8 years that pass in the books :P. The actors haven't aged all too much.

Edited July 15, 2019 by HoodlumSheep

[HoodlumSheep]

Finished book 3!!!

Rip dickens :'(

also bby anna :'). That was a nice way to end the book.

a good set of stories. Really enjoyed them. 

[dargosmydaddy]

Has anyone read Runcie's latest book, The Road to Grantchester? I read it from the library a couple months ago and really enjoyed it. It's a prequel that covers Sidney's war experience and decision to become a minister, and ends when he arrives at Grantchester. No mysteries whatsoever (though there is a bit that foreshadows his future as a crime solver), but a really interesting character study. As someone who has always liked the character side of Grantchester more than the mysteries, I liked it a lot.

However, in terms of continuity with the rest of the books-- yikes! Granted it has been awhile since I've read the mysteries, but just going off memory and a quick flip through of my copy of the first book, there were a lot of changes. In the books Amanda was always presented as a friend of Sidney's sister (i.e. it was either implied or outright said that's how they met), and while Amanda and Jen are still friends, Sidney is also best friends with Amanda's older brother Robert. I don't remember him having been mentioned in the books (I know in the TV series Amanda just had younger brothers), or the fact that he and Sidney served in the army together. Also the first book outright says Sidney didn't meet Amanda until after the war, while the prequel has them knowing each other since they were teenagers. The first book (and a series one episode) also has Sidney mention his experience having to mercy kill a fellow soldier, which doesn't happen in the prequel. Instead we have...

Spoiler

Sidney believing he may have been responsible for Robert's death in battle (that it may have been friendly fire that killed his friend), a secret he lives with for the majority of the book and finally tells Amanda about close to the end. It seems like a huge revelation to NEVER REFER TO AGAIN in the subsequent books. Obviously I know Runcie can't go back and rewrite the subsequent books, but it seemed like he had enough to work with in terms of the mercy killing without having to bring in this and throw continuity out the window. But whatever.

Anyhow, despite the inconsistencies I really enjoyed it, and it might be worth picking up for those of you that are missing Sidney and enjoyed the character driven/ effects of the war storylines from the first season of the show.

[HoodlumSheep]

Just starting book 6!

Thoughts:

• I've enjoyed malcolm (the curate after leonard) just as much as leornard tbh. 
• Sidney got a promotion and moved out of grantchester which was a surprise (why couldn't they have kind of taken that route instead of him running off to america? I mean, the season 3 finale did cover the whole church vs love thing in which he ultimately chose the church over amanda). I was worried that would mean we'd lose a lot of time with his friends but luckily they show up quite often.
• Gotta say while i appreciate the supporting cast getting fleshed out a bit more in the tv series, i'm actually more fond of the book versions. The reoccuring cast is a bit larger and a number of townspeople pop up more than once too which just make things seem more close knit somehow. I like malcolm and helena (the journalist) being part of the circle of friends. 
• I've especially enjoyed the stories that take place out of country (their trip to italy, germany again, etc.
• Sidney going to a pink floyd concert and the mention of sir ian mckellen made me giggle more than the 50s references, probably bc they're both still around so i'm a lot more familiar with them.
• A shame about amanda's short-lived marriage. I wish she would have never settled for him in the first place. Her former hubby was kinda a spineless chap. Her swearing off love and a career promotion seem to be working out well for her though, so i'm happy for her.
• Leonard's whole storyline was basically taken care of in one mystery. He got with the antiques dealer and quit the church!!!! Makes me wonder what the future holds for him in the show with how much he's been struggling with everything.
• Sidney's daughter is seven now and they just found a dead body in the woods while looking for flowers. Byron's also getting old now :(

so yeah, one more book to go. Might have to check into what @dargosmydaddy mentioned afterwards :)

Edited August 30, 2019 by HoodlumSheep

[HoodlumSheep]

*flips table*

I finished the series. Not happy. How could he kill off hildegard?

I feel like the author decided that the characters had it too good bc gosh:

• Amanda gets caught up in an art scam and loses her fortune, her dad dies (who had always been team sidneyxamanda, the complete opposite of what he was in the books)
• Cathy gets cancer
• Helena gets raped
• Mrs. M dies 
• Sidney's sis' son runs away
• Hildegard dies

Like i know some of these things kinda right themselves in the end so to speak (amanda gets rich again due to inheritence, sidney finds his nephew and he returns home to his fam, the surgery to remove cathy's cancer seems to be a success)...but still. Everyone had it rough this book.

Hildegard didn't deserve that 😢

and to end the book, sidney gets a job promotion offer and geordie shows up needing help with what potentially may be sidney's last case. 

well, i'm happy i read the series. I much prefer the overall plot and mysteries in the books compared to the show, though i do love the actors and actresses on the show.

Some of my favorite mysteries: the vicar murders, the mystery that took place during hildegard's first visit to grantchester (where hildegard's musical expertise got to shine), and all the out of town mysteries.

Edited September 12, 2019 by HoodlumSheep

[Mirabelle]

On 3/24/2017 at 6:37 PM, dargosmydaddy said:

Did anyone read Sidney Chambers and the Dangers of Temptation (book 5)? I was rather bored by most of the stories, but rather liked the last one, which was Leonard-centric. 

Apparently book 6 will be out later this year.

The very first paragraph of book 5 is hilarious:

Here's an excerpt (there are no spoilers):

Quote

Sidney Chambers was not in a happy frame of mind. This was due to persistent toothache, his imminent renunciation of alcohol for Lent and the fact that the recent television series All Gas and Gaiters had made fun at the expense of his beloved Church of England, concentrating, quite specifically, on a hapless and drunken archdeacon.

I think we all know how Runcie feels about the portrayal of Sidney in the later seasons. 

[magdalene]

I saw that season 7 has already been filming since July. Next season will take place during the summer of 1959.

https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a37156473/grantchester-season-7/

Edited November 22, 2021 by magdalene
Err, I meant to post this in the media thread, sorry. Disregard here.

[wanderingstar]

On 4/18/2016 at 8:11 PM, MissLucas said:

Actually Book-Amanda is quite a cool character. She's a good friend (there are moments of regret but handled in a mature way) who even played a part in nudging Sidney towards Hildegard. She's also not a moping trophy wife but has her own career as a single art historian and a good friend to Sidney and Hildegard. In short: the show has completely butchered her character.

I've been reading the books this summer while on medical leave, and I have to agree with this assessment. Book Amanda is a fun, insouciant woman with her own agency. It's disheartening to think about how the show flattened her character into a damsel in distress

Edited September 20 by wanderingstar