Mary Anne's Past

[Kylie90210]

To quote Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls:

"You know something?" said Mary Anne. "I don't even know whether I was born early or late or on time. Dad hardly ever talks about stuff like that — you know, what I did when I was a baby. It's times like this when I wish I had a mother. I bet she'd talk about those things."

I think now we know why Were they any of parts of the early books that contradicted or went along with MA staying with her Grandparents?

[virgoscorpio]

One thing that I thought was interesting was how Mary Anne doesn't have a middle name. Most of the BSC members, however, have middle names (and we're told what they are).

I know not every single person has a middle name but, growing up, I always thought this was interesting.

[candykane]

Maybe Anne was technically her middle name?

[Kylie90210]

Hmm I always thought Mary Anne was her first name, but I never realised she didn't have a middle name! My Dad doesn't, but everyone else I know does.

[zoar3]

I always thought Mary Anne was her name period, sort of like David Michael. For some reason MA always being MA never really bothered me, David Michael always being DM did. I wished just once DM was called David or Dave or Davy (I know Emily called him Davy once). Wouldn't DM get tiring after awhile? Too formal.

[sparklymouse]

I finally read Mary Anne's portrait recently. It never said how her mother died. Someone in that thread said cancer, and I vaguely remember that being true. Was it ever discussed how it was likely that Alma had become sick while she was pregnant? It’s pretty extreme to go from diagnosis to death in roughly six months. She probably found out and opted out of early treatments so that she could carry Mary Anne to term. Poor Mary Anne if she had that guilt hanging over her head.

[wenonah4th]

Remember, the first books having been published in 1986 means that the girls were born in 1974. Medicine has come a LONG way sicnce then! We can't really guess at what would have happened in 1974.

[cnj]

Dec 11, 2012 21:11:26 GMT -5 sparklymouse said:

I finally read Mary Anne's portrait recently. It never said how her mother died. Someone in that thread said cancer, and I vaguely remember that being true. Was it ever discussed how it was likely that Alma had become sick while she was pregnant? It’s pretty extreme to go from diagnosis to death in roughly six months. She probably found out and opted out of early treatments so that she could carry Mary Anne to term. Poor Mary Anne if she had that guilt hanging over her head.

No, Alma became ill after Mary Anne was born, so no, Mary Anne would have nothing to feel "guilty" about.

Mary Anne was nine months old when her mum died of ovarian cancer, not six.

Ovarian cancer back then had a very poor prognosis and most women back then died within a few months.

Mary Anne's birth did not "cause" Alma's premature death.

Somehow, I think of the BSC girls as born in 1983, not the 1970s.

I think of the BSC girls as 1990s teens, not 1980s teens.

[CharlotteTJohanssen]

Apr 14, 2021 2:53:49 GMT -5 cnj said:

Dec 11, 2012 21:11:26 GMT -5 sparklymouse said:

I finally read Mary Anne's portrait recently. It never said how her mother died. Someone in that thread said cancer, and I vaguely remember that being true. Was it ever discussed how it was likely that Alma had become sick while she was pregnant? It’s pretty extreme to go from diagnosis to death in roughly six months. She probably found out and opted out of early treatments so that she could carry Mary Anne to term. Poor Mary Anne if she had that guilt hanging over her head.

No, Alma became ill after Mary Anne was born, so no, Mary Anne would have nothing to feel "guilty" about.

Mary Anne was nine months old when her mum died of ovarian cancer, not six.

Ovarian cancer back then had a very poor prognosis and most women back then died within a few months.

Mary Anne's birth did not "cause" Alma's premature death.

Somehow, I think of the BSC girls as born in 1983, not the 1970s.

I think of the BSC girls as 1990s teens, not 1980s teens.

Ovarian cancer? It said she died of leukemia in one of the books. 

[booboobrewer]

Somehow, I think of the BSC girls as born in 1983, not the 1970s.

Well, the first book came out in 1986. They weren’t babysitting themselves 😂

[cnj]

Apr 14, 2021 22:53:35 GMT -5 booboobrewer said:

Somehow, I think of the BSC girls as born in 1983, not the 1970s.

Well, the first book came out in 1986. They weren’t babysitting themselves 😂

True. 😁😁😁 But most of this long series was written in the 1990s...I still think of the girls as teens from the 1990s.

That's my timeline for them anyway...I have them as adults today in their late thirties by 2021.