01 Jun 2019

Susannah Books, Lectures, Newsletter, Talks 2 Comments Permalink

Let me tell you about Men, Glorious Men

Susannah 1 June 2019 2 Comments

My first love affairs were all with fictional men. I sighed over their good looks, longed to run off with them myself, Read more

01 Jun 2019

Susannah Books, Newsletter 6 Comments Permalink

Letters that Changed the World

Susannah 1 June 2019 6 Comments

I have not yet discussed in my newsletter the wonderful literary form of the letter. I’ll remedy that omission now. I’ve recently loved reading Written in History: Letters that Changed the World Read more

01 Jun 2019

Susannah Books, Newsletter, tours No Comments Permalink

Literary Travelling

Susannah 1 June 2019 No Comments

My literary travels have been keeping me busy this year. I am leading my classic literary tour of England as you receive this. Read more

01 Jun 2019

Susannah Books, Newsletter No Comments Permalink

Foods Named After Writers

Susannah 1 June 2019 No Comments

I’ve been exploring various foods named after writers. The French poet, historian and politician Chateaubriand, who was a foodie, had a cut of steak and Read more

01 Jun 2019

Susannah Newsletter, Poem of the Month, Poems, Poets 4 Comments Permalink

O Captain! my Captain!

Susannah 1 June 2019 4 Comments

On 14 April 1865, American President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth (brother of the famous Shakespearian actor Edwin Booth) at Ford’s Theatre. Read more

01 May 2019

Susannah Books, Newsletter 10 Comments Permalink

Oh sleep! It is a gentle thing,

Susannah 1 May 2019 10 Comments

“Oh sleep! It is a gentle thing
Beloved from pole to pole”

Read more

01 May 2019

Susannah Newsletter, Poem of the Month, Poems, Poets 8 Comments Permalink

Tim Heath & ‘not as the crow flies’

Susannah 1 May 2019 8 Comments

New Zealand poet Tim Heath is a friend of mine and I have been very much enjoying his new volume of poems not as the crow flies. Read more

01 May 2019

Susannah Newsletter, Poets 2 Comments Permalink

Poet Laureate

Susannah 1 May 2019 2 Comments

For English poets, I guess the ultimate position is that of ‘Poet Laureate’, when a writer is appointed by the government or authority of the day to write poems celebrating special events. Read more

01 May 2019

Susannah Books, Movies, Newsletter, Screen versions 14 Comments Permalink

The Professor and the Madman

Susannah 1 May 2019 14 Comments

Did you read Simon Winchester’s fabulous 1998 book The Surgeon of Crowthorne about James Murray who worked on the Oxford English Dictionary Read more

01 Apr 2019

Susannah Authors, Movies, Newsletter, Screen versions 10 Comments Permalink

New Movies

Susannah 1 April 2019 10 Comments

I am really looking forward to seeing All is True, a film about Shakespeare, directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh. Read more

01 Apr 2019

Susannah Books, Newsletter 4 Comments Permalink

Ada Lovelace & The Analytical Engine

Susannah 1 April 2019 4 Comments

I have been deep in the ‘Byronic world’ this past month. I fell in love with Byron’s poems as a teenager, sat in my room learning many by heart, and just revelled in his wonderful language. Read more

01 Apr 2019

Susannah Authors, Books, Newsletter, Reading 7 Comments Permalink

Historical Novels

Susannah 1 April 2019 7 Comments

At one of my talks I was recently asked about historical novels. A woman’s nephew, a student at high school, had been asked to choose an historical novel and he didn’t really know what the term meant. Read more

01 Apr 2019

Susannah Newsletter, Poem of the Month, Poems, Poets 16 Comments Permalink

Philip Larkin & ‘This Be the Verse’

Susannah 1 April 2019 16 Comments

Warning: You’d better skip this item if bad language is not your thing. Read more

01 Mar 2019

Susannah Newsletter, Poem of the Month, Poems, Poets No Comments Permalink

Christina Rossetti & A Birthday

Susannah 1 March 2019 No Comments

Christina Rossetti (1830 – 1894) never married, (though she was briefly engaged to the artist James Collinson) and yet she wrote some beautiful love poems. Read more

01 Mar 2019

Susannah Books, Newsletter, Reading 8 Comments Permalink

Manhattan Beach

Susannah 1 March 2019 8 Comments

I recently enjoyed the historical novel Manhattan Beach by the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jennifer Egan. Set in New York during the Depression and WWII, it described a heroine who becomes a navy diver at a time when professional diving was still in its infancy.

It was a surprising, unpredictable novel – I was never quite sure where it would take me, but I was gripped throughout. It’s a tale of migrants, Read more