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Reading 1900-1950
http://reading19001950.wordpress.com/
The special collection of popular fiction at Sheffield Hallam University
LATEST ARTICLES ( 391 )
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Mary Wakefield by Mazo De La Roche (1949)
Review by Sylvia D: Mary Wakefield (1949) couldn’t fail to appeal to moony 1950s and 60s teenagers dreaming of a handsome young man who will sweep them off thei... Read more
Posted on 02 June 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE -
The Building of Jalna by Mazo De La Roche (1944)
Next is a series of reviews of the Jalna novels by Canadian Mazo de la Roche. There are 16 novels in the Jalna series, published from 1927 to 1960, which... Read more
Posted on 29 May 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Patricia Brent, Spinster by Herbery Jenkins (1918)
There have been a few blog reviews of this novel recently. See Stuck-in-a-Book Review by Thecla W: Patricia Brent is 24, secretary to an MP, Arthur Bonsor, and... Read more
Posted on 19 May 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Bindle by Herbert Jenkins (1916) and Adventures of Bindle (1919)
We’re now on to some novels that have not been reprinted in recent times (as far as I know!) and I think have been pretty much forgotten. Read more
Posted on 14 May 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE -
A Heritage and Its History by Ivy Compton-Burnett (1959)
Review by Sylvia D: I have read several of Elizabeth Taylor’s novels with a growing respect for her ability as a writer, so I chose an Ivy Compton-Burnett... Read more
Posted on 12 May 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Palladian by Elizabeth Taylor (1946)
Here’s the rather lovely cover of the first edition of Palladian (very kindly given to me by Nicolas Hawkes). It was ‘produced in conformity with the... Read more
Posted on 02 May 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Manservant and Maidservant by Ivy Compton-Burnett (1947)
Review by Mary P: This novel paints a picture of an Edwardian upper-class household where the servants are given as much prominence as those they work for, and... Read more
Posted on 30 April 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE -
A House and Its Head by Ivy Compton-Burnett (1935)
Review by George Simmers (see his Great War Fiction blog here) A House and its Head is the story of a family ruled by the whim of Duncan, the despotic patriarch... Read more
Posted on 29 April 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Elizabeth Taylor and Ivy Compton-Burnett
We had a delightful reading group the other day reading Elizabeth Taylor and Ivy Compton-Burnett. I have long thought that Taylor is one of the best novelists o... Read more
Posted on 29 April 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE -
The Major’s Candlesticks by George A. Birmingham (1929)
Review by Kath R: George A. Birmingham is the pseudonym of James Owen Hannay. Major Kent’s Irish country house is burned down during the Irish War of... Read more
Posted on 23 April 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE -
The Castle on the Hill by Elizabeth Goudge (1942)
Review by Thecla W: It is early in the War. Miss Brown, aged around 40, has had her boarding house requisitioned by the Army and is in London, staying with a... Read more
Posted on 09 April 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE -
The Rosemary Tree by Elizabeth Goudge (1956)
Elizabeth Goudge’s children’s novels have many admirers, but our reading group found her adult novels pretty heavy-going. Jane wrote of The White Witch: ‘Oh... Read more
Posted on 08 April 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE -
White Fang by Jack London (1907)
Review by Helen N This was quite a hard read for me. If it is not inappropriate to talk about gender-specific books, this is very much a man’s book. Read more
Posted on 07 April 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE -
A Son of the Sun by Jack London (1912)
Review by Sylvia D A Son of the Sun is a collection of short stories, all of which originally ran in the Saturday Evening Post in 1911 and all of which feature... Read more
Posted on 04 April 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE -
The Scarlet Plague by Jack London (1912)
Review by George Simmers (see his Great War Fiction blog here) First published in London Magazine in 1912, then in book form by Macmillan in 1915. Read more
Posted on 01 April 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Whom God Hath Joined by Arnold Bennett (1906)
Review by Sylvia D: Whom God Hath Joined is one of Arnold Bennett’s Five Towns novels. It is a powerful read with a strong social message. It is also a novel... Read more
Posted on 03 March 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE -
The Vanguard: A Fantasia by Arnold Bennett (1927)
Review by George Simmers: The Vanguard is one of Arnold Bennett’s lighter novels, a story of the (mostly good-humoured) rivalry between two very rich men. Read more
Posted on 28 February 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Riceyman Steps by Arnold Bennett (1923)
Review by Helen N: I found the book very easy to read. Bennett’s style is straightforward and he paints a vivid picture of the Clerkenwell area of London just... Read more
Posted on 25 February 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Clayhanger by Arnold Bennett (1910)
Next some reviews of a very well-known novelist, Arnold Bennett (1867-1931). Probably the most well-known novelist we have read in the 1900-1950 reading group,... Read more
Posted on 24 February 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE -
Penguin New Writing 1940-1950 Edited by John Lehmann
Last week the reading group discussed The Penguin New Writing series, edited by John Lehmann. We’ve got a full run of this series, from number 1 in 1940, to... Read more
Posted on 17 February 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE