One of the best things about running this blog is discovering brilliant authors I didn’t know existed. Shamim Sharif is an award winning novelist, screenwriter and film director. She has written, adapted and directed her first two novels, ‘The World Unseen’ and ‘I Can’t Think Straight’, which have won international awards. ‘Despite the Falling Snow’, […]
Samuel Pepys is one of England’s most famous diarists. Those who know much about him might know that he wrote ten years of diary entries (from 1660-’69) until his eyesight became too poor to continue. He contemplated getting someone else to write for him, but never did. ‘Camille’ explores what might have happened if he […]
I’m aware that much of what I read is, let’s say, comfortable. In particular, I read a lot of crime fiction, especially psychological crime, frequently featuring middle class women doing rather middle class things. (I’m even sure ‘rather’ is quite a middle class word, now I come to think about it.) Even when they’re transplanted […]
Just look at that cover. Isn’t it pretty? I defy you to not judge this book by its gorgeous cover. It certainly seduced me into wanting to read the story, despite my mild aversion to historical fiction. What’s it about? Where to begin? Three time periods feature in this story of mystery and magic, romance […]
Historical fiction isn’t my first choice of genre, but something about this book’s blurb appealed to me. …and the cover was lovely. (Yes, I’m afraid I do judge books by their covers, but only until I read them!) Pam Jenoff’s carefully researched novel, ‘The Last Embrace’, uses World War Two as a dramatic backdrop for […]
‘Northanger Abbey’ reimagined: could this stately family pile really be home to Twilight-style vampires? * Perhaps the least popular of Austen’s six completed novels, ‘Northanger Abbey’ is, nonetheless, a clever and entertaining parody of contemporary Gothic and Romantic novels. This makes seasoned crime writer Val McDermid an interesting choice to ‘update’ the novel, since she […]