Celia Fremlin – A Life of Crime
By Victoria Best Celia Fremlin published her first crime fiction, The Hours Before Dawn, in 1959, when she was 44 years old, and it was an instant success, winning her the Edgar…
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 not know about the perennially popular…
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 nearly three years ago, in the…
An Interview with Jill Dawson
By Victoria Best Jill Dawson’s wonderful new novel, The Tell-Tale Heart, recounts the story of Patrick, a womanising lecturer who has recently received a heart transplant. By chance he discovers the identity…
On Writing by A.L. Kennedy
Reviewed by Simon Thomas When I first heard that A.L. Kennedy had written a book called On Writing – now out in paperback – I was intrigued and very keen to read…
Q&A with Naomi Wood, author of Mrs. Hemingway
Questions by Shiny Editor, Victoria 1. What drew you towards Hemingway and his wives as a topic for fiction? I’ve always been interested in Hemingway as a writer, and a…
In Search of Gielgud: A Biographer’s Tale by Jonathan Croall
Reviewed by Harriet Devine Writing a biography is easy, right? You just have to find out lots of facts about the person, and string them together to make them readable….
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 was the original title Linnets and Valerians that…
Five Fascinating Facts about… Nathanael West
Compiled by Oliver Tearle To accompany our review of Daunt Books’ new reprint of Nathanael West’s Miss Lonelyhearts, reviewed here, we’ve asked Oliver Tearle to give us Five Fascinating Facts about…
Q&A with Keir Alexander, author of The Ruby Slippers
Questions by Harriet 1. With such an unusual and imaginative plot, the first question has to be – where did the idea for The Ruby Slippers first come from? It started with…
Spotlight on Publishers: Slightly Foxed
Independent to the core: the story of Slightly Foxed, by Hazel Wood The idea for Slightly Foxed: The Real Reader’s Quarterly took shape round a north London kitchen table in the spring…
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 a hundred years begs an introduction…
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 in a notebook you keep under…
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 how it developed? Thank you! This…
Some Questions for Alice Hoffman
Shiny Editor, Annabel asks Alice Hoffman some questions about the themes in her writing career and her latest novel The Museum of Extraordinary Things, which is reviewed here. Annabel: Before I get…
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 was Writer-in-Residence at Gladstone’s Library in…
Sebastian Barry on The Temporary Gentleman
Sebastian Barry fills in some of the background to his latest novel, which Harriet reviewed here. Questions by Shiny Editor, Harriet. 1. The Temporary Gentleman takes place mainly in Ireland and Africa. What…