What sort of reader are you? Do you read slowly, savouring every word? Or do you rush through a book and then think about it afterwards? According to the poet Coleridge, there are 4 classes of reader: Read more
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
As someone who struggled with science classes at school, I rarely read books about science, but was recently fascinated by The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Henrietta Lacks, who I had never even heard of, seems to have been one of the world’s most influential women. Read more
Have you met Maisie Dobbs?
Have you met Maisie Dobbs? She is the character created by novelist Jacqueline Winspear in a series of crime novels set in London between WWI and WWII. Maisie sets up as a private investigator with a Cockney assistant named Billy Beale. Read more
Poem of the Month, September 2018 – ‘No Coward Soul is Mine’
It was Emily Brontë’s 200th birthday recently. She was born in Thornton, Yorkshire, and soon afterwards her parents moved to Haworth, where the Brontë Museum is today. (The picture above is of a sculpture of the three Brontë sisters at Haworth Museum). Read more
Companion Guide – Nancy Mitford & ‘Love in a Cold Climate’
Come with me to Mitford-land and the amusing, entertaining and madly eccentric world of Love in a Cold Climate. There you will find many weird and wonderful ways of loving, Read more
Chopin’s Piano and George Sand
I am writing this with Chopin’s Preludes playing in the background. The reason, apart from the music being utterly beautiful … ? Well, I recently read Chopin’s Piano: In Search of the Instrument that Transformed Music by Paul Kildea, which I found a most interesting book. Read more
Do you use bookends?
Do you use bookends, the simple device that buttresses or props up an upright row of books? Bookends are utilitarian, in that they stop a row of books from falling over, but they can also be decorative. Read more
Literary Films
There are some forthcoming literary films for us to look forward to. ITV in Britain is to make an adaptation of Jane Austen’s unfinished novel Sanditon, with a screenplay completing the book by Andrew Davies, that master of classic adaptations. Read more
Poem of the Month, August 2018 – ‘Even Such is Time’
Even Such is Time by Sir Walter Raleigh
400 years ago this year poet, courtier, explorer, soldier and politician, Sir Walter Raleigh, was beheaded in Old Palace Yard, Westminster. He had been charged with treason against King James I. He asked to see the axe and remarked, “This is a sharp medicine, but it is a Physician for all Diseases.” Read more
Companion Guide – Thomas Hardy & ‘Far From The Madding Crowd’
Come with me to the beautiful county of Dorset – Thomas Hardy country – to enjoy the company of a spirited heroine, a variety of heroes, comic yokels, and a plot packed with drama. I love Thomas Hardy’s novels, though they often make me cry. Read more
The Nobel Prize for Literature
It was announced last month that this year no Nobel Prize for Literature will be awarded. There have been sex-abuse allegations and “other issues” within the ranks of the prestigious Swedish Academy which decides on and awards the prize. Read more
Literary Statues
On my travels I love to see statues of favourite literary characters. In Philadelphia recently I sought out a statue of Dickens with Little Nell at his side, I love the one of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (it was erected overnight so that children would think it had appeared by magic), and one of Sherlock Holmes in Edinburgh near the spot where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born. Read more
The Moonstone
Bookshops devote many shelves to detective fiction. But the genre is a fairly modern phenomenon that began with Wilkie Collins’ classic The Moonstone, published 150 years ago this year. Read more
Poem of the Month, July 2018 – ‘Macavity: The Mystery Cat’
Macavity: The Mystery Cat by T.S. Eliot
Macavity’s a Mystery Cat: he’s called the Hidden Paw—
For he’s the master criminal who can defy the Law.
He’s the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad’s despair:
For when they reach the scene of crime—Macavity’s not there! Read more
Companion Guide – Gerald Durrell & ‘My Family and Other Animals’
Gerald Durrell wrote many books, but none has ever enjoyed the popularity of My Family and Other Animals. It is such a happy book, if you are ever feeling a bit down, this book will cheer you up. Read more
