Random Jottings

Random in Norfolk - finding the bookshops

Wherever I go I like to track down a bookshop. Not a Waterstone or a Smith but a secondhand bookshop. Much though I love new books wandering into a shop where they have the latest paperbacks and three for two offers is pretty boring. Why? Because you know what you are going to get and there are no surprises. With tatty, crowded, tiny little haunts there is always the chance you will find a treasure, not in monetary terms (the bookseller will already have spotted those), but a treasure that you have even seeking for some time.

Years ago before Persephone started to publish Dorothy Whipple and thank goodness they have done the lot, I was in a junk shop in Penzance. And boy was it junk! I honed in on a smalll bookcase in the corner crammed with books that were really falling apart. And in the corner I found a book called The Priory by an author I had never heard of, Dorothy Whipple, opened it up, read the first page and bought it - for the princely sum of 5p. Though I now have the Persephone edition on my shelves it is cheek by jowl with that 5p edition.

So before going to Norfolk for a week I did my research.  I visited two National Trust properties, Blickling and Felbrigg. Both wonderful places to visit and I have featured them here on Random. As well as the usual NT gift shop and tea rooms many of their properties now boast a book shop. Some better than others. When I visited Greenway earlier this year I checked their shop out. Not madly impressed. The usual paperback stuff you can find in any charity shop the length and breadth of the UK (Shades of Grey anyone?).  Felbrigg was the same. 

Blickling had a more interesting collection, and more room, which makes a difference.  Loads of wall to wall fantasy, crime, chick lit which did not interest me, but the music and biography section was excellent, also the history.  I came away with a few titles including this Elizabeth Von Arnim. I have this in a battered old Virago edition but could not resist this one

Two bookshops in Cromer were visited - Much Binding and Bookworms

Much Binding has been the one I have enjoyed visiting most this Norfolk week. Cramped and confined, heaps of books all over the place, the proprietor squeezed into a corner behind an ancient till (all second hand bookshops have such tills) and the chance of finding something interesting. I came across these.

I have read a couple of titles by Frances Beeding an author of whom I knew nothing, last year after I had read Martin Edwards wonderful Classic Crime in 100 books which is my bible.

I enjoyed them very much  but not many are in print so was delighted to spot this one - and I love the cover.

Then a Bellairs. I know this author well now having discovered him a couple of years ago and since then the British Library have reprinted some of this titles. Loads more are available for your Kindle  as well which is wonderful. I actually brought the new BL title with me so it was serendipity to find this one too.

And then a Miss Silver book which I did not know and which I have just finished and thoroughly enjoyed.

And the best thing about discoveries of this kind are the covers. Aren’t they wonderful?

We also visited a bookshop in Sheringham where, quite frankly, Health and Safety would have a field day. I have never been in such a cramped, rickety and dangerous place like this - ever. You could not see half the books for the boxes in front of the shelves. In order to check out a shelf I was interested in I had to shift a couple of these boxes which were very heavy and then split showering the books all over the floor where they landed on top of another heap which had obviously been there for some time. I came away with a pile of fantastic 1960 style paperbacks of historical writers I used to read when I was a teenager. More of them in another blog.

Half the shelves had collapsed and were on the slant with books teetering on the edge. There were steps you could use but very difficult to do so as there was not enough room on the floor to open them properly. Shelves up to the ceiling and above doors holding books which were mouldering and falling apart and had clearly been there years. The shop is in a tiny terraced house in a residential street and is totally inadequate for its use.  After fifteen minutes when I was sneezing and spluttering and suffering from claustrophobia I had to get out.  I dread to think what would happen if there was a fire.

I doubt if I will visit again. I am sure there are gems to be unearthed but unearthed is the right word.

I went to Norfolk with loads to read on my Kindle and also four physical books. I came back with eighteen though most of these, once read, will be passed on to the charity shop of the local book fair for later in the year.

I know Ratty said “there is nothing like messing about in boats”.  Substitute bookshop for boats and I think he has it about right.

Random on Holiday - Felbrigg

I visited another National Trust Property - Felbrigg Hall. Not far away from Blickling but different in atmosphere and character. Felbrigg has been a family home until fairly recently and you can tell. A delightful house with the usual well informed guides. Once again, as I got there just as it opened I more or less had the place to myself which is wonderful, nobody getting in the way as I looked and took photos and I could stroll round in a leisurely manner.

The grounds were as gorgeous as all the grounds at these places are and also has a walled garden. I love walled gardens, they enclose you and feel comfortable and safe and I always feel like Mary Lennox in the Secret Garden.

Here are photos of the garden and of the house:

And in the house

And, as you will see below, I had some difficulty leaving....

Driving home tomorrow via Aldburgh.  We visited a lot of bookshops but those are for another post...

Random on Holiday - Blickling

I love visiting National Trust properties wherever and whenever I can. My daughter, Helen, the historian told me that though she used to get fed up with being carted around them when she was a child, the experience did ignite her love of history so I think this validates making children do something because it is Good for Them.

At Blickling today which was about half an hour from where we are staying in Sheringham. A glorious day and a glorious building as you can see. It used to belong, at one stage, the Bullen (aka Boleyn) family and it is likely that Anne was born here.

Though it is so big it feels more homelike than some NT houses I have visited and it has the most wonderful library which is currently being renovated and restored as the damp is getting through and the books are in danger.

Stunning.

The grounds are also quite beautiful and really one could spend an entire day just wandering around and taking in all its beauty.

And guess what? They also have a second hand bookshop....

So that is where we ended up. And did we buy anything?

Guess.

Random on Holiday

I am in Norfolk staying in a little flat in Sheringham.  This is a part of the UK I have never visited and always wanted to and now I am here.  Great excitement when my friend and I arrived as a sink hole had appeared in the High Street and was getting bigger by the moment. There was a sewer underneath and the whole thing just collapsed.  It seems that there has been efforts to turn the High Street, which is charming, into a pedestrian precinct but it has never happened. it may now.

Gorgeous weather today with blue skies and sun shining. Here are a few photographs taken today:

There are two National Trust properties nearby so hope to visit one of those, probably the one that has a large second hand bookshop..

Oh and here is my holiday reading. Arrived just before we set off...

OUP - Oxford World’s Classics

I am very fortunate to be the recipient of books from OUP.  I have a huge collection of their World Classics in paperback on my shelves. Nearly all my Trollope oeuvre are in this collection, plus Austen and Bronte amongst others.

In the last year I have been delighted to have three titles from their hardback World’s Classics collection which is relatively new. These books are just so good to look at, touch and feel as well as read. There are no dust jackets just beautiful binding. Look at this photos - aren’t they lovely?

A Christmas Carol and other stories has the original illustrations which I love in my Dickens collection. I already have at least five editions of this title but love them all and this is a great addition to my Dickens shelf.

The fairy tales of Grimm brothers are not light and airy fairy at all. Some of these stories in the original are rather dark and a bit scary. 

Sense and Sensibility - I now have several editions of this Austen title but, yes you have guessed it, I have no intention of getting rid of any of them. One is a 1930s illustrated edition with a dust jacket in excellent condition which I picked up in a book sale and is just wonderful.   

And in addition to all this OUP sent me another World’s Classic, this time in paperback. It is Sense and Sensibility!

I buy a lot of paperbacks but when it comes to the Classics, I do admit to enjoying owning a good well produced hardback and these certainly fit the bill.

 

Felixstowe Book Festival 2019

You know when summer is here as the Book Festivals start to proliferate. So many of them and in so many lovely places. I only wish I could visit them all. Perhaps one summer I should get in my car and drive off and do a Binge.  A thought....

One that is near me and with which I have been involved from the start, is the Felixstowe Festival. I love going there. Not only is the town delightful with a slightly old fashioned air about it (and I mean that in the nicest and most complimentary way) but the Festival itself is just fun. And it is friendly and has a lovely atmosphere.

I missed last year entirely - I was on my cruise, then in Australia and then just so busy but I was determined that I was not going to miss 2019. It has a great line up including James Runncie, Jane Thynne, Nicola Upson, Alison Weir to name but a few. Do visit their website for more information and, of course, if you wish to buy tickets. And I hope you will.

I am very much looking forward to the Runcie talk as the difference between Sidney Chambers in his books and the louche vicar of the tv series is so wildly different that I want to ask why?  The stories are gentle and nice and ditto Sidney, but turning him into a drunken womaniser is just plain weird.  We shall see.

I am introducing Duncan Barrett who has written a terrific book on the occupation of the Channel Islands during WW2. Simon and Schuster very kindly sent me a copy and I have spent most of the last two days reading it. It is marvellous and I hope to review it more fully soon. 

I am attending the talk by Jane Thynne, author of the Clara Vine series of books set in war time Berlin, and which I adore. I have “known” Jane as a facebook friend for some time now and it will be great to actually meet in person.

Then I will be meeting up with Guy Fraser-Sampson again who is a stalwart of the Festival and his books on Mapp and Lucia are a joy. More recently he has been engaged in writing detective stories and I do wonder what he will turn his hand to next...

And then on Sunday afternoon I have the pleasure of introducing Alison Weir. This will be her third appearance at the Festival talking about her novels on the lives of Henry VIII’s wives. She could not attend last year so we missed out on Jane Seymour, but this time we have Anne of Cleves. She is the wife that I have always found the most interesting. She survived Henry, was friends with Queen Mary and Princess Elizabeth and managed to Iive out her life in England and keep her head. Quite an achievement!  I read the book last week loved it.

So a weekend of books, chat and meeting up with friends. What could be better?

Do check out the website here:

https://felixstowebookfestival.co.uk/

 

 

Agatha Christie week

I had reached a reading hiatus last week when I was mooching around and could not settle to anything so when that happens to me I re-read. As I have just visited Agatha Christie’s house I decided to pull down a few titles from the tottering piles that I own and have had a good week catching up.

When you first read an Agatha you do not know who the murderer is and you NEVER guess (well some smarty pants might but I never have), the second time around you spot clues you missed the first time as you know Who Dun It and the third time and further reads will yield even more clues that you still did not notice and on it goes.

I decided to read Dead Man’s Folly. This is a Poirot story. Mrs Oliver (who I think we all know is Agatha herself) is asked to concoct a murder mystery game for a summer fete at Nasse House. The description of the house and the grounds is Greenway and this was why I wanted to have another look at it as I have now been at the scene of the crime. It goes without saying that the murder game takes a nasty turn and a body is found. The murdered girl is found in the Boathouse which I walked to and there are descriptions of the walks and the route the contestants have to take. Well I followed this round the grounds and it brought the book vividly to life.

I then read A Murder is Announced. I love this story and I loved the TV adaptation of it - it is a Miss Marple and the sublime Joan Hickson was in it. She is the best Miss Marple in my opinion. An advertisement announcing a Murder is put in the local paper and the village all arrive at the house expecting a Murder Game. We all know what will happen and it does.

There is one simply sublime line of dialogue in this which always makes me laughing.

Inspector to Miss Marple when discussing one of the suspects: “He is a Communist you know”

”oh dear” said Miss Marple “ he must be very lonely in Chipping Cleghorn”....

Perfect.

Taken at the Flood - another Poirot.  The Cload family have always relied on their rich uncle who has always promised that they will be his inheritors when he dies. They lead busy lives and are successful in their professions but there has been a lack of worry as they know that they are financially secure because of the Uncle.  He is killed in a raid in the war but before this happened he has suddenly and unexpectedly remarried a very young woman and she gets all his money. Well, it would be very handy if she dies but she is young and healthy and has a brother keeping an eye on her. But but but.....

The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side - one of her later novels and Miss Marple again. In this one we revisit Bassington Hall, the scene of an earlier murder the Body in the Library, only now it belongs to a film star and her director husband. They hold an open house and in the middle of the guests arriving one of them Mrs Babcock, who is involved with the local St Johns Brigade, drinks a cocktail and five minutes later is dead. She has no enemies and her death is a total mystery.  The first time I read this title and found out the solution I was taken aback at the audacity of Dame Agatha.

I read Halloween Party yesterday. Not one of her best. Now I am onto A Caribbean Mystery - a Miss Marple and enjoying it very much. I remember an updated version of it with Julia Mackenzie as Miss Marple (far and away the worst of the lot) and they put in a sex mad priest tortured by his feelings into the mix.  The only priest in the book is a chatty, genial Canon...

I call her Middle Period the time when she wrote her best books - Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, Evil under the Sun and my top favourite, Five Little Pigs which I think is wonderful, superbly plotted and I wave this in the face of anybody who says she cannot create real people.  The TV adaptation of this was spot on and excellent.

And my other favourite out of her stand alone books is Crooked House. Took my breath away when I first read it. It was made into a film a few years ago. Dire...................

I have a new book on the go now but will always return to Dame Agatha whenever I get stuck.

Random is Thirteen!

Callo- Callay O frabjus day!  I have had a reminder pop up to tell me that thirteen years ago today I started my blog.  I simply cannot believe it.

When I started I wondered if anybody would bother reading it or if anybody would be the slightest bit interested in anything I had to say.

Well, it turns out you did and you are and I am so grateful for all the hilarious comments and chat and feedback I have had from you all.  I am also grateful to all those wonderful publishers who send me books and respond to my begging emails asking for the entire back oeuvre of somebody I have just discovered.  You are all patient with me and never let me down.

When I checked I found one of my earliest posts was about the World Cup (why I ask myself?) and David Beckham who was in the team at the time.  We lost.

Thirteen years later we still haven’t won it.

We never will but if we do I will blog about it joyfully...... 

Happy Days.

Swallowtail Summer - Erica James

I am sure that most of my readers think I spend my days steeped in mystery and gore and, yes, I do read an enormous amount of crime fiction. I love it and have done every since I discovered Agatha Christie when I was twelve years old. But I do read other things as well and to prove it I am writing today about Erica James.

Now let me tell you how I started reading her books.  Look away now Erica if you read this, I did not buy them new. I found them in a charity shop. Yes I did and I paid about 50p for them.  Came home and read them and then, of course, did my usual and went on a binge read. I borrowed some from the library, but I did buy quite a few, paperbacks and/or for my Kindle. By the time I had reached the end of the list and was panting for more, a new one came out. Reader, I purchased it. Hardback. And I have done so ever since.

Swallowtail Summer was pre-ordered by me and I forgot when it was due to arrive to totally delighted when a knock  on the door and my lovely postman, who wears a path up to my door delivering, parcels and books, greeted me with "Here's another"

So I sat down and started to read and did not stop until I had finished it about four hours later. I Loved It.

Alastair Lucas is returning to his home Linston End.  He has been away recovering from the shock of losing his wife in a drowning accident.  He has a close circle of friends who have all lived nearby and holidayed together for many years. He has met somebody else and has come back to tell everyone that he is putting the house up for sale. Alastair is nervous about breaking the news as he knows how upset everyone will be.

"I've decided to sell Linston End. Valentina and I are going to buy somewhere else and build a new life together. His words threw them all into a stunned silence. "But you can't, It's your home. It's part of you. Part of all of us. You can't sell it"

As I read further I began to feel that all the characters had invested far too much in the house and were looking at it from a selfish point of view.  But then as the stories of each protagonist unfold the reader begins to understand how much it means to each of them individually.  Alastair has two close friends and one of them, Simon, reacts with anger and a wave of jealousy towards the woman who is the cause of all of this upheaval.

OK here I stop. Here I leave you to buy the book and read it and see what happens.  In some way, Swallowtail Summer is akin to a murder mystery. A close knit group of people who all have links with a central character, all full of resentment and insecurity. It is like a house party where a body is likely to turn up in the Library with a dagger through the heart such is the seething cauldron of feeling throughout this book.

And Valentina? Charming, glamorous and manipulative. I disliked her intensely and if she had ended up a corpse I would not have minded in the slightest...

Just remember my comment re the death of Alastair's wife Orla. Was it a happy marriage? Was it an accident? Or something else.....

Erica James writes so beautifully and makes you want to go on and on reading until the end. I only left this book to make the odd cup of tea and could not wait find out what happened to everyone.  This is the kind of book, and I am sorry because I am going to say what I have said before, that will be read and enjoyed and sell and will never appear on a Posh Book Awards List.  It is the kind of book that will be glanced at in a bookshop and "Oh a woman's book" (I actually took somebody to task in Waterstone's in Colchester when a comment like this was made) and it makes me Very Cross.

Writers like Erica and others I have read and enjoyed, have an unerring eye for characters, for feelings, for how each individual would react and behave in a certain situation. This makes them real. Sometimes when I have been reading modern fiction I find it difficult to sympathise or engage with the people I come across in the pages - there is a lack of warmth and empathy about them that I find difficult to take. Yes, and I know this is a sweeping statement but I am rather fond of them and after 60+ years of reading I know what I enjoy and now avoid what I do not.

I enjoy Erica James immensely. This is her best yet.

Go buy.

The Strange Case of Harriet Hall by Moray Dalton

As an addition to my post on crime reading may I direct you to the link below where I review The Strange Case of Harriet Hall by Moray Dalton. A reprint by Dean Street Press and well worth your attention.

http://shinynewbooks.co.uk/the-strange-case-of-harriet-hall-by-moray-dalton/?fbclid=IwAR3k2MiROXNKPfKWZUKQR0Xol7E6n3IqjhdHazg0pAR85x1M5muUP5_-ho8

And if you like it there are others available on Amazon. They are listed in the review.