Drharrietd

LATEST ARTICLES ( 303 )

• The Temporary Gentleman

  

  If you asked me to name my favourite contemporary novelists, Sebastian Barry would be a strong contender for the top of the list. Read more

  Posted on 15 April 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Spring Tide

  

  This arrived not long ago, but unfortunately too late for me to read it and get a review into Shiny New Books issue 1. But being a lover of Nordic crime, ... Read more

  Posted on 13 April 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Woman Reading

  

  Most of the paintings I put up here seem to be 19th or 20th century, so here's a much more ancient one for a change. This is Quintilia Fischieri, painted in... Read more

  Posted on 12 April 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• John Bude's Classic Crime

  

  A few weeks ago I was teasing you a bit with a brief mention of two great classic crime reprints from the British Library -- John Bude's Cornish Coast and Lake... Read more

  Posted on 09 April 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Today's the Day!!!

  

  Yes, folks, less than three months after Victoria and Annabel first cooked up the idea of an online book review magazine, and recruited Simon and me, the first... Read more

  Posted on 07 April 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Girl Reading

  

  Or, to be strictly accurate, Blue Girl Reading (1935). This is by Frederick Carl Frieseke (1874 – 1939) who, despite his indisputably Germanic... Read more

  Posted on 05 April 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• North and South

  

  If you're British, you'll be well used to the concept of the north/south divide. Being a southerner myself, but having lived and worked for more than... Read more

  Posted on 03 April 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Shiny New Books

  

  If you've popped in here in the last few days, you may have noticed a smaller version of this logo over there on the left. If you wondered what it was doing... Read more

  Posted on 31 March 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• T. Tembarom

  

  Did ever a book have such an unpromising title? I can only suppose that by the time Frances Hodgson Burnett published it, in 1913, she was famous enough not to... Read more

  Posted on 29 March 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Signature of All Things

  

  Sometimes it seems that for a writer to become famous for a particular book can be a mixed blessing. This is certainly what happened to Elizabeth Gilbert. Read more

  Posted on 26 March 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Woman Reading

  

  Last week I showed you a lovely picture by Renoir of his friend Monet's wife Camille reading. Camille seems to have loved books, as there are numerous... Read more

  Posted on 22 March 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Uncovering Vintage Crime

  

  Once upon a time, when I was doing research and teaching, my speciality was uncovering writers and texts that hadn't seen the light of day for a very long time ... Read more

  Posted on 18 March 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Woman Reading

  

  Some famous names for you here today. This is 'Madame Monet Reading' by the great impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). And Madame Monet is o... Read more

  Posted on 15 March 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Woman With Book

  

  This lovely woman is the novelist Ursula Bloom (1892-1984) painted in 1932 by Charles Buchel (1872-1950). The painting is called 'Ursula Bloom on the Promenade... Read more

  Posted on 08 March 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Accident

  

  Write what you know, they say, and Chris Pavone has certainly done this in his follow-up to his prize-winning debut novel The Expats, which I reviewed on here... Read more

  Posted on 05 March 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Woman Drinking Tea

  

  This is Afternoon Tea, painted in 1912 by the American artist Charles Bittinger (1879-1970). I found it on my favourite site for such things, Old Painting. I'd... Read more

  Posted on 01 March 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• An Avalanche of Books

  

  The jolly facteur (that's the postman to you) came staggering up the drive this morning with a plastic box containing this lot. Read more

  Posted on 01 March 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Never Look Away

  

  I'm reading my little head off at the moment, though the results have not been manifest on here, for reasons that will soon become apparent. Read more

  Posted on 26 February 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Girl and Dog Reading

  

  The Finnish painter Albert Edelfelt (1854-1905) painted this potrait of his sister Bertha reading with, or to, her dog. It seems to be usually known as Good... Read more

  Posted on 22 February 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Blue Afternoon

  

  I had a real William Boyd binge last year, and loved every minute of it. So when I happened upon this 1993 novel, I thought it might please me as much as Waitin... Read more

  Posted on 17 February 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE