Sue Fairhead's Blog, page 75

Gerry Goes to School (by Elinor M Brent-Dyer)

I recently finished my gradual re-read of Elinor M Brent-Dyer’s lengthy Chalet School series. So I decided that this year I will read her lesser-known ‘La Rochelle’ series, which has only nine books. I read two or three of them as a teenager, which I enjoyed very much. I have gradually acquired them over the past few years from various sources. The hardbacks are quite hard to find, and they were never published in the Armada abridged versions, so my collection is a mixture of hardback re-pri...

Black Sheep (by Georgette Heyer)

Re-reading gradually through my Georgette Heyer books, I came to ‘Black Sheep’, which I last read in 2008. I had mostly forgotten the story, although it gradually came back to me as I reached the latter part of the book. As with most of Heyer's novels, this is set in Regency England.

The main character is Abigail (Abby) Wendover, a young woman of twenty-eight who feels herself past the age of falling in love. She is comfortably off, and lives in Bath with her much older sister Selina, and the...

Caldicott Place (by Noel Streatfeild)

I do like re-reading my Noel Streatfeild books. They were my comfort reading as a teenager… and remain so even today. I acquired ‘Caldicott Place’ at the end of January 1974 and have probably read it at least once every nine or ten years since then. Possibly more. Yet despite having read it at least five or six times, I had mostly forgotten the storyline until I was about a quarter of the way through.

I read it almost in one sitting. Streatfeild’s books were intended for older children or you...

Voices in Summer (by Rosamunde Pilcher)

I have loved everything I have read by Rosamunde Pilcher, and have most of her books on my shelves. Re-reading them is always a joy; her characterisation is so good that I usually feel as if I’m slipping into a reunion with old friends. However, I have just re-read ‘Voices in Summer’, which I last read in 2008. And while I liked it very much, I could not remember anything about it.

Indeed, after the first three or four chapters, I could almost have sworn I had never read it before. The story...

A City of Bells (by Elizabeth Goudge)

In re-reading the novels by Elizabeth Goudge, I reached ‘A City of Bells’, which I last read in 2003. Really I should have re-read this before I read ‘Sister of the Angels’ and ‘Henrietta’s House’ last year, as it’s the book which introduces the young and imaginative Henrietta. More significantly, because I had read the others recently, there’s an unexpected revelation in this book which I was expecting, so it was not as much of a surprise as it might have been.

Jocelyn is the main protagoni...

Permission Granted to do Church Differently in the 21st Century (by Graham Cooke and Gary Goodell)

I regularly download, on my Kindle, books that sound interesting and which are offered free. I had never heard of Graham Cooke, listed as the author of this book, or the co-author Gary Goodell, but reviews of ‘Permission granted to do Church differently in the 21st century’ were positive, and the premise sounded good. I downloaded it about two-and-a-half years ago, and started reading it just before doing some travelling about a month ago.

The overall theme of the book is one I have read abo...

Surprise Me (by Sophie Kinsella)

I have very much enjoyed everything I have read by Sophie Kinsella. She is considered a ‘chick-lit’ writer, and it took me awhile to try her work - but she covers some deep themes, sometimes, amidst the superficiality of some of her situations. She writes well, with humour and pathos, and if her people are somewhat caricatured, they are (mostly) likeable too. I put 'Surprise Me' - a novel published last year - on my wish list as soon as it came out in paperback, and was delighted to receive i...

A House Like a Lotus (by Madeleine L'Engle)

I have been enjoying reading Madeleine L’Engle’s teenage fiction books, many of which I had not previously read. I’ve almost reached the end; the chronology is rather complicated as she wrote three separate series, but some of the characters overlap. ‘A House like a Lotus’ is third in the O’Keefe series. It features Polly, who was also a main character in ‘The Arm of the Starfish’ and ‘Dragons in the Water’.

Both the earlier O’Keefe novels were somewhat suspenseful adventure stories, but it...