April 24, 2014 Five Fascinating Facts about Rumer Godden Compiled by Victoria Best As an accompaniment to Harriet’s review of Rumer Godden novels An Episode of Sparrows and The Dark Horse, here are five things you might…
April 24, 2014 An Episode of Sparrows and The Dark Horse by Rumer Godden Reviewed by Harriet Devine Rumer Godden is a remarkable writer, and far less well known today than she deserves to be. So, Virago’s decision…
April 24, 2014 Discovering Mary Hocking In The Back Of Another Book Written by Ali Hope There is probably no greater joy for a book lover than to discover a new author. I found Mary Hocking…
April 24, 2014 The ‘Fairley Family Trilogy’ by Mary Hocking Reviewed by Ali Hope The Fairley family trilogy by Mary Hocking has remained among her most popular novels. They were among a small number…
April 17, 2014 A Long Walk Home by Judith Tebbutt Reviewed by Victoria Best Of all the truly terrifying experiences that life can hold, I would imagine that being kidnapped and held hostage must…
April 17, 2014 Why you should read The Runaways, by Adrienne Byrne Winner of the Hesperus ‘Uncover a Children’s Classic Competition’, 2013 I was about ten when I discovered this book in my local library. It…
April 15, 2014 You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz Reviewed by Harriet Devine I don’t have much time for endorsements on book covers, and generally they tend to irritate me, especially when they…
April 10, 2014 Zola – An Introduction To His Books By Victoria Best The OUP’s decision to publish some of the novels of Émile Zola that have not been in translation for more than…
April 10, 2014 The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell New York is a melting pot, nearly everyone has come from somewhere else to be there, and Hoffman’s new novel…
April 10, 2014 American Sycamore by Karen Fielding Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell It is lovely to be able to heartily recommend a début novel published by a smaller independent publisher – American Sycamore is…
April 10, 2014 Money by Émile Zola Translated by Valerie Minogue Reviewed by Harriet Devine ‘It’s very difficult to write a novel about money. It’s cold, icy, lacking in interest’. So…
April 10, 2014 Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell When I read that Val McDermid, writer of many a gory crime novel, was penning the second book in ‘The…
April 10, 2014 Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell I have always fiercely maintained that good writing transcends genre; it also transcends age. Meg Rosoff’s latest novel for young…
April 10, 2014 Combining Fact and Fiction in the Writing of ‘The Dance of Love’ by Angela Young The Dance of Love is my second novel, so I’m a novice. I’ve written since I was a child but it’s one thing to write…
April 10, 2014 Bedsit Disco Queen by Tracey Thorn Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell I wish Tracey Thorn was my cousin, sister even. I can say that – for we share not only a…
April 10, 2014 Into the Trees by Robert Williams Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell Imagine a house in the middle of the forest, somewhere you feel safe, at home; somewhere to hide away perhaps? …
April 10, 2014 Q&A with Helen Oyeyemi, author of Boy, Snow, Bird Questions by Simon 1) Firstly, congrats on Boy, Snow, Bird, it’s fantastic! Could you say a bit about the genesis of the novel and…
April 10, 2014 Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi Reviewed by Simon Thomas At some point, Helen Oyeyemi will stop being notable for her youth – but, at 29 and with five novels…
April 10, 2014 Still Life with Breadcrumbs by Anna Quindlen Reviewed by Adèle Geras Every so often, you come across a novel whose qualities appeal to you in a way that you can’t quite explain. Still…
April 10, 2014 The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton Reviewed by Victoria Best You have to imagine a big chest in the corner of the attic, containing the inscription: Plot Fireworks: Handle With…
April 8, 2014 The Love-Charm of Bombs by Lara Feigel Reviewed by Harriet Devine For the past couple of years, I have been fascinated by the events of WW2, and have found myself drawn…
April 8, 2014 A Tangled Web by L.M. Montgomery Reviewed by Mahathi G A Tangled Web is one of L M Montgomery’s ‘adult’ novels. As such, it is rather different from Montgomery’s usual. There…
April 8, 2014 The Genesis of ‘After Me Comes The Flood’, by Sarah Perry Sarah Perry has lived in Cambridge, Manila and London. A winner of the Shiva Naipaul Memorial prize and a Royal Holloway doctoral studentship, she…
April 8, 2014 Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik Reviewed by Annabel Gaskell Good popular science books don’t come along that often, and when they do, they’re inevitably about four topics it seems:…
April 7, 2014 After I’m Gone by Laura Lippman Reviewed by Ann In 1976, Felix Brewer, unable to face the prospect of fifteen years in jail for illegal gambling offences, arranges to skip…
