OK January has gone. Allelluia say I. As you have seen from my posts I fell into a reading stupor and could not summon up the energy to read anything new at all and did lots of re-reads. And, in fact, I enjoyed it so much that I think I am going to do a re-read on a regular basis. I have started The Little Ottleys by Ada Leverson again and will write in due course.
So what am I reading at the moment?
I love the Clara Vine books by Jane Thynne and have read them all. She came to the Felixstowe Book Festival last year and it was lovely to meet her and to listen to her fascinating talk. She has recently published a stand alone novel, The Words I never Wrote and I started it last night and am already immersed. Two sisters pre-Second World War, one married to a German and the other in Paris starting out as a journalist. Jane knows this time and place so well and never fails to bring it to life. I will be giving a full review when I have finished it (which won't be long!) and will expand further.
PD James on Crime Fiction - spotted this on a shelf in the library and as I love PD James and her elegant beautifully placed writing brought it home. Not a huge tome, read in an evening but sheer delight. Recommended.
The Belgrave Manor Crime by Moray Dalton. Last year Dean Street Press published four titles by this author who was totally unknown to me. One of those vanished crime writers that are now being rediscovered. What with the British Library and now Dean Street Press I am in paradise. Again, I will review extensively later as I have just finished it.
Why Women read Ficttion - Helen Taylor. OUP very kindly sent me this and I have started it and am currently reading the chapter on Jane Austen. Lively writing and will write more later. This is the kind of book that needs time. I noticed that it was Book of the Week on the radio so decided to tune in. It was turned into a kind of podcast, not a straightforward reading at all, and in the first episode I decided after I had heard the words "exclusivity" "diversity" "empowerment" that was enough. I shall just read it....
Alison Weir - The Tainted Queen. This is the fifth in the series of books by Alison on the wives of Henry VIII. I always felt sorry for Catherine Howard. Young, silly and spotted by Henry when he was fat and ulcer ridden and used by her greedy relatives. Looking forward to reading this. Alison has appeared at the Felixstowe Book Festival on three occasions talking about this series and is such a good speaker. Due to be published in May.
Milton Place - Elizabeth de Waal. A recent Persephone. Mr Barlow lives alone in Milton Place which is slowly crumbling around him. He receives a letter from an Anita Seiler, a daughter of a long lost love, who askes if she can come and see him in England as she is looking for work. He has two utterly ghastly daughters who mistrust her motives, one in a deeply unhappy and coercive marriage, the other a do-gooder who is on endless committees and is determined to sort her father out.
As always with any books published by Persephone, the writing is of high quality and introduces us to an author long languishing in obscurity to the mass readership, and I always love discovering these writers. Most of the books I have read from this publishing house deal with family and relationships and this is no different. I was not madly enthusiastic about it though I did enjoy it and had no trouble reading it but doubt I will read it again, as I do with authors Persephone have championed. There was a strand in this story that I found slightly distasteful. Not quite sure why, but there you are.
The Watsons - Rose Servitova. I now have about four completed versions of The Watsons a fragment by Jane Austen and have liked them all in varying degrees. The author manages to capture Austen's style in an acceptable way and I spent an an enjoyable hour or two reading it. If you like Jane Austen sequels, prequels etc this is a good one.
Angela Kelly - The Other side of the Coin. This is written, with Her Maj's blessing, by her dresser. I gather she is not overly popular in some quarters and after reading this I can understand why. While trying to be "ever so 'umble" she does not quite manage it and though I enjoyed seeing the lovely photos of the Queen, some casual and charming, I found the whole thing quite boring. One for the charity shop.
So that is it so far. I have a pile more to get through but I have come to realise that I will never get rid of my TBR pile so why fret?
