From the author of My Brilliant Friend, comes her latest book, set once again in Naples. Giovanna is beloved by her parents, and believes herself to be worthy and beautiful, until one day after a parent-teacher meeting, she overhears her father comparing her to Vittoria, his estranged and despised sister. Because Vittoria is practically a …
This book is really beautifully bound if you get the hard cover edition. It's soft blue, with embossed gold flowers on the cover, and a swathed Victorian lady pictured in the centre. Perhaps it's slightly beside the point, but I do love a the pleasure of reading a beautifully bound volume. Kate Summerscale once again …
Continue reading Mrs Robinson’s Disgrace: The Private Diary Of A Victorian Lady by Kate Summerscale
If you've read Cold Comfort Farm you'll be familiar with Stella Gibbons. She wrote about 25 books, of which it was her most well known work, and though forgotten for many years, she's having a bit of a revival lately. Written in 1938, Nightingale Wood is a romance set in Essex. It largely follows Viola, a …
A bright and swashbuckling adventure on the high seas, Fletcher's Fortune is a historical and fictional memoir of Jacob Fletcher. This book was sent to me by Endevour Press for honest review. All opinions are my own. As an apprentice, orphaned Jacob Fletcher should not be able to be press ganged into the Navy by …
This book is kind of unusual. Purporting to be the culmination of the research of the author into one of his own ancestors, it's a collection of documents relating to a brutal murder that takes place in the Scottish Highlands during the 1800's. It's a time when crofters worked rented land owned by the laird, …
Alice Blackwell is America's First Lady, wife of the US President. But first, she was Alice Lindgren, a normal American girl. She grew up in the suburbs, with her parents, an only child, and her grandmother, an outspoken woman who loved to read. She experienced tragedy early, and went on to become a librarian at …
Perhaps it's no surprise to find another review of a novel by Daphne Du Maurier on my blog. I love Rebecca so much, as I know a lot of you do too, and I read The House on the Strand a few months back, (you'll find the review for that one HERE). This book is …
Opening in 1807, Rachel grows up on the island of St Thomas, a child beloved by her father, who makes sure that she's well educated, and a mother who is cold and bitter. In her family there is also Adele, who is their servant, and her daughter, Jestine, who is like a sister to Rachel. …
Published back in 1956, this novel broke the bounds of what was acceptable and became a runaway best seller. Previous to it's publication, books and films revolved around women being the objects of desire, rather than possessing any, and small town America was felt to be safe, sleep and benign. And then this book came …
Two intelligent misfits will finds their lives changed when a new tenant moves into their Paris apartment block. One at the end of her life, the intelligent concierge who hides herself in obscurity, and one beginning her life, a bright 12 year old girl who is frustrated with the hypocrisy of the people around her. …
Continue reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
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