August 11, 2020 Cover by Peter Mendelsund Reviewed by Harriet Ed’s Note: Six years after its publication in hardback, Mendelsund’s Cover gets a paperback release, so we are reposting Harriet’s original…
July 23, 2020 Jane Austen: Writing, Society, Politics by Tom Keymer Reviewed by Harriet Today, Jane Austen is regarded as one of the most important writers in the English language, often spoken of in the…
July 16, 2020 Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell Reviewed by Harriet Grief fills the room up of my absent child,Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me, Puts on his pretty…
June 25, 2020 This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald Reviewed by Harriet It’s been many years since I read anything by Scott Fitzgerald, but he used to be a favourite of mine. So…
June 2, 2020 The Mystery of Henri Pick by David Foenkinos Translated by Sam Taylor Reviewed by Harriet Back in 1977, Marilyn French’s The Women’s Room was published. On the cover was the bold (and…
May 26, 2020 Chatterton Square by E H Young Reviewed by Harriet When the British Library announced the first three titles in their new Women Writers series, I was delighted see that one…
May 21, 2020 Well-kept Secrets: The Story of William Wordsworth by Andrew Wordsworth Reviewed by Harriet As I’m sure you’ve noticed, this year marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wordsworth, one of England’s most celebrated…
May 7, 2020 The Bell in the Lake by Lars Mytting Translated by Deborah Dawkin Review by Harriet Lars Mytting, a Norwegian author, has had great acclaim for his two previous books – the non-fiction…
April 28, 2020 Actress by Anne Enright Reviewed by Harriet Why have I never read Anne Enright before? I’m always interested in Booker prize winners (she won for The Gathering in…
April 21, 2020 My Husband Simon by Mollie Panter-Downes Reviewed by Harriet I’m sure I’m not alone in having rejoiced when the British Library announced a new series of reprints of 20th century…
April 14, 2020 A Thousand Moons by Sebastian Barry Reviewed by Harriet, 14 April 2020 In early times I was Ojinjintka, which means rose. Thomas McNulty tried very hard to say this name,…
April 7, 2020 She-Merchants, Buccaneers and Gentlewomen: British Women in India by Katie Hickman Reviewed by Harriet What an enticing title! Made even more so by the sub-title, ‘British Women in India’. Katie Hickman, who herself led a…
March 31, 2020 Rules for Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson Reviewed by Harriet I’ve reviewed two of Peter Swanson’s excellent psychological thrillers on Shiny before. There have been a couple of others since then,…
March 10, 2020 The Author’s Effects by Nicola J. Watson Reviewed by Harriet This splendid and fascinating book – subtitled ‘On Writer’s House Museums’ – has been a long time in the making, and…
February 13, 2020 Veronica by Veronica Lake Reviewed by Harriet I wonder how many people today have even heard of Veronica Lake. There was a time, though a relatively brief one,…
February 11, 2020 Abigail by Magda Szabo Translated by Len Rix Reviewed by Harriet This novel, by the award-winning Hungarian novelist Magda Szabo, was first published in 1970. However, it is…
February 4, 2020 Postscript to Poison & Shadows Before by Dorothy Bowers Reviewed by Harriet I have a special liking for vintage crime novels and am always pleased when I discover an author previously unknown to…
January 30, 2020 Of Cats and Elfins by Sylvia Townsend Warner Reviewed by Harriet Just over a year ago I reviewed the newly published Handheld Press edition of Sylvia Townsend Warner’s Kingdoms of Elfin, a…
December 10, 2019 The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo Translated by Louise Heal Kawai Reviewed by Harriet This delightful reprint from Pushkin Press is widely viewed as one of Japan’s greatest murder mysteries….
November 28, 2019 Sorry for the Dead by Nicola Upson Reviewed by Harriet Here at Shiny we are great admirers of Nicola Upson’s books – her most recent novel, Stanley and Elsie, was reviewed…
November 21, 2019 Tea at Four O’Clock by Janet McNeill Review by Harriet The gates of her prison were open, but she lacked the courage to go through them to whatever new country was…
November 7, 2019 Akin by Emma Donoghue Reviewed by Harriet Back in 2010 I read Emma Donoghue’s best selling, prize winning Room. I admired it but I can’t say I enjoyed…
October 31, 2019 Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout Reviewed by Harriet I’ve reviewed two of Elizabeth Strout’s novels on Shiny [here] and [here] and both were brilliant. But possibly my favourite up…
October 8, 2019 The Dutch House by Ann Patchett Reviewed by Harriet Ann Patchett believes in goodness, arguably a most unfashionable belief in today’s world. In the bookstore she runs, there’s a sign:…
September 10, 2019 Devotion by Madeline Stevens Reviewed by Harriet ‘A dangerous novel – sharp, glittering and sexy’: so says the quotation on the cover of Madeline Stevens’ debut novel. I’m…
