Erica

LATEST ARTICLES ( 397 )

• 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

• Love on the Supertax by Marghanita Laski (1944)

  

  Review by Jane V: Lady Clarissa, daughter of a Duke, lives with her parents in their rundown mansion in Mayfair. All their servants have gone to join the war... Read more

  Posted on 17 February 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Mandoa, Mandoa! by Winifred Holtby (1933)

  

  Review by Judith W: Mandoa is a small African state rarely visited by westerners where the traditions remain undisturbed, until the Lord High Chamberlain, Safi... Read more

  Posted on 12 February 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Parody Party Edited by Leonard Russell (1936)

  We had a lovely reading group last month where we read books selected from the collection because they been tagged as ‘satire’ or ‘parody’. Read more

  Posted on 11 February 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Little Soul by Elinor Mordaunt (1920)

  A very odd sounding novel, this, but notable for a sympathetic portrayal of a doctor who performs abortions. Review by Sue R: A  dramatic novel  set before and... Read more

  Posted on 05 February 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Garden of Contentment by Elinor Mordaunt (1902)

  

  Is this book fiction? Our reader, Mary, wasn’t sure. Like Elizabeth and her German Garden (1898) (which is mentioned in this book) it isn’t entirely clear! Read more

  Posted on 04 February 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Prelude to Death by Elinor Mordaunt (1936)

  

  Review by Sylvia D: Prelude to Death is unusual in that it starts with an Epilogue which is continued at intervals throughout the narrative. Read more

  Posted on 03 February 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Sinabada by Elinor Mordaunt (1937)

  

  Elinor Mordaunt was born Evelyn May Clowes in 1872 in Cotgrave, near Nottingham. She died in 1942. Another quite prolific popular novelist, Mordaunt doesn’t hav... Read more

  Posted on 29 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Refugee by Mrs Alfred Sidgwick (1934)

  

  Another Mrs Alfred Sidgwick review! And a particularly interesting subject for romantic fiction in the 1930s. Review by Judith W: A young Jewish woman, Helga... Read more

  Posted on 27 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Academic Conference

  

  We’re going to hold a one-day conference at Sheffield Hallam University on Saturday 14th June 2014, entitled  ’Culture Wars 1900-1950′. We will be... Read more

  Posted on 27 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Simpson (1931) by Edward Sackville West

  

  This fourth novel by Edward Sackville-West won the Femina Vie Heureuse prize in 1931. Cambridge University Library holds papers of the English committe of this... Read more

  Posted on 24 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Ruin: A Gothic Novel by Edward Sackville-West (1926)

  

  Review by George Simmers (see his Great War Fiction blog here) The book’s subtitle, ‘A Gothic Novel’, is a hint, I suppose,  that the reader should expect more... Read more

  Posted on 23 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Edward Sackville-West (1901-1965)

  

  The surname is familiar to readers of this period, but not, I expect, the first name! This is the cousin of  the writer and gardener Vita Sackville-West. Read more

  Posted on 22 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Karen by Mrs Alfred Sidgwick (1918)

  

  Review by Kath R: Karen, an young English girl, daughter of a widower, goes to Germany for the wedding of a school-friend.  She falls out with the... Read more

  Posted on 17 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Below Stairs by Mrs Alfred Sidgwick (1913)

  

  Review by Thecla W: Priscilla Day is 12 at the beginning of the novel and living with her parents. Mr Day has lost his job and they are poor. Read more

  Posted on 16 January 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE