Erica

LATEST ARTICLES ( 397 )

• Tadpole Hall by Helen Ashton (1941)

  This is a war novel which focuses on the home front rather than on active service. It is 1939 and the village of Lambscot is facing the threat and then the... Read more

  Posted on 09 June 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Book Review: The Well of Loneliness (1928) by Radclyffe Hall

  Review by George Simmers. The Reading Groups have been looking at war books by women this month. The one I selected is better known for other reasons, but the... Read more

  Posted on 09 June 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The War-Workers* (1918) by E M Delafield (EMD)

  

  EMD by Howard Coster, 1930s This month we have been reading books about women in war… I was looking things up for this review and found: ‘…those who knew her... Read more

  Posted on 06 June 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• That Hideous Strength by CS Lewis

  

  This is the third in C.S. Lewis’s Science Fiction trilogy but unlike the first two books which were set on Mars and Venice respectively, this book is set on... Read more

  Posted on 31 May 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple (1953)

  

  Review by George S. Warning: I couldn’t write this one without including plot spoilers. Last month was Whipple month at the Reading Group. I had not read any... Read more

  Posted on 26 May 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Now Voyager (1941), by Olive Higgins Prouty

  

  “Oh Jerry, don’t let’s ask for the moon!  We have the stars!” (Hodder and Stoughton edition, 1943, p.222). If you love classic movies, these words will resonate. Read more

  Posted on 14 May 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Review of Descent into Hell (1937) by Charles Williams

  

  Review by Mary G Thecla W pointed me to the comment on the dust jacket as she lent me her copy of Descent into Hell: ‘These novels have been constantly asked fo... Read more

  Posted on 09 May 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Out of the Silent Planet (1938), by C S Lewis

  

  Review by Val H., picking up some points about changing attitudes to religion in the recent post Religion in the middle-brow novels by margaretbennett72. Read more

  Posted on 27 April 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• All Hallows’ Eve by Charles Williams (1945)

  All Hallows’ Eve is the last of Williams’ strange, supernatural thrillers and for me it is his most successful, the one in which plot, characterization  and... Read more

  Posted on 26 April 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Religion in the Middle-brow Novels

  

  One of the recurring themes in the middlebrow novels I have read as part of the Reading 1900-1950 project is religion, church teachings and theological in... Read more

  Posted on 25 April 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Many Dimensions by Charles Williams (1931)

  

  Many Dimensions (1931) was reprinted as a green Penguin in 1952; it must be oddest and least typical book ever to appear in that series. Read more

  Posted on 16 April 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• I’ll Be off Now…

  

  Just a little post to say that this is my last day before I go on maternity leave! I won’t be administering the reading 1900-1950 blog but I am delighted to... Read more

  Posted on 18 March 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Just Like Aunt Bertha by W. Pett Ridge (1925)

  Review by Helen N: The book centres round Aunt Bertha, a woman of resource who deals with both a professional life and sorting out all of her friends and... Read more

  Posted on 18 March 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Juan in China by Eric Linklater (1937)

  

  This Linklater novel is a sequel to his first big success, Juan in America (1931). Review by Helen C: Our young hero, Juan, has been persuaded to accompany his... Read more

  Posted on 17 March 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Middlebrow Goes to the Movies (again)

  Review by Val H After posting on the 1933 film Christopher Strong (based on Gilbert Frankau’s novel), I have done more research on middlebrow novels and the fil... Read more

  Posted on 12 March 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Miss Mannering by W. Pett Ridge (1923)

  

  Review by Sylvia D: I enjoyed W Pett Ridge’s Miss Mannering (1923) for three reasons.  First, the novel had an unlikely theme, focusing as it does for much on... Read more

  Posted on 09 March 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Sailor’s Holiday by Eric Linklater (1937)

  

  Another damning review of Eric Linklater! Oh dear! Review by Sophie H: The Sailor’s Holiday is made up of a series of short vignettes relating the adventures... Read more

  Posted on 09 March 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Mike and Psmith, by PG Wodehouse (1953)

  

  Review by Val H. Mike and Psmith is a hugely enjoyable, old-fashioned school story, with mischievous boys, bamboozled teachers and heroic stands at the... Read more

  Posted on 08 March 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• ‘Thanks to Sanderson’ by W. Pett Ridge (1911)

  

  Review by George Simmers: The Sandersons are an upper-working-class family with aspirations. The father is a ticket collector at a railway station; the mother... Read more

  Posted on 06 March 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Ripeness is All by Eric Linklater (1935)

  

  Review by Thecla W: The novel opens with the funeral of Major John Gander. We are introduced to various Gander relatives: his half-sister, Hilary; his nephews,... Read more

  Posted on 02 March 2015 BOOKS, CULTURE