-from Susan
I couldn’t resist answering the same question as last
week’s: Dinner party for eight, seven of them characters from crime fiction, me
the eighth?
I love planning dinner parties, hoping to spark good conversation
among people who may not think alike, but who think, and can talk, and are fun. Usually, there’s some constraint
on the ideal guest list: someone will be out of town; person A has a boring
partner who can kill conversations with a single syllable; person C doesn’t
drive at night any more. But for this – no bounds!
No killers at my party, sorry. They may be fascinating but
my guests have enough of crime in their daily fictional lives, and this is a
night off. Everyone speaks enough English to participate in the evening, but it’s
quite an international crew. Oh, and one more thing: I’d be tongue-tied with
awe and fangirl crushes, so I’m sending Dani O’Rourke, my smooth fundraiser and
witty observer, in my place. She moves in these social circles better than I
do.
Yes, yes, it’s one more than the suggested eight, but that’s
how my dinner parties usually work – too many delightful people so I squeeze
someone in, spoiling the symmetry but assuring a great evening. I’ll stay in
the kitchen, cooking and eavesdropping.
Archie Goodwin,
who can slide into any group and operate with charm while getting people to
tell him just about anything. Women love him. Ask him anything about New York
City.
Lady Victoria
Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, a.k.a. Georgie, a British royal with no money
but lots of class, perfect for Archie to flirt with. Get her to talk about the
Irish aristocracy if you want to see her blush.
Aimee Leduc,
whose baby will probably be asleep in my guest room along with Aimee’s little
dog, Miles Davis, and who gives off waves of Parisian glamor and can talk
European politics with expertise and verve.
Elouise Norton,
who will probably be wearing her gun even though she’s far away from her LA
comfort zone and who can get the women laughing at some male foolishness (to
which Archie will merely raise an eyebrow and smile).
Guido and Paola
Brunetti, because you shouldn’t even think about one half of this happily
married, multi-lingual, brainy couple without the other, even if it means you
can’t serve Italian food because Paola is the best home cook in Venice, maybe
anywhere.
Precious Ramotswe because
she will add the sugar and sweetness, offered in a lilting Botswana accent,
that makes her a great storyteller, and because she is always the guest people
fall in love with when they get to know her.
Rumpole just so
all that sweetness and charm is counter-balanced by a cynical, acid-laced view
of the world from an old Brit with a rumbling voice (and freed for the night
from She Who Must Be Obeyed).
Images courtesy of my friend Mark
Jordan,
whose table designs are famous among his many friends.
Guests courtesy of:
1.
Rex
Stout
2.
Rhys
Bowen
3.
Cara
Black
4.
Rachel
Howzell Hall
5.
Donna
Leon
6.
Alexander
McCall Smith
7.
John Mortimer
