redbreastedbird

[redbreastedbird]

hi, i've read your main mmu series over and over again and i have a question

what is lavinias race? i know since she was born and raised in england and no characters have ever commented on her looking 'different', like they do with hazel or george, she is probably white. still i am unsure

sorry if this is a silly question and thankyou for taking the time to read it :)))

NOT a silly question and in fact one that I’ve thought about a lot. I think she is white passing, but she has ancestors who were not white. (I’m saying this with the caveat that whiteness is a real moveable feast and the definition of whiteness changes depending on where and when in the world you are - this is a topic that entire books have been written on, I’m not going to really go into it here but it’s always worth thinking about and knowing).

My personal headcanon (I’ve never put it into the books so it is just my vague idea) is that some Temples were Jewish and originally from Eastern Europe, but I can also imagine that perhaps her great grandparent was Black or Indian? I’d be very happy with a casting that made her more visibly mixed race to our modern eyes, and then a script that made at least passing note of that.

#murder most unladylike #lavinia temple

[redbreastedbird]

Glorious!!

i’ve been getting back into mmu lately cuz i’m relistening to thr audiobooks my daaays i forgot how much i love asom like it’s easily my favourite😭😭🙏🙏

#murder most unladylike #a spoonful of murder #hazel wong

[redbreastedbird]

if there was a movie or a tv show - would you look for accurate casting based on looks?

Yes, I think so! I mean, I’d want to see people cast who had similar heritage and body type to my characters. It’s really important to me that the actor who plays Hazel’s background is Hong Kong Chinese, for example. But I don’t have a particularly vivid idea of each character’s facial features beyond what I’ve described in the books, so I’d be happy for a broad range of people to audition.

#robin stevens #murder most unladylike

[redbreastedbird]

Oh. Uh. Still Lavinia.

hi robin! out of all of your characters, who do you think has broken the most bones? thanks!!

Probably Lavinia? I’d say May but I think she was more carefully watched in her young childhood than Lavinia was! I’m sure Daisy has broken a few bones but not as many as Lavinia.

#murder most unladylike #lavinia temple

[redbreastedbird]

hi robin! out of all of your characters, who do you think has broken the most bones? thanks!!

Probably Lavinia? I’d say May but I think she was more carefully watched in her young childhood than Lavinia was! I’m sure Daisy has broken a few bones but not as many as Lavinia.

#murder most unladylike #ministry of unladylike activity #lavinia temple #daisy wells #May Wong

[redbreastedbird]

hi - this is a question i’ve had for a while regarding george.

is he mixed asian and white or is he fully asian? i was wondering this because every time he is described being Indian, it is always his dad mentioned and never his mum.

thank you for answering 🫶🫶

Hello! I’ve actually answered this before but I’m happy to answer it again. In my head his mum is most likely white, so he is mixed. But I never mention his mum in the books, so technically you can imagine him as fully Indian - and if we were casting the screen adaptation I’d tell the casting people to look for both Indian and mixed race Indian and white Georges.

#murder most unladylike #ministry of unladylike activity #george mukherjee

[redbreastedbird]

Hi I love you books

I was just wondering if Kitty will appear in the next MUA book? Thank you so much for your time!

She will!

#ministry 3 #kitty freebody #ministry of unladylike activity

[redbreastedbird]

GREENLIGHT. GATEKEEP. GHOSTHUNT.

The sequel to fantasy mystery The Undetectables (about three witches and a ghost in a cat costume who start a PI agency to stop a serial killer stalking their small magical town) lands this September and it’s 25% off in the Barnes and Noble preorder sale with code PREORDER25 from today until April 19th!

Here’s the official blurb:

Five months after the events of The Undetectables, business is booming – but finding cases that call for magical forensic investigators is not. So when Diana’s ex, Taylor, asks them to solve a murder – her own – Diana, Mallory and Cornelia can’t say no.

Called to investigate the set of Undead Complex, Diana re-enters the world of TV-show prop making – even in death, the show must go on. Even the appearance of a genuine-article Francine Leon dollhouse can't make up for the fact she's being pulled down a path of crime-solving she maybe doesn't want to walk forever.

Meanwhile, Theodore's coming apart at the seams – literally – in the aftermath of their last case, and Mallory is running out of ways to help him. Especially as he seems to be keeping secrets from her.

As the clues – and the bodies – keep piling up, each one making less and less sense, The Undetectables find themselves in a new race against the clock to find out what, exactly, the killer is up to – before they strike again...

Get your copy HERE

#the undetectables #I loved the first book - excited for this!

[redbreastedbird]

Would Daisy want kids with Amina?

Two answers to this, both kind of the same, and then one more version that’s a bit different!

The first is no, purely because of when the stories are set. Daisy doesn’t know it’s possible to want that kind of life for herself as a lesbian - even the idea of remaining with someone romantically throughout her life is almost unthinkable because there were just no rights for queer women in the 1940s. Lesbianism wasn’t criminalised in the UK, but it was just a legal black hole. Queer women legally did not exist. (Sorry, a downer to start on).

The second is still no, but that’s more because of who Daisy is. Even imagining her in 2024 I can’t see her wanting biological kids, or being interested in pursuing formal adoption. I don’t think she’s very maternal - she’s got a lot going on with her life and she’s very contented, and kids just don’t come into that.

BUT, with all that said … I think that she will probably end up caring for children in her lifetime. She has examples of people who are not her parents who have parented her better than her biological parents ever could - Uncle Felix and Aunt Lucy, the Chief Inspector, even Bertie in a way - and I think she’d naturally bring that energy to her relationships with younger generations. I can imagine her taking in a queer kid who needs help, or becoming the parental figure for her niece Tess - she will parent, in her own way, and she will have people who think of her as their mentor. She just won’t give birth to anyone!

#robin stevens #murder most unladylike #ministry of unladylike activity #daisy wells #queer history

[redbreastedbird]

Today is Daisy Wells’s birthday AND Neil Banging Out the Tunes day. An auspicious day!

#daisy wells #neil banging out the tunes #wait I’m also hearing that there is a homestuck thing going on? #what a day eh

[redbreastedbird]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAISY WELLS! I think you'll be 103. I imagine you'll insist on 103 candles too.

(Here are some closer pictures because some of its hard to see).

Some of the drawings are from specific books, a couple could be any book and there's a few modern! Daisy's as well :)

@redbreastedbird

#happy birthday Daisy wells!!!! 103 today!!! #murder most unladylike #daisy wells

[redbreastedbird]

Just wanted to let you know that the in memoriam by alice winn propaganda has worked on me and I've just bought it. How much should I be expecting to cry

YES!!!! Be prepared for every single emotion, and one particularly terrible moment where you scream and throw the book on the floor.

(Also, and this is a real warning, do be prepared for some of the most distressing injury descriptions you’ll ever read. It’s WW1 and … she used real sources, and it shows.)

But it’s a phenomenal, wonderful love story, and I laughed an unexpected amount, and I hope you love it.

#in memoriam #alice winn

[redbreastedbird]

Hi!

Just wanted to say that I really love how much you love your books - you're their biggest fan and it shows :D

I know of some authors who are rather disconnected from what they write but when you do, it feels (to me at least, as a reader!) like you pull your heart and soul into it. I couldn't wait to go to the library and see if a new book had come out as a kid, and I just felt like they were funny, and true, and I related to them in a particular manner (in hindsight, it's the queerness and the autism), and just generally so well-written they always surprised me.

I remember moving to Hong Kong from London and, within my first year of living there, seeing (and reading) A Spoonful of Murder - and for the first time I was reading a book that represented some of my life experiences. I saw myself in several of the characters and I remember BEAMING when I read ASOM because I thought holy shit that's me*. And to a 10-year-old at the time, that feeling meant a lot.

Also, your portrayal of queerness was probably one of the first I saw in a book that I could recognise, and I'm only now realising that that did pave the way to me now identifying as genderfluid and aroace. Even though (to be honest) I haven't read MMU in years, I still remember it and think of it fondly, because of what it meant to me - I was the new, foreign girl in the school when I first encountered Hazel; I was discovering Hong Kong with Daisy; and, though I didn't know it at the time, I was also queer and autistic.

So thank you, thank you, thank you for writing these books. It's clear that you love them so much and that in return makes me love them even more because I feel happy that the author loves them and answers questions about them and in a way is LIKE ME!

I remember writing my first piece of fanfiction (though I didn't know what it was back then) in class when I was bored and kept thinking of MMU. I've lost the paper now, but that was the first moment that would eventually lead me to fandom and becoming who I am today.

So thank you. ❤️

(Also, I do think your books also helped, though more subtly, with me going to university to do English!)

*in a slightly more polite way considering I didn't swear back then, but the sentiment remains the same

One of the greatest privileges of being an author is being able to discover who you really are by looking at the people who find themselves in your books.

I love my books, and you love my books, and here we are, loving these books together and realising that we are exactly the same kind of person. It’s like the pointing spider-men meme, but better.

I am so very proud, as a person who is slightly further along in life than you, to have been able to help guide you forwards with the stories I wrote. That’s just amazing, and it’s amazing to know what you’ve done as a result. Look at you! You’re wonderful! I couldn’t be prouder.

#robin stevens #murder most unladylike #asks that made me cry a bit

[redbreastedbird]

for a mmu fandom tiktok post, what are lavinia, beanie, and kitty's sexualities? I'm pretty sure i saw somebody saying one the kitty is straight and beanie is ace, but I've got no clue about lavinia 😭😭 can you confirm please? 😭

Yes, I personally see Kitty as straight and Beanie as ace. I think Lavinia is bi, probably!

So that’s what’s going on in my brain - but for sure, since I’ve never put any of this in my books, you can headcanon them however you want! If it’s not in the books, anything I say isn’t much more valid than anything you come up with.

#robin stevens #murder most unladylike #ministry of unladylike activity #kitty freebody #beanie martineau #lavinia temple

[redbreastedbird]

wondering why Amina fell in love with Daisy and kissed her, when she's muslim? or at least, her family is, isn't that right? and if she was, in Islam it is forbidden to kiss anyone before marriage (if at all, i think) and another girl at that?

I am getting a really surprising number of asks about this lately! The very simple answer is that I know queer Muslims, and Amina’s character is based on those people. Some of those people are practicing Muslims, and some are not, just as I know some queer Christians who actively practice and some who do not.

Religion is so immensely personal to people, and I don’t like being prescriptive about faith, so I’m wary about blanket statements about any religious group. But what I will say is that people are always people, no matter what laws or customs are in place. Even if a country or a group has outlawed queer relationships in a particular time or place, there will always be people who experience queerness. The only difference is how open they can be about those experiences. So I am comfortable with writing about people from all religious backgrounds experiencing queerness, at any point in history.

I always check with queer people from those backgrounds to make sure I’m writing about that particular experience in a way that resonates with them - I did this for Amina’s storyline with Daisy - but the fact of her queerness is not something I would change, or something that I think is incorrect or anachronistic. Of course you are entirely welcome to feel unhappy or uncomfortable with my choice - that’s your right! We all see the world differently, that’s part of being alive.

#amina el-maghrabi #death sets sail #murder most unladylike #queer

[redbreastedbird]

Just to be clear, George is bi! This is a fact about him whether he’s with Lavinia or Ralph or anyone else!

regarding Lavinia and George,,, I think it was apparent that a lot of the fandom disliked the ship when it was initially introduced in DSS, (I personally was not one of those people, I loved the ship, even if they're broken up I still think they have a compelling dynamic) why do you think so many people didn't ship it?

++ will Lavinia appear in the MUA series and will she interact with the main trio??

your books have literally been my special interest for years now!!

This is SO interesting, I did not know this (I don’t tend to go looking at fandom stuff unless people bring it to me - I think it’s nice for you all to be creating without looking over your shoulders wondering if I approve).

I think George and Lavinia are a really left-field ship for sure - but I remember realising that they’d never met and then imagining them interacting and I just knew they’d both be delighted by each other. They’re both so angry - George is furious about the world order, and Lavinia’s just FURIOUS, and I thought they would just vibe immediately. Plus, they’re both ADHD - George is AuDHD and Lavinia is ADHD - and I think there’s a neurodivergent click that happens particularly when two (complimentary) ADHD people are in the same room.

So that’s my reason for the ship! As to why people maybe didn’t like it - I think it might be because of what shipping is, compared to what human relationships are. Shipping in fandom usually is a for-life situation - you ship a couple because you think they should end up together. And I don’t think that’s George and Lavinia! I imagine their relationship as brief and tempestuous and enjoyable, but not at all for life. They both really like and love each other but they don’t particularly want to be romantically together by the time Ministry rolls around.

(I won’t spoil it in case you haven’t read BITB, but they both appear in that book, and I hope I show that they’re both happy with their lives and still in touch!)

#george mukherjee #bisexual

[redbreastedbird]

I was re-reading AFT the other day and I wondered, when did everyone in the house realise Lord Hastings' mind was going?

I don't think Daisy knows in that book, and mostly likely Bertie as well, but it's interesting to think about the others (especially in case he hasn't been diagnosed with dementia yet) and also about when Daisy and Bertie would have realised.

This ask gave me a real jump, because I don’t know that I realised I put dementia in AFT!

My father had dementia - he first showed symptoms when I was about 18, although he wasn’t diagnosed until I was in my late 20s. He’s who Lord Hastings is based on, and when I was writing the book he was already quite ill. But I didn’t consciously give Lord Hastings dementia! You must be right that he is showing symptoms, though, because that was what a father was to me at the time.

It’s funny how things like this will happen to writers - we’ll put something in that we think is neutral, and separate to ourselves, and then only years later notice how personal it really was.

#robin stevens #arsenic for tea #Lord Hastings #tw dementia #dementia