Random Jottings

Recently read and received at Random Towers

I don't know about you dear readers but I am finding it pretty hard at the moment to concentrate on anything but I decided I really must make the effort. So a cup of tea to hand and a bar of chocolate (I am not of the mindset to worry about calories at the moment) and off I go.

Only Happiness Here - Gabrielle Carey. I spotted this biography of Elizabeth von Arnim when the author tweeted about it and contacted her immediately as it did not seem available here in the UK. She promptly replied that it was being published by Queensland University Press in Australia.   As I have read and admired and loved all of this author's output I got in touch with them and ordered it before Christmas. It duly arrived and with a tote bag too. I love getting free tote bags. I have only just started it and it is looking promising. I do hope it will be available more widely but, in the meantime, if you are a fan of EVA then do buy it.  On checking the exchange rate it works out at around £17.50 plus postage.

The Woods in Winter and The Swiss Summer by Stella Gibbons.  These are published by Dean Street Press who are rapidly becoming, if they are not there already, my favourite publishers. Every single book they produce is right up my strasse and I want I want is a well worn email I send to them and they are kind and good and lovely and have sent me these two titles. (I have promised them that I will buy the other two published at the same time. I think it only right to do so as they are so generous)

I used to work at a library in Highgate, opposite the cemetary no less, and Stella Gibbons used to come in regularly. She was a charming, quiet and friendly lady and always so nice to the staff. She came in one day quite cross with herself and told me that she had woken up in the midde of the night and had a brilliant idea for a book, had not written it down, and when she woke up in the morning she had forgotten it. I wonder which book it was and if she every wrote it.

Love Lives - Carol Dyhouse. The sub-title of this book is from Cinderella to Frozen and is the story of how women's lives, loves and dreams have been re-shaped since 1950 the year of Walt Disney's Cinderella when it was the main ambition of most women to be married and meet Mr Right.  I read this in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it. I remember a book some years ago called The Cinderella Complex which covers feminism in the 70's and then a book of a TV series Out of the Dolls House, published in the 80's both of which made fascinating reading covering the changing attitues of women to marriage and home.   This is an up to date addition to the canon and well worth reading Published by OUP in February.

Random Commentary - Dorothy Whipple. Published by Persephone and is the collected jottings of the author.  It is called Random because it is but it is none the less enjoyable for that. All of Whipple's books are now in print thanks to Persephone and if you have them, or have yet to discover her, then of course you must have this one.

The Corpse in the Waxworks  - John Dickson Carr. Another published by the Classic Crime series at the British Library. I read one of this particular author and freely admit I was not enamoured of it though it was hailed as a shining example of the Locked Room Mystery. I flag this up here as I know many of you collect these books and would like to know of it. I am going to give it a whirl....I think.

So I think this is enough to be getting on with.  I have discovered my rate of reading has slowed over the last year. Isn't it odd that having spent most of my life wishing I had more time to sit and read, now I have it I find I cannot concentrate?

'sigh'

Random Ramble

It is a cold dark afternoon and I have revived the custom I instigated last year of spending such afternoons in my Boudoir AKA my bedroom. It is all very comforting and rather cosy and I am writing this on my bed wearing the latest in lounge wear from Marks & Spencer which I have lived in since its arrival (as the spaghetti bol stains down the front will attest to), woolly socks and a snug blanket over me. Propped up with fat pillows and cushions, radio on and laptop to hand, it is all rather hygge'ish.

I have had a question asked of me by many of you, namely, Elaine you have not ranted lately - will there be one soon?

My reply to that is that in the current situation rants are useless and upsetting and there are such bigger things taking place in the world that my reaction to stupidity and cupidity seem rather unimportant.   I could rant about the way the government are being led by the nose by scientists who seem staggeringly unable to see that practically everything they say is incorrect, get pissed off at the media who love scaring us all witless and lots more, but I am not going to.  As I have said before, if one has a platform of any sort, I think you have to be careful about imposing your political thoughts on anybody else. Why would they be interested and it also shows a kind of arrogance in the assumption that anybody wants to know what you think.   So I will try and keep this book and chat orientated today.

I have recently been sent catalogues by the British Library and Oxford University Press with the question Hello Elaine how are you do you want any books in the attached?   I do try and restrain my greed but it is very hard.  So I have sent off copious lists to both with the proviso that they only send me what they can spare and I am terribly sorry if I am asking too much but I do appreciate all you send me.......I always say this because I always feels this way and am amazed when brand new shiny books thunder through my letterbox or pile up in the cupboard by my door.  A sense of gratitude mixed with astonishment really.

I am working my way through a re-read of PD James as I believe I mentioned but have broken off for a while as I do feel that sometimes a binge read can stop you appreciating an author if you overdo it.  I am loving them though. 

I am finding myself reading lighter stuff too as though I have some really interesting books lined up my brain seems to be a bit mushy these days and I do find it hard to concentrate.  With non-fiction you really do need to have the Old Grey Cells working properly in order to review in a decent manner.

And the mention of Little Grey Cells leads me seamlessly into mentioning a wonderful book which the publishers sent me this week - Agatha Christie, Poirot, The Greatest Detective in the Word by Mark Aldridge. It is 100 years since The Mysterious Affair at Styles was published and we all met Poirot and her books are still in print and sell in millions around the world.   This book starts with her writing in the 1920's and comes right up to date and I have started it and feel that I will have no trouble concentrating on this one.

And then a delivery about an hour ago and this was inside the padded envelope A Surprise for Christmas and other seasonal mysteries from the wonderful British Library Classic Crime series.  How I love these books!  Not only for the fascinating content but also for the wonderful covers. This collection of stories is edited, as ever, by Martin Edwards whose knowledge of the Golden Age of Crime never fails to leave me in awe.

I am wondering why books on murder and mystery are of such comfort to me at this time?

I don't think I need an answer to that..................

Recent reading and received

I have been reading in a very desultory fashion the last couple of months. I have found it impossible to settle down and concentrate. Isn’t it odd when you think you are going to have all this time and so we can do some really serious reading and then find you really can’t be bothered?  Annoying as well.

I have been re-reading a lot of crime and lots of romance as well which seems to soothe my soul and relax me.  It has given me some ideas for a future video as I get really cross when romance is dismissed and viewed with contempt as it frequently is.  But that is for another day.

So what have I got on the table at the moment?

I have just finished The Geometry of Holding Hands by Alexander McCall Smith. This is the latest in the series featuring Isabel Dalhousie, philosopher, and I find these books a great joy. I gave up on the rest of the output of this author sometime ago as I found the books were all appearing as an amorphous blob in my mind and the 1st Ladies Detective Agency just turned into a ramble. Nothing wrong with a ramble but you do need a little something to happen now and then. I came across the latest one in the library a few months ago and thought I would give it a whirl but gave up after one chapter.

Now these Dalhousie books also ramble but because Isabel is a philosopher and her musings have a point and they are interesting and amusing.  If you want a fast paced story then these will not be for you but I love them and find them enormously satisfying.  Each volume hinges on a philosophical point and idea. There is also the pleasure of following Isabel’s family life and her growing sons, her younger husband Jamie and their relationship and her niece Cat who, in this book, is clearly heading for disaster.  I have all these on my shelves and all in hardback as I am collecting the lot. This winter it is my plan to start at No 1 and read them all over again.

The Mystery of Charles Dickens by A N Wilson. I ordered this with a slight feeling of trepidation as I do find this author vaguely irritating but when he is writing about a subject or person I love then I find I cannot resist. However , the same irritations are rearing their head already and I am only two chapters in. I recently read his biography of Albert, Prince Consort so how he has had time to produce this latest tome I really do not know.  One sentence really jarred with me in that particular biography when he referred to Queen Victoria as “drooling over Albert” which I thought was totally unsuitable in a book purporting to be a serious biography.

You may think I am being picky and perhaps I am but I found myself tut tutting at the phrase, referring to Peckham where he had a house for Nelly Ternan as an area that was “fast being swallowed by by jerry built houses” and a row of villas “built on spec”.  Now I am sorry but if you are referring to a Victorian suburb you do not use these terms and I found it jarred. And I find his grammar somewhat lacking. “We know little about Nelly Ternan, she was part of this, obviously she was”. Again I found this jarred.

OK call me a pedant. I don’t mind. I shall carry on reading but but but....

As antidote to this I am very much looking forward to reading Jane Austen by Tom Keymer, subtitled writing, society and politics. It is a neat small sized book from OUP and dropped through my letter box today. I have already turned to the chapter Passion and Persuasion.  Austen’s writing was felt to be lacking in passion, not least by Charlotte Bronte, but oh my goodness, the letter from Captain Wentworth at the end, the pouring forth of his feelings - well, blimey, passion abounding and one of my most favourite pieces of all literature.

I will report back in due course but I have a feeling I am going to enjoy this.

Spam Tomorrow by Verily Anderson a memoir set in the second World War which has shades of Diary of a Provincial Lady for me, not necessarily because of the setting, but more the style and dry wit of the writing.

”when I asked the local chemist for line and disinfectant, he felt it was only fair to allow the first aid post to claim me......half a dozen VAD’s made a rush at me and treated my small abrasion as though my whole head had blown off”

Published by the wonderful Dean Street Press.

And, finally, The Woman in the Wardrobe by Peter Shaffer another wonderful title from the British Library Classic Crime Series.

Enough to be getting on with methinks.

Current reading and those to come

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?

The Brontes - Oxford Companion Guide

I recently posted about my visit to Haworth. I first went there when I was about 21 and in the grip of my Bronte fascination after reading A Man of Sorrow by Lock & Dixon, a biography of Patrick Bronte. It is a fascination that has never died and shared by millions as Haworth remains one of the most visited literary locations in the world.

We are in the throes of bicentennial festivals - 2016 it was Charlotte, in 2017 Branwell, this year Emily, and in 2019 it will be the turn of Patrick to be in the limelight as it will be 200 years since taking up the curacy of Haworth. And in 2020 Anne who, more than any of the sisters, deserves to be more appreciated that she is. That I am very much looking forward to.

A couple of months ago I received a lovely email from Oxford University Press who asked 'Elaine would you like an updated Anniversary Edition of the Bronte Companion for review?'.  A response was sent within ten seconds of reading the email and a few days later this gorgeous book was delivered.

Before I mention the content I have to repeat what I have said before on Random Jottings just how lovely the books are from OUP. They are always beautiful to touch and feel with silken paper and with a clear and elegant font. They are also satisfyingly heavy, if that does not sound too daft, they are books of substance and a pleasure to have.

And of course I have spent many happy hours dipping in and out and reading it over the last few months wondering where to start to extoll is virtues and joys. The two editors are Christine Alexander and Margaret Smith (whose edition of the Bronte letters I have on my shelves) and has a preface by Claire Harman whose biography of Charlotte is, without doubt, the best I have read (and I did start it wondering if anything new could be written about CB - how wrong I was).

Everything you could wish to know about the Brontes is here: homes of the Brontes; Life in Haworth Parsonage; Education and teachers of the Brontes; Places of Education and employment of the Brontes; Travels by the Brontes and places visited....you may think this sounds emphemeral but to Bronte lovers it provides a background and detail for which we all crave. To know that Charlotte visited Bolton Priory where I was a week or so ago, Keighley where I visited East Riddlesden Hall (did she I wonder) to know that she loved the Lake District and to see so many places I have visited also, gives me quite a thrill.

One section I really enjoyed was the Biographies of the Bronte from 1940 many of which I have read and owned. I first read the Winifred Gerin on Charlotte in the sixties after the above mentioned biography of Patrick. Gerin lived in Haworth and was thus able to write with authority about people and places in Yorkshire. Her biography remains one of the definitive books on Charlotte. Juliet Barker's book about the entire family was a tour de force and had me up at nights for a whole week until I finished it and Clare Harman, who I have already mentioned was the author of a superbly written book on Charlotte which may just be the best yet.

The Companion mentions that relatively few 20th century biographers have chosen to study Anne but recent work on her suggests that she may be emerging as the most interesting and positively portrayed of the Brontes.  Last year I read and reviewed Nick Holland's superb biography of Anne, link here, and was totally delighted to see she is now being given the attention she deserves.

There are sections on Sequels (Jean Rhys Wide Sargasso Sea being mentioned), film and stage adaptations and as I have seen many of those featured I read this with great enjoyment. Out of all the versions of Jane Eyre that I have seen my favourite remains the film made a few years ago with Michael Fassbender as Rochester and Mia Wasikowska as Jane. I felt it was very true to the story and not wildly over the top as some others have been. And the one and only BBC version of Tenant of Wildfell Hall remains a must watch as far as I am concerned.

This really is a glorious book, it is a treasure trove of information and a must have for all Bronte lovers. The Companion draws together an amazing amount of information in a single volume and 'such rounded coverage enables the reader to see them in their family, social and literary context, and to trace their continuing influence on the work of other writers'

Well, that is the scholarly summing up on the back of the Companion. My less scholarly summing up is that it is a glorious book packed full of great reading and a must have.

My grateful thanks to Oxford University Press for their generosity - they have made this Bronte fan very happy indeed.

Reading catch up - Two

Oh I must post more regularly but, as you know, this last month has been a blur and a write off and sloth has set in. So another catch up and then I will try and get back into the regular habit of posting more often.

Blade of Light and Game of Mirrors by Andrea Camilleri. I adore these books as you all know by now and Inspector Montelbano and all his cohorts in Vigita feel like the family. Catarella is such a gem of a character and I love him.  These two titles were published very close together, it seems we are about four behind in the UK, and much though I love these stories I feel that the author may be on auto-pilot now. Hardly surprising as Camilleri is well into his eighties.  Also the TV series got ahead of itself so that both these stories have already been dramatised, hence the rush to publish. But no matter. I loved them and laughed at the Inspector and Catarella as always.

Thirteen Guests -J Jefferson Farjeon. Another of the wonderful series of British Library Crime Classics and, as always, beautifully produced with a great eye catching cover. This is another title by the author of Mystery in White which was such a best seller last Christmas. There is a huge appetite for these reprints and rightly so as they are intriguing and tremendous fun. This is a classic setting as well, a house party one weekend at the home of Lord Aveling. A painting is mutilated, a dog stabbed and a man strangled. I do not feel I need write any further. Go buy!

Make me - Lee Child. The latest Jack Reacher and try as I might when reading these, I simply cannot visualise Tom Cruise as our mighty hero. Liam Neeson gets in the way. Same old same old. Reacher arrives in town, something is amiss, he sorts it out, beds a glam female and then wanders off into the distance at the end of the story. BUT slight difference this time in that he does not say farewell to the glam female and there is a hint that she may stay with him for a bit. We shall see.

Agincourt - Anne Curry. Published by OUP and, as always, beautifully produced and presented. I have been fascinated by Agincourt ever since I was taken to see the Olivier Henry V when I was about eleven. A concise and fascinating history of the background to the battle and its political ramifications. I am dipping in and out of this book as it is very scholarly writing and the reader does have to concentrate. I do love books published by OUP.  They are such a joy to have.

The Moth Catcher - Ann Cleeves. the latest Vera Stanhope story, the seventh in the series. The owners of a big country house have employed a house sitter to look after their place while they are away. Then the sitter, Patrick, is found dead by the side of the lane into the valley and when DCI Vera Stanhope arrives with her team and checks out the attic room where Patrick was sleeping, discovers yet another body. Only thing they have in common is their fascination with moths.

I only discovered this author in the last year and, naturally, have read all her books in one fell swoop. Well, correction. I have read the Stanhope ones and those set in the Shetlands, which I think I prefer, but some of her earlier books I have tried and found not so good.  Ann Cleeves just got better once she found the right characters.

Still more to write about but this is enough for today.

At the moment I am reading two fascinating Austen related books: Jane Austen's Names by Margaret Doody and The Shades of Pemberley, a sequel by D A Bonavia-Hunt and written in the forties. I am enjoying them both very much and will be writing more anon.

Oh and finally, I was sent A Banquet of Consequences by Elizabeth George, the latest Lynley book. I have now officially given up on these as the last one, set in Italy, was just so appallingly awful I could not believe that it had sneaked past her editor.  I have never felt the same about her when she wrote a book based on the Jamie Bulgar case which I thought was in ghastly taste and totally unacceptable. I have the feeling that her latest arrives and the publisher publishes it regardless. I have flicked through some of it and decided Yep enough. It is also over 500 pages long.......

Right I feel better now I have caught up a bit. So more soon. Promise.

Nothing beats a reference book - Thank you OUP

Make no mistake - I think Google is wonderful.  Want to check something out quickly?  Then do a quick search and you have the answer.  Never fails to amaze me, the knowledge that is now available to all and available in a nano second as well.

But as Ratty realised in Wind in the Willows that there was 'nothing,  absolutely nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats' and there is nothing better than messing around with reference books.  Unlike Google however, reference books are addictive and once you open one and check out the piece of information you are looking for, your eye will fall on something else and then something else and so it goes.

I have a shelf in which repose my reference books and it transpires that they are all from Oxford University Press.   Do check out their extensive list.  Some of these I have had for a while, the Shorter Oxford Dictionary I purchased a few years ago when I was doing an Open University course and realised I really needed a new one, and I had a copy of the Oxford Companion to English Literature for many years, ditto the Dictionary of Quotations. Thanks to the generosity of OUP to this book blogger, I now have new copies of these plus other books they have sent me in the past.

A simply marvelous book Who married Figaro?  As an opera buff, but one who does not pretend to know all the answers, this is sheer delight full of the most interesting facts and nuggets of information.

Then the Oxford Companion to the American Musical.  Oh, how I love musicals.  The Proms now feature John Wilson and his orchestra each year featuring music from this genre so they obviously love them to and as they are always sold out in about fifteen minutes (as I have discovered to my cost) the audience for these is now guaranteed.

And now I have the simply glorious edition of the Oxford Companion to Children's Literature, brand new, edited by Daniel Hahn and with a foreword by Michael Morpurgo.

Oh it is gorgeous and oh it is totally time consuming as I spent the other day just checking all my favourite authors, Philippa Pearce, Rosemary Sutcliffe, Barbara Leonie Picard, Enid Blyton, Kenneth Grahame, Lorna Hill (remember Lorna Hill? I so longed to be a ballerina) Noel Streatfield and on and on and on.

There are also some fascinating authors I have never heard of, Maria Gripe who is a Swedish author  born in 1923; Carol Kendall an American author, creator of the Minnipins, a peaceful race of small people; Cecilia Gibbs, an Australian author who wrote a number of stories about 'gumnut babies' the most well known rejoicing in the title of Snuggleppot and Cuddlepie.   You can spend hours flicking through and coming up with marvelous bits of information.

Production values are high, as they always are with OUP, lovely strokeable paper which will last and last and beautifully and clearly set out. This book is sheer delight and alongside all my other books these are books I will treasure and always keep.

Thank you OUP - I love you....

Christmas - Random Recommendations (2) and (3) and others

I am sitting upstairs in my room at Ealing looking out the window and after yesterday's torrential rain which made the drive here pretty vile, the sun is now shining.  Cup of coffee to hand and more Christmas recommendations. Struck me the other day I had better get my skates on as not long to the Day now.

Well No 2 on my recommended list is the British Library and its wonderful selection of books. I have posted about them a week or so ago so will not repeat myself so here is the link to that post. Besides these there are loads more wondrous things on their website and if you can visit their shop in person even better.

No 3 is Hesperus Press. I have already written about them as well but have no hesitation in mentioning them again. I love the way the books are published and printed and they always looks so buyable.  Lucy Maud Montgomery is out of copyright now so her books are being issued in new editions for the first time. Virago have already published the Emily books and these should be on your list, but in the last year Hesperus have given us two titles you may not be familiar with, The Blue Castle (reviewed here), my favourite LMM and A Tangled Web, (reviewed here). I hope more are to come. There are so many unknown stories that deserve to be discovered. I do hope that Jane of Lantern HIll is on their list. Hint Hint......

These books are not madly expensive so you could buy two or three at a time. Just a thought.

Elizabeth Goudge is one of my favourite authors and Hesperus have recently published The Runaways. I have a first edition hardback of this story but it was then called Linnets and Valerians so I am slightly at a loss at the renaming. Presumably it is easier to read and attract attention. No matter, I am simply delighted to see more of this author out there as she is a magical writer. (Note: Folio have just reissued a Little White Horse in a wonderful edition. A real treat).

OUP Classics series go from strength to strength and have just reissued all the Barchester Chronicles in a new format.  I am keeping my old copies of The Warden and Barchester Towers however, as they have illustrations by Edward Ardizzone which the new editions do not have which I think is a shame. No matter this series is a great one and look out for lots of Trollope next year as it is his Centenary Year. I shall be working my way through the Barchesters again as I love them all.   One of the titles already available is Trollope's Autobiography and well worth reading as it shows what a nice man he was. Here is a link to a post I wrote a couple of years ago about the man and his books.

I am looking forward to lots of AT in 2015.

I hope I have given you some bookish ideas for Christmas. If not nip over to Shiny New Books and see what they are looking at this month.

And I close with saying that this week I shall be reading A Christmas Carol again which I do every year. I have so many editions of this story, see here. Which one shall I take down from the shelf? And, yes I have included the Muppets as well...

Awaiting my attention - thankyou lovely publishers

Trying to get back to normal now but it is rather difficult after the activity and excitement of the last few weeks. Does not help that I have put my back out and am sitting here doped up with painkillers, hot water bottle on my back and ponging to high heaven of Deep Heat. This the time when I think it is best I live alone. I have put Beethoven's Eroica symphony on the stereo and nothing like Ludwig to soothe the savage breast and calm my mind. The one composer I could never do without.

Anyway, I am wittering as per, so here is a round up of the books awaiting my attention and which I will try to get round to as soon as possible.

Sylvia's Lovers - Mrs Gaskell. Another of the Oxford World Classic which has been reprinted and updated with new cover etc and, as with all of these marvellous books, a joy to hold and to have.  I have not read this particular title for some time and this will be one of my winter reads as I tend to go back to Victorian literature when the nights get dark and cold. Don't ask my why. I have given up trying to work it out.   I am rather partial to Mrs Gaskell.

Then this sumptuous book The Beau Monde, Power, Fashion and Exclusivity in 18th Century London by Hannah Grieg.  Just look at the cover! This is the kind of book which makes me realise once again that though I love my Kindle dearly, real books will always be first in my heart. It is beautifully produced, lovely smooth expensive feeling paper that is a joy to stroke. I have dipped into it already and it is the kind of book I will take slowly, perhaps a chapter a night as it encourages one to linger.  Gorgeous.

Dickensian Laughter, Essay on Dickens and Humour by Malcolm Andrews.   Another little gem from OUP and again, to be dipped into and to savour.

The Lost Domain (Le Grand Meaulnes) by Alain Fournier, Centenary edition. This is one of those books that is mentioned and cited by many critics and writers and I have never read it. This rather delightful edition may change all that.

All of the above come from Oxford University Press and I am indebted to them for their never ending generosity in sending me lovely books which I always cherish and keep long after I have read them.  Sometimes they may stay on my shelves for a while before being read and I love the feeling that they are there waiting for me.

Another of my favourite publishers is Bloomsbury. I would say this of course as they have had the perspicacity to be publishing my daughter's book next year (of which I shall be burbling in due course), but also because they send me lovely books, some of which are up my street, some not but they keep giving me great choices of reading.   In the last few years I have read memoirs by Emma Smith of her childhood and growing up years during the war and have loved every word. Now she has published a third volume As Green as Grass which I have just started and it already promises to be as delightful and as interesting as the others. Will post soon.

Elizabeth Gilbert - The Signature of All things. Now this author is well known for her book Eat, Love, Pray which I thought was unutterably naff and boring and self centered and was made into an equally naff film with Julia Roberts.   Huge hit all round the world, What I Call an Oprah book and I got half way through it and gave up. I gather the author now wishes to put that behind her (good idea) and her new book is a huge tome which starts in 1800. Tells the story of Alma Whittaker whose father is a botanical explorer and how she becomes involved in this science as well.

Sounds good but reared back a bit when I read in the blurb that the man she loves draws her into the 'realm of the spiritual, the divine and the magical'.   Mmmm. We Shall See.

And finally, for today, Seven for a Secret - Lyndsay Faye.  I simply adored her earlier book The Gods of Gotham and this is the second about the New York policeman in the 19th century Timothy Wilde and I am really looking forward to getting stuck into this one.  My thanks to Headine for sending me this and when I opened it up found to my utter delight that part of my review is quoted on the title page.

Fame at last!!

I am now going to crawl into the kitchen and try and make myself some tea. I am shuffling around like Quasimodo at the moment. I am not exactly shouting The Bells the Bells but sure it won't be long.....

Au reservoir.

OUP - Anthony Trollope Give away

As you are probably all aware by now I love the new editions of the OUP World Classics paperbacks and I simply love looking at them as they are so beautifully produced.  

  All of the Palliser novels by Anthony Trollope,Can you Forgive Her; The Eustace Diamonds; Phineas Finn; The Prime Minister; Phineas Finn Redux and The Duke's Children have all been reissued and I have them all on my shelves and have re-read each title as received and realised all over again, as if I could forget, just how much I love this author.

Now those gorgeous lovely people at Oxford University Press have offered a complete box set of these Palliser novels as a give away on Random Jottings and I am most grateful to them.  What is more, they will send them anywhere so this is not limited to my UK readers.

 Please leave your name in the comments section below - I will leave this post at the top of my blog until next Monday when I will make the draw and announce the lucky winner.

Look forward to hearing from all you Trollopians out there....

STOP PRESS:  Because of the overwhelming response to this draw OUP are now giving away TWO sets of books.   YAY!!