That Silly Little Dumbbell
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| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | That Silly Little Dumbbell |
| Author(s): | queen_ypolita |
| Date(s): | 25 April 2013 |
| Length: | 2028 words |
| Genre: | backstory |
| Fandom: | Mary Renault |
| External Links: | That Silly Little Dumbbell (AO3) |
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That Silly Little Dumbbell is a short story by queen_ypolita based on Mary Renault's 1953 novel The Charioteer. It provides backstory for Nurse Adrian before she goes to the E.M.S. hospital, covering the period when she is training as a nurse.
For the story, the author gives Nurse Adrian a first name, Edith, and provides her with parents, Edward and Sylvia, as well as referencing her canonical brother Bill and his wife Vera.
Background
"That Silly Little Dumbbell" was written for the Rarewomen ficathon in 2013, with the reveal on 6 May. The story was beta'd by trueriver, who also suggested the title. In a prefatory note, the author says:
This story attempts to go against the grain of the many assumptions that Laurie makes about Nurse Adrian and to give her a past. To some extent, this idea owes something to the recent discussions at Naraht's journal about The Charioteer.
Comments
Comments on the story include the following:
- "This is Nurse Adrian with a difference!"—comment by fawatson
- "A very interesting take on Nurse Adrian, and I love very much that she had started training in the pre-war years, and came to it with some experience behind her."—comment by toujours_nigel
- "Entirely consistent with canon but opening up a vista much wider than the one which Laurie saw."—comment by naraht
- "This is a marvellous backstory for Nurse Adrian, certainly. We are so inclined to take Laurie's interpretations as gospel, even though—by now!—we should certainly know better.—comment by greerwatson