Erica

LATEST ARTICLES ( 328 )

• Anthony Thorne, I’m a Stranger Here Myself (1943)

  Book Review by Chris Hopkins. Anthony Thorne was a novelist before the war with two successful novels to his name: Delay in the Sun, 1935, and Fruit in Season,... Read more

  Posted on 28 July 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Family Roundabout (1948) by Richmal Crompton

  

  The fabric design featured on the endpapers of the Persephone edition of Family Roundabout. Book Review by Ros W: Richmal Crompton is better known for her... Read more

  Posted on 16 July 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Cruel Sea (1951) by Nicholas Montserrat

  

  Book Review by Mary P: Our theme for the month was naval fiction, and I decided to read The Cruel Sea which when I looked for a copy of the book was said to be ... Read more

  Posted on 12 July 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Family Roundabout (1948) by Richmal Crompton

  

  Book Review by Kathryn R: This novel was written by the author of the ‘Just William’ stories. It appears that Crompton was the author of around 40 novels for... Read more

  Posted on 06 July 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• William Does His Bit (1941) and Weatherley Parade (1943) by Richmal Crompton.

  

  Book Review by Chris Hopkins. I know we were meant to be reading a Richmal Crompton book for adult readers, but I couldn’t resist the treat of reading a Just... Read more

  Posted on 04 July 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Ship (1943) by C.S. Forester

  

  Book Review by George S: The Ship was first published in 1943, when the outcome of the war was still uncertain, and it bears the marks of a book composed for th... Read more

  Posted on 03 July 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Caroline (1936), by Richmal Crompton

  

  Funny how Caroline’s eyes betrayed her exasperation rather than her voice or manner. They were almost grey when she was pleased, but they turned a clear cold... Read more

  Posted on 13 June 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Millicent Dorrington (1927) by Richmal Crompton

  

  Cover of the first edition. Book Review by George S: I’ve always thought of Richmal Crompton as the quintessential Home Counties writer. Read more

  Posted on 11 June 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Charioteer (1953) by Mary Renault

  

  First edition jacket Book review by Alice C: The book has lain unread on my bookshelves for several years, so during lockdown I decided to shake it out and... Read more

  Posted on 09 June 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Merlin Bay (1930) by Richmal Crompton

  

  I first came upon William Brown in a 1950s edition of William Carries On from the family bookcase and subsequently enjoyed various television adaptations and th... Read more

  Posted on 08 June 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Frost at Morning(1950) by Richmal Crompton.

  

  Book Review by Mary P: This adult novel from an author now best known for her Just William children’s books was published in 1950. Children are the main... Read more

  Posted on 01 June 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Herland (1915) by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

  Book Review by Jane V: I knew about Charlotte Perkins Gilman from her short autobiographical novel The Yellow Wallpaper but it was not until I searched for a(n? Read more

  Posted on 26 May 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• We That Were Young (1932) by Irene Rathbone.

  Book Review by Sylvia D: Members of our Reading Group will remember that what seems like a hundred years ago now when we still lived real lives, we were... Read more

  Posted on 17 May 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Men Like Gods (1923) by H.G. Wells

  

  Book review by Frances S: Settling down to begin reading Men Like Gods a day or two after The Prime Minister’s 23 March 2020 ‘lockdown’ speech, I was looking... Read more

  Posted on 11 May 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• ‘The Murder of Madame Mollard’ (1930) by Winifred Holtby

  

  Book Review by Chris Hopkins. This short feminist dystopia by Winifred Holtby is, as far as I can see, completely forgotten about, but well-worth recovering. Read more

  Posted on 08 May 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Three Weeks (1907) by Elinor Glyn

  

  Book Review by Kathryn R: I found this book in the Old Pier Bookshop* in Morecambe while browsing for other books from 1900-1950. It was in the ‘collectables’... Read more

  Posted on 07 May 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Lord of the World (1907) by Robert Hugh Benson

  

  Book Review by Sylvia D: It’s striking that all the reviews that have been posted so far have been of dystopian novels. I wonder if that is a reflection of the... Read more

  Posted on 06 May 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• The Iron Heel (1908) by Jack London

  

  Book review by Alice C: Jack London wrote The Iron Heel, a dystopian novel, in 1908. It sold over 50,000 copies in hardback and according to Wikipedia, London... Read more

  Posted on 04 May 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Impromptu in Moribundia (1939) by Patrick Hamilton

  

  Book review by George S: Patrick Hamilton is well known as the chronicler of the seedier side of London – the run-down boarding houses and the dubious pubs. Read more

  Posted on 03 May 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Herland (1915) by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

  

  Book review by Mary P: When we were given the choice between utopian and dystopian fiction this month, I immediately went for the former. Read more

  Posted on 02 May 2020 BOOKS, CULTURE