Tag Archives: Charles Dickens

Patrick O’Brian, “The Reverse of the Medal”

Posted on October 3, 2012 by carolwallace

Oh wow, are you sitting down? Major Literary Discovery here. I was happily absorbed in The Reverse of the Medal when PLOT SPOILER (sorry) I got to the section when Jack is imprisoned at the Marshalsea — what we might … Continue reading →

Posted in anglophilia, historical fiction | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Amor Towles, “Rules of Civility”

Posted on September 2, 2011 by carolwallace

I spend a lot of time thinking about story-telling, because that’s what I do for a living. My interest, retro though it increasingly seems, is pretty narrowly confined to the novel, as readers here know. As I’m reading, I’m also … Continue reading →

Posted in best seller, contemporary fiction | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Sarah Waters, “Fingersmith”

Posted on February 22, 2011 by carolwallace

“‘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

Lloyd Jones, “Mister Pip”

Posted on December 22, 2009 by carolwallace

Very early in this book comes a piece of wisdom from Mr. Watts (also known as Pop Eye, and as “Mister Pip”): “I have no wisdom, none at all.  The truest thing I can tell you is that whatever we … Continue reading →

Posted in literary fiction | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

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 →

Posted in anglophilia, historical fiction, mystery | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment