Book news, reviews and recommendations
This is the latest in a series of occasional posts featuring books I read years ago about which I was wildly enthusiastic at the time, wanting to press a copy in as many hands as I could. Victoria Glendinning is best known for her literary biographies of such luminaries as Rebecca West, Vita Sackville-West and […]
Blasts from the Past: Electricity by Victoria Glendinning (1995) Read More »
This is the latest in a series of occasional posts featuring books I read years ago about which I was wildly enthusiastic at the time, wanting to press a copy in as many hands as I could. I might well not have read Michel Faber’s The Crimson Petal and the White which weighs in at
Blasts from the Past: The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber (2002) Read More »
Andrew Miller occasionally sets his books in the present but excels at historical fiction whether that be the eighteenth century of my favourite Ingenious Pain or 1962/3, when Britain was in the grips of a brutal cold snap, in his new novel. The Land in Winter follows two very different couples, incomers to the Somerset
The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller: A distinctly chilly tale Read More »
I was thrilled when I spotted a new Lissa Evans on social media, knowing that not only would I be in for a treat but that it would be a cheery one. I wondered if Small Bomb at Dimperley might follow the characters I’d become so fond of in V for Victory and Old Baggage
This is an unusual one for me as it’s been published for a few months now, but I enjoyed Douglas Bruton’s With or Without Angels so much that I was more than happy to accept his offer of a review copy. Hope Never Knew Horizon weaves together three reimagined stories: the exhibiting of the Wexford
Hope Never Knew Horizon by Douglas Bruton: ‘Just breathe’ Read More »
It’s been well over three years since The Mission House was published, perhaps an indication of the care and attention paid in writing Carys Davies’ latest brief, vivid novella. Clear is set in 1843 against the backdrop of two massive upheavals in Scottish history: the continuing, brutal clearance of its estates by voraciously greedy landlords
Clear by Carys Davies: A love story Read More »
Jill Dawson incorporates historical figures and events into much of her fiction, often giving them a slightly subversive spin. Her last novel, The Language of Birds, explored the Lord Lucan case from the perspective of the nanny he murdered, neatly redressing the balance of the aristocracy-obsessed media’s coverage which seemed to have forgotten there was
The Bewitching by Jill Dawson: ‘Is there any reason you should not be hanged?’ Read More »
I wasn’t at all sure I’d read Michael Arditti’s The Young Pretender but when I tweeted its arrival several people including Linda Grant and Amanda Craig sang its praises to the skies which persuaded me to give it a try and I’m glad they did. Subtitled ‘The Dramatic Return of Master Betty’, Arditti’s novella is
The Young Pretender by Michael Arditti: ‘I shall surely die if I may not be a player’ Read More »
Despite the many protestations on this blog that I’m not an historical novel fan, I usually read at least one a year that hits the spot for me, often in autumn or winter. Last year’s was Lucy Jago’s A Net for Small Fishes. This year’s looked set to be Susan Stokes-Chapman’s Pandora. Set in Georgian
Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman: Opening the box Read More »
The seventeenth century isn’t my usual literary stomping ground but two things attracted me to Lucy Jago’s first novel: the theme of female friendship and a glowing puff from Andrew Miller whose own historical fiction I love. Beginning in 1609, A Net for Small Fishes explores the intimate bond between Frances Howard, the daughter of
A Net for Small Fishes by Lucy Jago: Love knows no bounds Read More »
I owe a debt of gratitude to Ali at Heavenali whose review of Lissa Evans’ Old Baggage persuaded me to read it after being put off by its blurb. I loved it so much it ended up on both my 2018 books of the year list and my 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction wishlist. You
V for Victory by Lissa Evans: Pure joy Read More »