Clik here to view.
Review: 70% Acrylic 30% Wool by Viola Di Grado
I eagerly seized a review copy of 70% Acrylic 30% Wool when it was offered by We Love This Book recently because it is, as far as I can remember, the only contemporary novel I've read that is set in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review: The Towers of Trebizond by Rose Macaulay
When The Towers of Trebizond was published in 1956 it was a critical and commercial success for Rose Macaulay, a well-connected author of over twenty novels, travel pieces and essays who appeared to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review: Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Lolly Willowes is deeply, wonderfully unconventional. It’s a heart-warming and enchanting tale about a woman who breaks free from her family and society’s expectations to run away, live in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review: The Mystery of Mrs Blencarrow by Mrs Oliphant
I picked up this pretty Persephone book in my subscription library recently as I am in a bit of an odd position with Margaret Oliphant's writing - I have read far, far more about this popular and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review: Bricks and Mortar by Helen Ashton
Bricks and Mortar is one of the less well-known Persephone titles but appealed to me because of it's unusual protagonist - Martin Lovell, a London-based architect. I've read a lot of non-fiction...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review: The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski
A gothic 1950s story of time-travelling via a malevolent piece of Victorian furniture, Laski focuses on two very different women, one sick in the 1950s and one dying in the 1860s... Continue reading →
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review: The Last Girlfriend on Earth by Simon Rich
Sometimes a well-written book has rather unpleasant messages at its heart, The Last Girlfriend on Earth by Simon Rich is one of those books. I wasn't sure whether to write about it here but a couple...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review: Becoming A Translator ed. by Douglas Robinson
I don't really want to be a translator. I seem to forget language as easily as I learn it so I suspect it would be an uphill struggle if I tried. :) One of the quirky threads that runs through my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review: The Road To Wigan Pier by George Orwell
Published in 1937, this was a rather controversial book of the month choice from the Left Book Club. Part I shares Orwell's findings from spending time in the mining slums of the north of England,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review: William – An Englishman by Cicely Hamilton
William - an Englishman was the very first reprinted work from Persephone Books and it's a booming shot across the bows of those who reprinted safer, 'fluffier' works. Originally published in 1919,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review: Bloody British History – Leeds by Richard Smyth
It's been a little while since I reviewed a Leeds related book on here but as some of you might know (and others will suspect) - an interest in local history does go hand-in-hand with my work as a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review: The Exiles Return by Elisabeth de Waal
If the name de Waal seems familiar to you, it might be because you've previously read or heard of Edmund de Waal's narrative non-fiction title, The Hare With The Amber Eyes. Edmund is Elisabeth's...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review: Stet by Diana Athill
Stet, sometimes published as Stet:An Editor's Life, is Diana Athill's fourth volume of memoir (she's published six in total) and the one specifically dealing with her career in the London publishing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review: Findings by Kathleen Jamie
I'm not sure what I expected from Jamie's writing. Much has been made of the fact that he's an award winning poet and teaches Creative Writing at university level but I think a truer influence on the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mini-Review: Island Wife by Judy Fairbairns
I had the chance to review this unusual tale of island life for WLTB recently. Here's my mini-review... Continue reading →
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review: In Your Garden by Vita Sackville-West
In 1946 the author, poet and biographer Vita Sackville-West was becoming rather famous for her other creative work - the gardens at her home, Sissinghurst Castle. She became a slightly reluctant but...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review: Walk The Blue Fields by Claire Keegan
I might have missed Irish Short Story Month in March with this post but I am very glad I didn't miss out on trying Claire Keegan's short stories. I don't know enough of McGahern's work to judge the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review: On Literature by W. Somerset Maugham
The public library system in Leeds has been heavily pruned in recent years but it has managed to retain one of my favourite resources: the section of the impressive city centre building that is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review: The Fortune of the Rougons by Emile Zola
The Fortune of the Rougons is the first book in Émile Zola's Les Rougon-Macquart series of novels, there are twenty in all. In the preface Zola said that this book should more scientifically be called...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Review: Queens of the Circulating Library ed. by Alan Walbank
The 'Queens of the Circulating Libraries' is a wonderful phrase used to group together the (actually rather diverse bunch) of female authors who dominated the lending libraries of Victorian Britain...
View Article
