While the plot may be a little far-fetched with one too many coincidences, I enjoyed re-reading the book. It was thoroughly entertaining and made undeWhile the plot may be a little far-fetched with one too many coincidences, I enjoyed re-reading the book. It was thoroughly entertaining and made undemanding reading during the extended lockdown....more
This was a different type of Agatha Christie book - no Poirot, no Miss Marple and no Tommy and Tuppence here. It was almost a fantasy type of book andThis was a different type of Agatha Christie book - no Poirot, no Miss Marple and no Tommy and Tuppence here. It was almost a fantasy type of book and I didn't enjoy it very much although I managed to read it to the end. ...more
As always, Agatha Christie's novels are entertaining and undemanding. I enjoyed reading this one although the ending proved slightly far-fetched.As always, Agatha Christie's novels are entertaining and undemanding. I enjoyed reading this one although the ending proved slightly far-fetched....more
Once again, this book has been sitting on my library shelves for some years without being read until now. I enjoyed it very much indeed. Gwendoline BuOnce again, this book has been sitting on my library shelves for some years without being read until now. I enjoyed it very much indeed. Gwendoline Butler is a good writer and she had done solid research into the theatre in order to write the book. Real people like Noel Coward feature alongside fictional characters, although I was inclined to think her characterisation was a weak point. I couldn't really believe in any of the characters - real or imagined - but the book had a solid plot and was entertaining.
I have several of Gwendoline Butler's detective novels so I will read one of them soon....more
A well-written novel by a young writer, who was considered to be a very promising author. The novel flits from character to character in a district ofA well-written novel by a young writer, who was considered to be a very promising author. The novel flits from character to character in a district of Liverpool. The clever plot resolves itself on Monday following a hectic weekend in Liverpool....more
**spoiler alert** The book was well written and gave a detailed account of the show trial of Stephen Ward. Suffice it to say that I eventually found t**spoiler alert** The book was well written and gave a detailed account of the show trial of Stephen Ward. Suffice it to say that I eventually found the progress of the trial tedious, sleazy and repetitive. I cannot imagine that all these years later anyone will think that it was a fine example of British justice. Stephen Ward was used as a scapegoat to take the attention away from others in higher positions than him like Lord Astor and John Profumo. Neither the witnesses who were willing to purge themselves to save their own skins, the hectoring policemen, the barristers, the fancy friends who deserted Stephen Ward in his hour of need, nor the judge himself could have felt proud of themselves for playing any part in it....more
This book was far more pleasing than the last Monica Dickens' book I read. It was a fictional tale of the years she spent as a junior reporter in a prThis book was far more pleasing than the last Monica Dickens' book I read. It was a fictional tale of the years she spent as a junior reporter in a provincial newspaper. It was written in a light-hearted and humorous style and I enjoyed it....more
I must have read this book some time ago but I didn't remember much about it so it was like reading it for the first time. I enjoyed it very much and I must have read this book some time ago but I didn't remember much about it so it was like reading it for the first time. I enjoyed it very much and admired the way Monica Dickens flitted from one diverse character to another. The rich and the poor were all living in fictional Cottingham Park, an area of London which was being redeveloped, with many properties being demolished in order to create a new road.
The book was published in 1961, a time when many people were coming to the "motherland" from the West Indies and there was racial tension and violence between the established and new population. I am not sure how this book would be viewed were it to be published today. ...more
I bought this book many years ago at a second hand book sale. It was published in 1930 and I found it an ironic tale of a hitherto respectable doctor I bought this book many years ago at a second hand book sale. It was published in 1930 and I found it an ironic tale of a hitherto respectable doctor who turns his hand to murder at a time when the death penalty was in full force in the United Kingdom. The book kept me in suspense until the end and I would recommend it if it can still be found so many years after its publication....more
When I was 17 a wonderful English teacher, Miss Ursula Scott, told our class that we should read Winifred Holtby's "South Riding". For some reason I dWhen I was 17 a wonderful English teacher, Miss Ursula Scott, told our class that we should read Winifred Holtby's "South Riding". For some reason I did not do so at that time but now, many years later, I have read that book for the first time.
It is a wonderful book, completed a year before her early death at the age of 37 and published a year after it. It paints a picture of life in Yorkshire in the early 1930s. Her characters - ranging in age from children to the elderly - are vividly drawn. She displays remarkable insight into them far beyond her comparative youth at the time of writing. I wish I had read the novel many years ago and had enough time left of my own life to read it many times again....more
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, a sequel to The Wax Fruit Trilogy. Aunt Bel is now a well-established figure in the higher eschelons of Glasgow societI thoroughly enjoyed this book, a sequel to The Wax Fruit Trilogy. Aunt Bel is now a well-established figure in the higher eschelons of Glasgow society and hopes to see her offspring make good marriages even if it means discouraging what she considers to be an unsuitable match. But, in doing so, she meets her match.
Guy McCrone's gentle plot was just what I needed during the present pandemic when we do not really know what will happen in the days to come. I wish he had written more, but I am about to read Winifred Holtby's South Riding and look forward to doing so....more
I thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy, a family saga set in Scotland. It reminded me of the Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy, but this time set in the lateI thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy, a family saga set in Scotland. It reminded me of the Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy, but this time set in the late nineteenth century in Glasgow and Ayrshire. Guy McCrone draws the various characters of the Moorhouse family and those who have associations with them by marriage, clearly and gives one a good idea of what life in the more affluent classes must have been like during that period. He also contrasts this class with the difficult conditions of the poor, many who have moved from the Highlands to work for a pittance in Glasgow and live in dire conditions, hardly able to feed themselves adequately. I can certainly recommend this trilogy and am sorry that Guy McCrone did not write many other novels. ...more
I read this book when I was in my teens and enjoyed it. Reading it again so many years later made me realise that it was a very sad book indeed, partiI read this book when I was in my teens and enjoyed it. Reading it again so many years later made me realise that it was a very sad book indeed, particularly in this time of coronavirus when we don't know what the future holds for anyone. Richard Llewellyn told the first book of his story without much attention to the structure of the novel. It proceeded doggedly from one event to another never clear where the tale might end.
Parts of the book where there was no progression of plot were poetic and moving. By the time I reached the end of the book I was in floods of tears. I hope to be able to read the other books in the series. This book was unusual but I would certainly recommend it. ...more
Reading this book when we are in a state of lockdown because of the dreadful Coronavirus pandenic was quite challenging. It concerns an ordinary familReading this book when we are in a state of lockdown because of the dreadful Coronavirus pandenic was quite challenging. It concerns an ordinary family with their son (and brother) on trial, charged for murder because of his part in stealing a car along with two older men, and possibly running down the owner, who eventually dies. The book was written in 1955 when the death sentence in the UK was still in force.
Frank Tilsley tells a rivetting story of the effect of the crime and its outcome on each member of the family as they wait for Sid's trial to take place. This made me think of what might happen if the Coronavirus is not defeated and I and my loved ones, together with so many who have already died, might die too.
Frank Tilsley was an excellent writer and I can recommend this novel, along with many others he wrote in the 30s, 40s and 50s....more
I was surprisingly impressed with this novel which I now see is a sequel to Cecil Robert's famous novel, "Victoria Four Thirty". The railway porter wiI was surprisingly impressed with this novel which I now see is a sequel to Cecil Robert's famous novel, "Victoria Four Thirty". The railway porter wins some money in a football pool and is able to take his new wife on honeymoon in Europe shortly before the commencement of World War 2. Cecil Roberts paints a picture of impending doom brought about by the brutality of the Nazis. High Society would never be the same again. It is well written and Cecil Roberts gives a better idea of life at that time than many a historian. I recommend it highly....more
I wrote the first edition of this book in 2006 and thought it was time for a final update as I have found out more about Anne Ziegler and Webster BootI wrote the first edition of this book in 2006 and thought it was time for a final update as I have found out more about Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth in the intervening 13 years. The second edition contains more detail and more photographs than the first edition. It also contains excerpts from the diary I published when I first got to know them from 1960 onwards and I have drawn on the many letters written to me by Anne and Webster over a forty year period. The book was published a few days ago....more
This was Elizabeth Jane Howard's first novel, published in 1950. The unnamed first-person narrator takes the reader through various scenes of her lifeThis was Elizabeth Jane Howard's first novel, published in 1950. The unnamed first-person narrator takes the reader through various scenes of her life, commencing with "the beautiful visit" which has a great influence on her hitherto rather boring life. Writing and characterisation are excellent and she won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize (1951) for this novel. Without giving anything away, the ending was rather a damp squib, but the book is still well worth reading and pointed to greater things to come from her pen in the future....more
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