Monthly Archives: February 2011

Monica Dickens, “Mariana”

Posted on February 26, 2011 by

When I started blogging a couple of years ago I had a vague resolution that I would review books naively. I wouldn’t read reviews, or even the introductions to books — I would just read the texts themselves and figure … Continue reading →

Posted in anglophilia, classic | Tagged , | 19 Comments

Persephone Reading Weekend

Posted on February 24, 2011 by

We’ve done our New York Review Books.  We’ve done our Viragos. What’s left for book bloggers eager for artfully packaged paperback editions of mostly-forgotten writers? (Arguably the wonderful Melville House Classic Novella series — maybe a good idea for a … Continue reading →

Posted in classic | 4 Comments

What Your Books Do at Night

Posted on February 23, 2011 by

Many of you have referred to Susan Hill’s Howards End Is on the Landing: have you ever wondered how it got there?

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Sarah Waters, “Fingersmith”

Posted on February 22, 2011 by

“‘If you might only hear yourself! Terrible plots? Laughing villains? Stolen fortunes and girls made out to be mad? The stuff of lurid fiction! We have a name for your disease. We call it a hyper-aesthetic one. You have been … Continue reading →

Posted in contemporary fiction, historical fiction, Victoriana | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Julia Spencer-Fleming, “All Mortal Flesh”

Posted on February 17, 2011 by

I love Extra-Strength Excedrin. Is there even a regular strength? Somehow I think not, but I am always reassured by the idea that the pills in the green bottle are going to work extra hard to get rid of that … Continue reading →

Posted in mystery | Tagged | 9 Comments

David Lodge, “The British Museum is Falling Down”

Posted on February 13, 2011 by

Well, I’m pretty late arriving at this particular party. Guys, why didn’t you tell me? Now that I think of it, people have been suggesting for ages that I read David Lodge, but it wasn’t until The British Museum is … Continue reading →

Posted in anglophilia, classic, funny | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Thomas Mann, “Death in Venice”

Posted on February 12, 2011 by

There’s a great deal to be said for discovering classics at a mature age. Many of my university classmates (among them my husband) read Death in Venice for a seminar on European literature freshman year, and some of them will, … Continue reading →

Posted in classic, German | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Iain Pears, “Stone’s Fall”

Posted on February 10, 2011 by

I guess for me, the term “financial thriller” is an oxymoron. There’s a lot to admire about Iain Pears’ Stone’s Fall. And, considering the legion of fans Pears has accumulated in his career, there must be a lot to enjoy, … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction | Tagged | 12 Comments

F. Scott Fitzgerald, “Tender Is the Night”

Posted on February 3, 2011 by

Naturally after reading Calvin Tomkins‘ Living Well Is the Best Revenge I would turn to the battered Scribner Classic paperback of Tender Is the Night that’s been on my bookshelf apparently since 1972. (Juvenile marginalia — so difficult to live … Continue reading →

Posted in classic | Tagged | 10 Comments

Calvin Tomkins, “Living Well Is the Best Revenge”

Posted on February 1, 2011 by

Living Well Is the Best Revenge was  widely read in my parents’ social circles when it was first published as a book in the early 1970s, so when it turned up on the magical laundry room shelves of course I … Continue reading →

Posted in art history | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments