Tag Archives: Angela Thirkell

Elizabeth Taylor, “A View of the Harbour”

Posted on July 3, 2012 by carolwallace

Elizabeth Taylor is one of the few writers whose books I will choose blindly. If she wrote a novel and I haven’t read it, I don’t even bother to see what it’s about. Or “about,” because with Taylor there’s always … Continue reading →

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Dorothy Whipple, “Someone at a Distance”

Posted on June 3, 2011 by carolwallace

If I knew how, I would subtitle this post “Persephone Power.” Of course I knew Dorothy Whipple’s name because some of you read her for Persephone Reading Weekend back in February. But last week, when I was in Southern California … Continue reading →

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Angela Thirkell, “What Did It Mean?”

Posted on September 30, 2009 by carolwallace

Published in 1954, What Did It Mean is Thirkell’s homage to the Coronation. It focuses on the Coronation festivities in Northbridge, and the comedy resides largely in observation of a group of volunteers mounting a theatrical production. Now that I … Continue reading →

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Angela Thirkell, “Jutland Cottage”

Posted on September 19, 2009 by carolwallace

I wasn’t kidding. If I want comfort reading, I know where to get it. Some of the post-war Thirkells get dyspeptic. The woman was a crashing snob and you’re almost embarrassed for her when she starts going on about the … Continue reading →

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Mollie Panter-Downes, “Good Evening, Mrs. Craven”

Posted on July 26, 2009 by carolwallace

Another nifty revival from those folks at Persephone Books in London. Mollie Panter-Downes wrote the “Letter from London” in the New Yorker for 45 years. In addition, she wrote short stories, 21 of which are collected here. They all date … Continue reading →

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Andrew Taylor, “Bleeding Heart Square”

Posted on July 26, 2009 by carolwallace

It’s a really good day when you find a new writer who publishes clever, literate murder mysteries. It’s an especially good day when this writer has been at it for a while and there’s a backlog of titles for you … Continue reading →

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Sarah Waters, “The Little Stranger”

Posted on June 8, 2009 by carolwallace

Why is this title sinister? Maybe it’s the combination of ideas: “stranger” always connotes something potentially menacing, and when you add the diminutive you tip over into the creepy. Then you fabricate a decaying English country house, a self-deceiving narrator, … Continue reading →

Posted in anglophilia, contemporary fiction, ghost story | Tagged , , | 5 Comments