Book Review: Death of an Avid Reader by Frances Brody

Death of an Avid Reader is the sixth novel in the Kate Shackleton private detective series (the previous five have all been reviewed on this blog). It's set in 1920s Yorkshire and has become one of my favourite book series ever.

This novel straddles two investigations. Kate is originally tasked to track down the illegitimate daughter of Lady Coulton and throws herself into that investigation with the aid of her partner Jim Sykes. However, she is also plunged into a murder mystery when Dr Horatio Potter is found dead in the basement of the Leeds Library following an exorcism.

This was another thoroughly enjoyable read from Brody, with plenty of twists and turns along the way. I particularly liked the involvement of a Capuchin monkey and the way the story revolved around the library. It is pretty much like heaven for me to read a murder mystery set in a library, especially given how things wrapped up. There were some interesting tangents but, unlike some mysteries, the whole thing fit together very nicely in the end. The character introduced were necessary for the plot and they were well written - as usual.

Without ruining the various plot twist there's not much more I dare say about the novel. I will say, though, that the scenes involving the monkey were some of the most memorable. I just wish she'd kept Percy at the end of it all!

Book Review: Daughters of Jerusalem by Charlotte Mendelson

Set in the claustrophobic world of 1980s Oxford, Daughters of Jerusalem tells the story of the Lux family and the façade of respectability that crumbles through the course of the novel. It's an hilarious and dark novel that perfectly captures the bitterness of life with vivid characters who jump from the page.

Chief amongst these is the eldest daughter, Eve, who loathes her younger sister with a passion. Phoebe is spoiled and always gets whatever she wants whilst intelligent Eve feels sidelined. As the novel progresses this loathing takes a more sinister turn and Phoebe's machinations against her sister have dire consequences. Mendelson's portrayal of Phoebe's selfishness is exquisite, especially because we've all encountered someone like that in our lives.

Jean Lux's attention to her daughters is diminished by the desire for some excitement in her boring life. Her husband is far more interested in a Lectureship that's threatened by the arrival of an old enemy and her friend, Helena, has a bombshell to drop about the nature of their relationship that impacts the whole family. I really enjoyed the development of that storyline and how it fit into the claustrophobic environment.

Ultimately, Daughters of Jerusalem is so enjoyable because it's so real. It melds the academic life with a dysfunctional family life. It doesn't shy away from showing parents with favourites and how this can affect the children. It's a novel about misunderstandings and things being left unsaid. The final chapters manage to bring everything together without tying it all neatly in a bow and there are some truly satisfying moments in the last third that are just reward for reading - even if the entire book wasn't enjoyable in numerous little ways.

2016 Reading Challenges

Given that I failed miserably with reading challenges in 2015, I've decided on a new approach for 2016 that doesn't require me to commit to external challenges. Maybe this is another sign of me regressing but it's the only way I'm going to put together a 2016 challenge list so que sera sera.

There are three categories in my personal reading challenge with all books identified beforehand. I might have more success with these categories and the first two will at least attack my TBR pile. There'll be individual reviews for the books in those categories then one master post detailing my thoughts on the rereads of the third category.

This post will be updated throughout the year with links. Theoretically.

Challenge One - TBR Pile

Twenty books taken from my TBR bookcase. Only stipulation is that they can't be classics - they get a list of their own.

1. The Friendly Young Ladies by Mary Renault
2. Collected Stories by Dylan Thomas
3. Pages for You by Sylvia Brownrigg
4. Author, Author by David Lodge
5. Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire
6. The Selected Letters of Charles Dickens ed. Jenny Hartley
7. Love Game: A History of Tennis by Elizabeth Wilson
8. Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth
9. Wilkie Collins by Peter Ackroyd
10. The Debs of Bletchley Park by Michael Smith
11. Events, Dear Boy, Events: A Political Diary of Britain 1921-2010 ed. Ruth Winstone
12. The Walk by Robert Walser
13. Confronting the Classics by Mary Beard
14. Underworld London by Catharine Arnold
15. The Bletchley Girls by Tessa Dunlop
16. Virginia Woolf by Mary Ann Caws
17. Cathedrals and Castles by Henry James
18. The Invention of Murder by Judith Flanders
19. Too Many Mothers by Roberta Taylor
20. The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson

Challenge Two - Classics Challenge

Twenty books taken from my TBR classics Kindle list and bookcase. I should really have read some of these already and several of these have been on TBR lists for the last few years.

1. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
2. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
3. Tono-Bungay by H.G. Wells
4. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
5. Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
6. Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens
7. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens 
8. Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens
9. The New Magdalen by Wilkie Collins
10. Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
11. The Europeans by Henry James
12. Mathilda by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
13. The Evil Guest by J.S. Le Fanu
14. Born in Exile by George Gissing
15. The Whirlpool by George Gissing
16. The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume
17. Charlotte's Inheritance by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
18. Henry Dunbar by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
19. Anna of the Five Towns by Arnold Bennett
20. In the Days of My Youth by Amelia Edwards

Challenge Three - Rereading Challenge

I don't reread enough and I want to. Reorganising my books a few months ago reminded me how many fantastic books I have that I'd like to read again. This list is longer than the first two for a very good reason - Harry Potter has seven books in itself!

1. Tell it to the Bees by Fiona Shaw
2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
3. The Green Mile by Stephen King
4. The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan
5. Westwood by Stella Gibbons
6. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
7. Gillespie and I by Jane Harris
8. Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
9. Emma by Jane Austen
10. The Night Watch by Sarah Waters
11. Save Me the Waltz by Zelda Fitzgerald
12. Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee by Meera Syal
13. Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins
14. Persuasion by Jane Austen
15. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
16. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
17. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
18. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
19. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
20. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
21. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
22. Little Face by Sophie Hannah
23. Hurting Distance by Sophie Hannah
24. The Point of Rescue by Sophie Hannah
25. The Other Half Lives by Sophie Hannah
26. A Room Swept White by Sophie Hannah
27. Lasting Damage by Sophie Hannah
28. Kind of Cruel by Sophie Hannah
29. The Carrier by Sophie Hannah
30. The Telling Error by Sophie Hannah

2015 Reading Challenges Round Up

Well, I failed quite spectacularly at all the challenges I attempted. No surprise there but the books I did manage to read are linked below.

New Author Challenge

I suppose, in my defence, I read other books by 'new to me' authors so this looks worse than it was. Out of the three I got to, Dead to Me was my favourite and I'll be reading more of Staincliffe's work in the future. 

1. The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg
2. After Me Comes the Flood by Sarah Perry
3. The Failed Assassin by Richard Pierce
4. Dead to Me by Cath Staincliffe
5. The Accidental Mother by Rowan Coleman
6. Heresy by S.J. Parris
7. The Bawdy Basket by Edward Marston
8. The Lost Abbot by Susanna Gregory
9. The Heir of Redclyffe by Charlotte Yonge
10. Patricia Brent, Spinster by Herbert George Jenkins
11. The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni
12. The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume
13. King Solomon's Mines by Henry Rider Haggard
14. The Angel of Terror by Edgar Wallace
15. The Bartlett Mystery by Louis Tracy

Women Challenge

I did a little better with this one and, again, I read other books by women not related to the challenge. Thoroughly enjoyed the Frances Brody novels I read this year and Stella Gibbons is always a favourite. 

1. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
2. Brick Mother by S.J. Bradley
3. The Lovels of Arden by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
4. The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters
5. Here Be Dragons by Stella Gibbons
6. Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell
7. In the Days of My Youth by Amelia Edwards
8. Murder on a Summer's Day by Frances Brody
9. Mathilda by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
10. Camilla by Fanny Burney
11. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
12. Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
13. Nancy by Rhoda Broughton
14. Miss Marjoribanks by Margaret Oliphant
15. The Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner

TBR Challenge

Failed at this before and failed again. The Lazy Tour was rather good though. 

1. Author, Author by David Lodge
2. Mutants by Armand Marie Leroi
3. Radclyffe Hall: A Woman Called John by Sally Cline
4. The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices by Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins
5. The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister
6. 800 Years of Women's Letters
7. Collected Stories by Dylan Thomas
8. Henry Dunbar by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
9. The New Magdalen by Wilkie Collins
10. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
11. The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham
12. Witch Stories by Eliza Lynn Linton

Victorian Bingo Challenge

Er, yes, failed miserably. However, both books I read from this challenge have found their way into my favourites so it can't be all bad. 

1. Book Published in the 1840s - Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens
2. Male Author - The Warden by Anthony Trollope
3. Female Author - Charlotte's Inheritance by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
4. Book with a Name as the Title - Felix Holt, the Radical by George Eliot
5. Book Published in Serial Format - The Cloister and the Hearth by Charles Reade

Reading England Challenge

Alas, not a page turned. 

1. Berkshire - Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
2. Essex - Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens
3. Derbyshire - Rookwood by W.H. Ainsworth
4. Nottinghamshire - Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence
5. Somerset - Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore
6. Lancashire - Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell

My Favourite Books of 2015

One benefit of not reading enough is that the good books I've read stand out that little bit more. Interesting thing? I read all of these in the first seven months of the year. You can find the complete list of books I've read this year here but these are my top five, in no particular order.

Dead to Me by Cath Staincliffe

The first book I read in 2015 is still one of my favourites. A prequel to the Scott & Bailey television series, this was an excellent read and the plan is still to read the next novel when I get a chance. My full review can be found here. 

Felix Holt, the Radical by George Eliot

It's taken quite a while for me to find an Eliot book that really got me but Felix Holt  turned out to be it. Almost a year later I'm still thinking about the evocative riot scenes and this is one of those rare novels I remember exactly where I was when I read it, down to the bumps on the track between Wakefield and Sheffield. My full review can be found here. 

Inseparable: Desire Between Women in Literature by Emma Donoghue

My favourite non-fiction book of the year, this is an excellent analysis of same-sex desire that has provided me with so much potential reading material that it's already paid for itself ten times over. My full review can be found here. 

Murder in the Afternoon by Frances Brody

My infatuation with Kate Shackleton doesn't seem to be easing but who cares? Out of the three Brody novels I reviewed in 2015, this one is my favourite thanks to the Wakefield setting. My full review can be found here. 

Here Be Dragons by Stella Gibbons

Here's another author who I could read forever. No matter what I think of a Gibbons plot, the settings are evocative and the characters memorable. Here Be Dragons is another excellent examination of post-war London and it struck a chord. My full review can be found here. 

Collected Book Reviews 2015

Every year this list seems to get smaller and every year I wish I'd read more. Alas, 2015 is no exception. Here are the books I managed to read this year.

Dead to Me by Cath Staincliffe

Felix Holt: the Radical by George Eliot

The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices by Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens

A Medal for Murder by Frances Brody

Four Stories by Alan Bennett

The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg

The Warden by Anthony Trollope

Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth

The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife and the Missing Corpse by Piu Marie Eatwell

Inseparable: Desire Between Women in Literature by Emma Donoghue

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown

Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell

Murder in the Afternoon by Frances Brody

Hild by Nicola Griffith

800 Years of Women's Letters ed. Olga Kenyon

Here Be Dragons by Stella Gibbons

The Accidental Mother by Rowan Coleman

Murder on a Summer's Day by Frances Brody

The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister ed. Helena Whitbread

The Echoing Grove by Rosamond Lehmann

Brick Mother by S.J. Bradley

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The Incredulity of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton

The Comedienne by V.G. Lee

Book Review: The Accidental Mother by Rowan Coleman

The Accidental Mother tells the story of Sophie Mills, a successful party-planner in a prestigious company. She's surprised to one day receive a visit from her social worker who says she's been named as guardian to her old friend's two young children. Sophie finds her life turned upside down by the arrival of Bella and Izzy and makes it her mission to track down their errant father before she loses her shot at promotion and everything she's worked for.

This book has been languishing on my shelf for quite a few years, mainly because it's a little lighter than the novels I generally go for and I've been submerged in seriousness for quite some time now. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, the first half in particular. Sophie's attitude towards the children is your typical fish-out-of-water scenario and it works wonderfully. She's a high-powered, commitment-phobic workaholic and the disruption the girls cause to her well-ordered life is acute and amusingly depicted. The inevitable thaw towards the children, also, is well-handled and it's good to see Sophie going through all those things parents do - for instance, idly wondering why the three year-old is screaming her head off now instead of rushing to help like a woman possessed.

The novel started to lose me a little in the second half with the introduction of Louis, the girls' father. Although, again, I suppose this facet of the plot was inevitable, I didn't really like it and it drew me out of the book somewhat. However, for the most part I enjoyed this novel and I laughed out loud at certain lines.

This book was read as part of the 'New Author' reading challenge, details here.

Book Review: Murder in the Afternoon by Frances Brody

Murder in the Afternoon is the third book in the Kate Shackleton series of mysteries that I've become rather addicted to (see reviews of Dying in the Wool, A Medal for Murder and A Woman Unknown). Set in Yorkshire in the 1920s, this novel blends the personal with the professional for amateur detective Kate. In the middle of the night she is visited by Mary Jane Armstrong who asserts that her two children found the body of their father at the quarry where he works. However, the body has since disappeared and the police aren't taking the matter seriously. Kate's discovery that Mary Jane is her sister leads not only to her taking the case but also visiting the mother who gave her up for adoption as a baby. Once again, Kate is determined to solve the mystery but this time there's more at stake.

Something I've enjoyed in previous books - the intimate descriptions of the Yorkshire locality - jumped to the fore in Murder in the Afternoon. A large proportion of it is set in and around Wakefield and I was thoroughly delighted to be following Kate through areas I know so well, allowing me to catalogue the differences a century can make. There's something about finding a book with locations you recognise that makes you feel closer to the text and it's definitely contributed to my overall love of the series.

As for the mystery itself, the familial tinge makes this novel different to the others. Kate's interactions with her hitherto unknown niece and nephew are particularly interesting, as is the contrast between the life she's had and the one she could've led. To offset this biological family there are more appearances than usual by Kate's adoptive parents in some amusing scenes involving their house being used as bait in a matrimonial trap. All this gives Murder in the Afternoon a distinctive flavour, while there's still a mystery at the heart of it.

Did I guess the killer this time? I suspected, but only because Brody wanted me to I think. I was nowhere near the 'why' and the unravelling at the end of the book was enjoyable in that respect. However, what I ultimate took from this book was a greater sense of Kate Shackleton the character - along with some brilliant depictions of 1920s Wakefield.

Book Review: Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown

First published in 1973, Rubyfruit Jungle is a bawdy romp through one woman's childhood, adolescence and early adulthood as she explores her sexuality and tries to find her place in America without making any compromises. Molly Bolt is the adoptive daughter of a poor couple, a disappointment to her mother, and aware of her sexuality from an early age. This leads to problem after problem but Molly refuses to fit into any mould - she doesn't want a relationship or to settle down, she just wants to get on with her life.

I had mixed feelings about this one. I probably wouldn't have read it if it hadn't been for the reading group I'm a part of and Molly's philosophy isn't really one I'd ever subscribe to. As a critique of contemporary views it works quite well with homophobia and attitudes towards sexuality in general thoroughly examined. However, I did start to lose track of who everyone was as Molly flitted from one relationship to the next. In that sense it's a very episodic narrative, though I appreciated the loop around at the end that grounded me a little more as a reader.

It's an easy read that whooshes along quite rapidly. It's also evocative, particularly the childhood sections before Molly's conquests started to blur for me. While I doubt I'll be rereading it, I'm at least glad I came across it and thanks to my reading group for that.

Book Review: The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

Sarah Waters's sixth novel returns to the complexities of historical lesbian romance, set this time in the years following the Great War. While some people complained that her last novel The Little Stranger didn't have any lesbian characters, I rather enjoyed it. However, I did appreciate the intricacies of The Paying Guests and I put off reading it for quite some time to prolong the pleasure. I always remember one comment on Fingersmith saying that there are some books you envy people for not having read yet - I think this is another one from Waters.

Frances Wray and her widowed mother are forced to take in lodgers when their once-majestic home on Champion Hill becomes unaffordable. These 'paying guests' are Lilian and Leonard Barber, injecting life into the house that Frances and Mrs Wray find difficult to deal with. Against expectations, Frances and Lilian strike up a friendship. This, however, leads to complications which, in turn, leads to something so unexpected that I almost put the book down to applaud before going back to marvel at the foreshadowing.

To say I enjoyed this book would be an understatement and I don't want to say too much about it. What I will say is that the atmosphere built in this novel teeters on the right side of claustrophobic and the characterisation is brilliant, from the protagonists down to the incidentals. The Paying Guests is a sumptuous novel and, yes, I do envy those yet to read it.

This book was read as part of the 'Women' reading challenge, details here.

Big Week Ahead

I've been pretty absent from this corner of the internet for the last few months. There's a practical reason for that - it's difficult to review books or classic films when you can't find time to read and watch them. That epic reading challenges list I decided to undertake this year is taking a hammering, though I'm hopeful that I can catch up when things settle down. I'm due a lull, you see.

This week is pretty important in the grand scheme of things. I have my viva on Friday. And I'm just going to leave that there, because otherwise I may start flapping again. Judy and Fred say no.

So, what else is going on? Well, I've been officially nominated as the Yorkshire First candidate for the Wakefield North council ward. Campaigning is enjoyable yet time-consuming and I just hope I don't disgrace myself on the ballot paper on May 7th. On the work side of things, I've mainly been fire-fighting. I feel like I'm playing a lengthy game of Whac-A-Mole. Viva prep: bam! Political leafleting: bam! Article research and writing: bam! Short story work: bam! Everything begins to calm down after the election. That, however, brings its own set of problems. I think I prefer playing Whac-A-Mole to be honest.

It will be good to return to novel work. I've had to set my plans aside to focus on the things that have popped up in the meantime, but I miss those drafts. Hopefully I can come back to them refreshed and make some headway.

For now, though, I've got to get through this week. I've got everything crossed...

"Maybe I can do - don't laugh - good,

Maybe I can do - don't laugh - well,

Maybe you could be - who knows - proud,

All right so laugh...but not too loud..."

Upstairs and Downstairs: British Costume Drama Television from The Forsyte Saga to Downton Abbey

Before Christmas I received my copy of Upstairs and Downstairs: British Costume Drama Television from The Forsyte Saga to Downton Abbey edited by James Leggott and Julie Anne Taddeo. True to form, I haven't yet managed to dip into the rest of the collection, though expect a review of some sort when I eventually get time to enjoy it. My essay is in the third section, entitled "Homosexual Lives: Representation and Reinterpretation in Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey" which examines the characters of Alfred Harris in Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton's Thomas Barrow.

Part I: Approaches to the Costume Drama

1. Pageantry and Populism, Democratization and Dissent: The Forgotten 1970s — Claire Monk

2. History’s Drama: Narrative Space in “Golden Age” British Television Drama — Tom Bragg

3. “It’s not clever, it’s not funny, and it’s not period!”: Costume Comedy and British Television — James Leggott

4. “It is but a glimpse of the world of fashion”: British Costume Drama, Dickens, and Serialization — Marc Napolitano

5. Never-Ending Stories?: The Paradise and the Period Drama Series — Benjamin Poore

6. Epistolarity and Masculinity in Andrew Davies’s Trollope Adaptations — Ellen Moody

7. “What Are We Going to Do with Uncle Arthur?”: Music in the British Serialized Period Drama — Karen Beth Strovas and Scott M Strovas

Part II: The Costume Drama, History, and Heritage

8. British Historical Drama and the Middle Ages — Andrew B. R. Elliott

9. Desacralizing the Icon: Elizabeth I on Television — Sabrina Alcorn Baron

10. “It’s not the navy-we don’t stand back to stand upwards”: The Onedin Line and the Changing Waters of British Maritime Identity — Mark Fryers

11. Good-Bye to All That: Piece of Cake, Danger UXB, and the Second World War — A. Bowdoin Van Riper

12. Upstairs, Downstairs (2010-2012) and Narratives of Domestic and Foreign Appeasement — Giselle Bastin

13. New Developments in Heritage: The Recent Dark Side of Downton “Downer” Abbey — Katherine Byrne

14. Experimentation and Postheritage in Contemporary TV Drama: Parade’s End — Stella Hockenhull

Part III: The Costume Drama, Sexual Politics, and Fandom

15. “Why don’t you take her?”: Rape in the Poldark Narrative — Julie Anne Taddeo

16. The Imaginative Power of Downton Abbey Fan Fiction — Andrea Schmidt

17. This Wonderful Commercial Machine: Gender, Class, and the Pleasures and Spectacle of Shopping in The Paradise and Mr. Selfridge — Andrea Wright

18. Taking a Pregnant Pause: Interrogating the Feminist Potential of Call the Midwife — Louise FitzGerald

19. Homosexual Lives: Representation and Reinterpretation in Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey — Lucy Brown

20. Troubled by Violence: Transnational Complexity and the Critique of Masculinity in Ripper Street — Elke Weissmann

2015 Reading Challenges Master List

In a bid to make up for my lacklustre attempts at reading as many books as I'd like to in the last few years, I've signed up for five separate reading challenges for 2015. While I could place books on two lists, I haven't done that. The idea is to read as many books as possible and broaden my horizons a little bit. I'll probably fail miserably but I'm going to have fun trying with this lot.

New Author Challenge

Hosted by Literary Escapism, this challenge does what it says on the tin - you have to read a set amount of new authors in 2015. I'm opting into the lowest rung of fifteen novels which may make me a bit of a wimp but I want to try and complete it after all. I've listed the precise books I intend to read and not just the authors because the rest of the lists will look like this and I'm nothing if not methodical. It's a reasonable mix of modern novels and older stuff. 

1. The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg
2. After Me Comes the Flood by Sarah Perry
3. The Failed Assassin by Richard Pierce
4. Dead to Me by Cath Staincliffe
5. The Accidental Mother by Rowan Coleman
6. Heresy by S.J. Parris
7. The Bawdy Basket by Edward Marston
8. The Lost Abbot by Susanna Gregory
9. The Heir of Redclyffe by Charlotte Yonge
10. Patricia Brent, Spinster by Herbert George Jenkins
11. The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni
12. The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume
13. King Solomon's Mines by Henry Rider Haggard
14. The Angel of Terror by Edgar Wallace
15. The Bartlett Mystery by Louis Tracy

Women Challenge

Hosted by Peek a booK!, the idea is to get people reading more books by women. While that's probably my default position anyway, it can't hurt to make it official and, besides, it's setting in stone that I need to read some of those classics I've so far neglected. I'm opting for the second level which is six to fifteen books and aiming for the higher end of that category.

1. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
2. Brick Mother by S.J. Bradley
3. The Lovels of Arden by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
4. The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters
5. Here Be Dragons by Stella Gibbons
6. Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell
7. In the Days of My Youth by Amelia Edwards
8. Murder on a Summer's Day by Frances Brody
9. Mathilda by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
10. Camilla by Fanny Burney
11. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
12. Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
13. Nancy by Rhoda Broughton
14. Miss Marjoribanks by Margaret Oliphant
15. The Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner

TBR Challenge

Hosted by Roof Beam Reader, this is the challenge I failed miserably at last year, only getting through five of my choices. As a consequence, several of these books are appearing on the list for the second year running and I'll try to do better this time. As per the rules, all of these books have been waiting to be read for at least a year and there are twelve books on this list. 

1. Author, Author by David Lodge
2. Mutants by Armand Marie Leroi
3. Radclyffe Hall: A Woman Called John by Sally Cline
4. The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices by Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins
5. The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister
6. 800 Years of Women's Letters
7. Collected Stories by Dylan Thomas
8. Henry Dunbar by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
9. The New Magdalen by Wilkie Collins
10. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
11. The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham
12. Witch Stories by Eliza Lynn Linton

Victorian Bingo Challenge

This one, hosted by Becky's Book Reviews, is rather fun. You have to complete a row, line or diagonal on the bingo board and, again, I'm using this challenge to read books I should've read already. I've gone across the top, mainly because I wanted to avoid some categories that would likely put me off the challenge and there are five books involved in this one.

1. Book Published in the 1840s - Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens
2. Male Author - The Warden by Anthony Trollope
3. Female Author - Charlotte's Inheritance by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
4. Book with a Name as the Title - Felix Holt, the Radical by George Eliot
5. Book Published in Serial Format - The Cloister and the Hearth by Charles Reade

Reading England Challenge

Hosted by Behold the Stars, this challenge is to read books set in different parts of the country. I'm opting for level two which is four to six books and aiming for the higher number again. I've deliberately filled this selection with classics too, probably because I'm a glutton for punishment.

1. Berkshire - Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
2. Essex - Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens
3. Derbyshire - Rookwood by W.H. Ainsworth
4. Nottinghamshire - Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence
5. Somerset - Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore
6. Lancashire - Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell

2014 Reading Challenges Round Up

In 2014 I attempted two reading challenges - and I failed them both! However, it's been that kind of year all round so I'm trying to look on the positive side of things and say that at least I read the books from the challenges that I did.

Chunkster Challenge

My aim for this was to read five books of more than 550 pages and, in the event, I only managed three. However, that's still a lot of pages and I thoroughly enjoyed two of those three books. 

1. Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
2. Kate: The Woman Who Was Katharine Hepburn by William J. Mann
3. Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

TBR Challenge

Again, I failed miserably at this, only managing five out of my list of twelve books. On the plus side, two of those five made it onto my 'favourite books of 2014' list so I'm certainly glad this challenge encouraged me to get round to them. 

1. Die a Dry Death by Greta van der Rol
2. The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell
3. Room by Emma Donoghue
4. London Lore by Steve Roud
5. Quicksand/Passing by Nella Larsen

My Favourite Books of 2014

When I look back at 2014, books aren't really the aspect that sticks out, which is a terrible shame. I haven't read that many - at least not as many as I feel I should've - so this list was actually very easy to compile. I think it's certainly eclectic anyway. My complete book review list for 2014 can be found here.

Jill by Amy Dillwyn

This delightful romp was something I picked up in Gay's the Word in London and turned out to be my spontaneous book purchase of the year. This is a funny book that alters tone later on and proves to be memorable for several reasons. My full review can be found here. 

The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell

As the last book I read in 2014, this is obviously fresh in my memory but, from the moment I started it, there was no question it would make this list. Funny, grotesque, realistic, haunting: pick almost any word of praise and you can apply it to this novel. My full review can be found here. 

The Orphan Choir by Sophie Hannah

I'm not normally one for scary books but, as Hannah is one of the few authors I make sure to buy, I thought I'd give it a go. I was very impressed with the build-up and the haunting ending that stayed with me for weeks afterwards. I'd revisit it but I'm worried about being unsettled again. My full review can be found here. 

Die a Dry Death by Greta van der Rol

Speaking of unsettling, this one fits that category as well. Based on a true story of a shipwreck, it is both painful to read and utterly riveting. Again, it stayed with me for a while and, though not a book to take lightly, it's certainly one worth reading. My full review can be found here. 

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Although I'll admit that the exposition at the beginning of this one irritated me a little, the rest of the novel more than made up for it. Filled with Austen's witty dialogue and sneaky examinations of life, this is possibly my favourite Austen to date. My full review can be found here. 

Collected Book Reviews 2014

For reference, here's a complete list of the books I reviewed in 2014. It's been a pitiful year all told - must do better. So many books I want to read before I die so I'd better get a shifty on.

New Grub Street by George Gissing

Quicksand/Passing by Nella Larsen

Yorkshire Villains: Rogues, Rascals and Reprobates by Margaret Drinkall

Starlight by Stella Gibbons

Intersection by Nancy Ann Healy

Kate: The Woman Who Was Katharine Hepburn by William J. Mann

The Disgrace of Kitty Grey by Mary Hooper

The Orphan Choir by Sophie Hannah

The Emancipated by George Gissing

Die a Dry Death by Greta van der Rol

The Mystery of the Boule Cabinet by Burton E. Stevenson

The Aspern Papers by Henry James

Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

Valentine Grey by Sandi Toksvig

The Telling Error by Sophie Hannah

Restless by William Boyd

The Peculiar Case of the Electric Constable by Carol Baxter

The Wisdom of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton

The Odd Women by George Gissing

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Jill by Amy Dillwyn

Dying in the Wool by Frances Brody

Tinseltown by William J. Mann

Love Alters ed. Emma Donoghue

Shirley by Charlotte Bronte

Room by Emma Donoghue

The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell

Book Review: The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell

In 2012 I read J.G. Farrell's Troubles (reviewed here) and it rapidly became one of my favourites. Its mixture of humour and tragedy, often within the same sentence, was intoxicating and that's also a combination used to great effect in The Siege of Krishnapur. This one's a book I bought for my undergraduate degree and never got round to reading. It tells the story of, as might be guessed, a siege in Krishnapur where the British community is living a serene existence. Only the Collector, Mr Hopkins, senses the danger ahead but he's dismissed as a crank until violence sweeps closer.

Once again, I adored this book. It's a strange mixture of light and dark, using the macabre to great effect. I was a little impatient for the 'real' story to get going, the scene-setting of people and places might have been important but I wanted to delve into the stress of the siege. However, everything we'd learned earlier played a part in the later scenes of despair and tragedy.

Description is one of Farrell's strengths and he uses smell to particularly good effect in this novel. Days after finishing reading it I'm still captured by the unseen bodies lying beyond the walls and the starving dogs tied up and forced to survive any way they can. Most of the characters are distinctive and there are little ongoing skirmishes which add to the overall effect of civilisation in peril. The two doctors, for instance, have on-going rows which, as with most situations in this novel, come to a darkly comical conclusion. The Padre, as well, goes around trying to convert everyone in the midst of battle. Two of the scenes that linger from this book, for me, come from this character: firstly, the battle scene where he is preaching and preaching even while the cannons are firing around him and, secondly, the scene where he's trying to convert one character while digging a grave and the corpse almost ends up going in vertically by accident. Yes, macabre but extremely memorable.

The Siege of Krishnapur is an excellent book, not for the squeamish perhaps but certainly beautifully written and evocative. It is full of reality drawn from contemporary sources about the Indian Mutiny and woven into a stunning novel that I really found it a pleasure to read, despite the horror it was detailing. That's quite a feat and I remain in awe of Farrell's literary ability.

ARC Book Review: Tinseltown by William J. Mann

The full title of this book is Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood. It centres on the murder of William Desmond Taylor in 1922, examining all available material to try and pin down the culprits after all this time. More than that, though, this book serves as a portal into the early world of Hollywood. Other people discussed at length include actresses Mabel Normand, Mary Miles Minter and Virginia Gibson along with Adolph Zukor, the ambitious founder of Paramount. This book attempts to uncover the 'real' Hollywood of the early 20s and, for the most part, it succeeds.

While the murder investigation does form the centrepiece of the book, it certainly isn't the only strand. I liked the fact that it begins with the day of the murder then flips back to document how the main players got to that point. Although I knew the murder was coming, sometimes I got so engrossed with the power plays of various people that I forgot about it. As a consequence, it came upon me as a bit of a shock, mainly because by this point I was emotionally attached - not so much to Taylor himself but to Mabel Normand. Mann's portrayal of Normand is nothing short of exquisite and, out of all the names who touch these pages, for me, the representation of Normand lingers most strongly.

Mann's style may not be to everyone's taste but it certainly works. He has painstakingly recreated as much of that period as possible using, as he explains in a note at the end, as many primary sources as he could get his hands on but, beyond that, he has immersed himself and his reader in the possible thoughts of his primary protagonists. This kind of speculation is just that but it works because of Mann's level of research: there is always the sense that his speculation stems from deep involvement in his subject and his use of photographs and weather reports to visualise what a street would've looked like from the view of one of his protagonists works extremely well. Similarly, the use of very short chapters, flicking around from person to person is something I enjoyed once I accustomed myself to it. Mann uses enough markers and reminders to satisfy his most forgetful readers and keeping all the major players in the air is a shrewd move for maintaining interest.

The book claims to offer the solution to the mystery that has foxed film buffs for ninety years. Do I think the conclusions are plausible? Yes, I do. Mann doesn't manipulate the evidence to fit his theory. He presents it all, including that for other suspects. In the end, though, the circumstantial evidence accumulated via Mann's diligent recreation of the Hollywood milieu swings it for me.

Tinseltown isn't only a gripping read but an excellent depiction of a world long gone. If you're interested in the early days of Hollywood and the power plays of the era then this book is highly recommended.

I received an ARC of this book direct from the publishers, HarperCollinsPublishers. And here's a nifty trailer for it:

Book Review: Dying in the Wool by Frances Brody

Last summer, when I read A Woman Unknown (reviewed here), I vowed to go back and discover the Kate Shackleton mysteries from the beginning. Dying in the Wool is the first in the series, serving as a good introduction to Kate as well as being a very intriguing mystery that kept me guessing.

Kate has done some investigative work in the past, for families who want conclusive answers on why their men didn't come back from the Great War. The job offered to her by old friend Tabitha Braithwaite is the first where she accepts remuneration for her work and takes on an ex-policeman, Jim Sykes as her partner. Tabitha wants to know whether her father, who disappeared in 1916, is alive or dead as she's getting married and wants him to be present. Kate begins her investigations, finding most of the people she needs to talk to quietly uncooperative, but there are a few chinks in the village's armour and, as she finds them, the situation begins to unravel, though not without a few casualties along the way.

There's a little bit of scene-setting towards the beginning of the book, introducing Kate's father, housekeeper and general background. For the most part, it slots well into the narrative of Tabitha's request and, if this is indeed the first Kate Shackleton mystery you've read, then it's very useful information. I liked the characterisation of Kate in this first book, especially the way her investigative abilities and love of photography intersect and occasionally collide.

The pace of this works quite well. It's a cosy mystery with a few grisly moments and some sharp writing. I liked the fact that not everything was neatly tied up in a bow at the end and appreciated the characterisation of a few of the more odious villagers. They came across as distinctive, always a difficulty in this type of novel. There was also a delicious scene where Kate meets up with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I'll leave you with one of her thoughts about him:

'I needed to divert Sir Arthur from his other-world views if there was to be an earthly chance of his talking sense.'

August Rereads

Despite the fact that I acquired a mountain of new books for my birthday, I felt the irrepressible urge to go back and reread some of the ones already on my shelves. I don't reread as much as I'd like to. I often glance at my collection and think 'I want to take another look at you' but then the TBR pile gets in the way. However, I must've needed the comfort of books I know because I've been on a rereading blitz.

First up was Tell it to the Bees by Fiona Shaw (reviewed here). It's no exaggeration to say this is one of my favourite novels - this is my fifth or sixth reread since 2010. It's become an annual treat to pick it up when I'm feeling low and submerging myself in a forbidden relationship set in the 1950s. At least I've got out of the habit of needing to read it all in one day because now I can fully appreciate the final chapters without my eyelids drooping. What I haven't got out of though is wanting to read it again as soon as I've put it down.

My second reread was All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West (reviewed here). The story of an 88 year-old woman sick of being treated like a child by her family struck a chord. Rereading this affected me much the same as watching Angela Lansbury on-screen in Driving Miss Daisy did - it reminded me to focus on the person, not the age. There's an irony attached to all this that I'll maybe explain one day soon.

My third book was Landing by Emma Donoghue (reviewed here). Definitely a departure from the two above, it was my first Donoghue and therefore retains a special little place in my heart. I've been meaning to reread it and, for the most part, I enjoyed it again. However, like All Passion Spent, it made a point that I could've done without.

Finally, I reread Emma by Jane Austen (reviewed here). I actually read this two years ago this month and I've been looking at it longingly all year. I think my desire to reread Emma was actually what started this little rereading spree. I enjoyed it once again, of course, finding it amusing and still completely relevant to modern life. But, on a more personal level, Emma's journey led me on one of my own. Perhaps that was why I wanted to reread it all along.