A really obscure ‘help me remember this book’

[TulipTuesday]

I had a dream last night that was about a book or story I definitely read when I was young. I haven’t thought about that story since I read it, but somehow my dream brain brought it back to me.

I’m not sure if it was a book of its own, or maybe a story/cartoon in a bigger reference book or even a bible story. I can only remember a bit of it so going to be near enough impossible. But MNers are great for this kind of thing 😄

All I can remember is a girl who ended up being a slave/imprisoned. It was possibly set in East Asia or maybe Egypt. The bit that I mostly remember is that she had a heavy wooden collar round her neck to stop her escaping. Then at the end she thought she was being executed but the ‘bad guy’ cut through the collar rather than chopping her head off.

Any ideas? It’s so weird that I dreamt about last night.

hopeful bump

Oooh! This is ringing (faint) bells. Was it definitely a book? As I can see the collar being cut in a story line you used to get in those Christmas annuals like Bunty/Judy etc.

I think this was a story in a Mandy annual circa 1982 or 3.

@SecretVictoria ooh as 2 of us are thinking it's from an Annual we might be correct 🙂

@Needmorelego I wish I could
do this full time. My memory for these sorts of things is much better than stuff I actually need!

That makes sense because I can’t remember a physical book just the story. Interesting.

I was born in 1980 so an 80s annual could have been it.

@SecretVictoria ha ha. Yes my brain is full of randomness.
@TulipTuesday I think I have the annual I am thinking of at home so I will look. I am slightly obsessed with these annuals and have over 200 of them but most are in the cupboard under my parents stairs. I have some at home though.

Blimey, if it was a Mandy annual then Mandy was a bit darker than I remember from the 70s!

@AngryGoblin oh those comics were complete combo of misery memoirs, horror and cruelty.
They were brilliant 😂

I will be waiting for an update!

Randomly I bought an old Mandy annual the other week which has this story in it. Does this look familiar?

I remember this story too! Not sure where from though (unhelpfully).

Blimey, kittens and puppies on the front and dark pirates and slavery within!

I remember one with a story about paintings where the eyes seemed to follow you around the room. The twist was that they were real people, imprisoned behind them. The girl who noticed was made to be one.

Stuff of nightmares.

And here's me thinking there was no way anybody would remember! 😲

Although I suppose the puppy is crying, which suggests all is not well!

I've got the annual this is in too

I remember a story in a Mandy annual (I think) that was about a girl who’s mother only let her look in a distorted mirror to make her think she was ugly. And the girl tried to put make up on using the mirror and of course it was all lopsided and messy so people laughed at her.
Dark!

These sound like something out of a Virginia Andrews book!

Flipping heck this is the mumsnet stuff I'm here for! Amazing that you've found it and so quickly. Was obviously a memorable story!

I.don't remember Mandy being that's dark 😮
now misty that was dark

That’s the one I was thinking of! I loved all those annuals. <off to check second hand shops>

I was remembering this as a film but I actually remember it too!!!! Really need to go looking for old annuals and comics, can’t have given them all away (crosses everything!)

This site is absolutely amazing for this sort of thing. I don't think I've ever known someone not come up with the answer, even if it's "I read a story once with a man in it. Can anyone tell me who the author was?"

@Merchdda that's the story I was thinking of .
@TulipTuesday .does this seem familiar? Have we solved the mystery?