Motherhood. Poetry. Madness – or time travel? Welcome to Helensburgh – home to the young English poet W.H Auden and, years later, English poetess, Dora Fielding, in (English poet) Polly Clark’s emotionally fraught debut novel. What’s it about? Newly married and pregnant, Dora moves to Helensburgh hoping that her new life will engage her as […]
You know a story’s good when you start again at the beginning as soon as you’ve read the ending. I discovered Diane Setterfield’s ‘The Thirteenth Tale’ at my local Lounge bar book swap one afternoon and was immediately hooked. Why? Look: ‘All children mythologise their birth. It is a universal trait. You want to know […]
Some books you choose; some books choose you. ‘The Lonely Life of Biddy Weir’ chose me; there’s no doubt about that. It wasn’t a book that held an immediate appeal for me, perhaps because the slightly odd name of the protagonist suggested a dated storyline, perhaps because of the floral cover design, or perhaps simply […]
When a publisher chooses to distinguish a book from others by bragging on the front cover about how many awards it has (nearly) won I am always a tad sceptical. I can’t help but feel that a good book should sell itself, although I acknowledge the commercial realities publishers face. Longlisted for this award and […]