We come now to the third part of my recent interview with Mark `The Silent Thunder Caper` Hodder.
Parts One and Two were posted on this blog on 8 and 15 October of this year and are still to be found lurking there.
We turn now to my third and most predicable question ;
Q) Who are your favourite characters from the Blake tales and why ?
A) I`ve always had a soft spot for George Marsden Plummer , simply because his early tales, by the mysterious Michael Storm*, are exceedingly well-written, and also because I think it`s a great idea : a high-ranking Police detective who uses his knowledge of the criminal underworld to his own advantage. That was ahead of its` time for sure. I like the psychology of Plummer. He believes he deserves better by virtue of his family connections to aristocracy , and thinks his less lordly status is an unfortunate quirk of fate that flies in the face of what`s `right`. I really connect with that , as my mother had the same attitude, though she never became a super-villain.
Zenith, of course, is right there at the top of the league. Anyone who`s read Zenith loves Zenith. He has an otherworldliness that really appeals. In some respects he`s an interesting counterpoint to Plummer in that he has the aristocratic position but considers it worthless.
This question of the value of the aristocracy and the difference (if any) between an aristocrat and a commoner was integral to the zeitgeist of the inter-war years and has always fascinated me. It`s even become a theme of my own `Burton and Swinburne` series. Perhaps it`s why I chose to revive The Three Musketeers**. Three common criminals hiding behind a facade of `Hooray Henrys` ..that`s got to be fun ! A trio of psychopathic Bertie Woosters !
That concludes part three of my Mark Hodder interview, watch this space for more from me and him !
In the meantime you can keep up to date with this literary lad by visiting these sites ;
http://obversebooks.co.uk and www.mark-hodder.com .
* For more on Michael Storm ; http://bearalley.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/michael-storm.html
** Not the Dumas characters, but three villains from Sextons` illustrious past ;
http://www.mark-hodder.com/Blakiana/musketeers .
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