Skip to content

Kate Macdonald

about writing, reading and publishing

  • Home
  • About
  • My books
  • Chapters and articles
  • Research and databases
  • non-London novels
  • I write fiction too

Month: January 2018

Reading some Ursula Le Guin

Ursula Le Guin has died, and I’m currently living in a different country to all my copies of her books. So I had recourse to my reading diaries to find out what I’d read of her work in the past ten years.   Lavinia (2008) This is the only one of Le Guin’s historical fantasy … Continue reading Reading some Ursula Le Guin →

Advertisement
Kate 20thC, 21stC, baroque and dramatic, dystopia, myth, nature, outdoor adventure, political / social commentary, science fiction, space opera, the life of the times, time travel, Ursula Le Guin 8 Comments January 24, 2018January 25, 2018

Rebecca West: This Real Night, and Cousin Rosamund

These two novels are the sequels to West's The Fountain Overflows (1957), a saga about an eccentric and musical Aubrey family in London from the Edwardian period to the Depression.  I really loved The Fountain Overflows, but I'm not so sure about its sequels. This may be because they were incomplete on West's death, and … Continue reading Rebecca West: This Real Night, and Cousin Rosamund →

Kate 20thC, baroque and dramatic, family saga, magical realism, music, myth, parody, passion and secrets, political / social commentary, Rebecca West, Stanley Spencer, the life of the times, the world of work Leave a comment January 18, 2018

These I have quite liked

Here are short reviews of books I’ve liked recently, for your consideration. Georgette Heyer, Royal Escape (1938) This is not a Regency romance, and it’s possibly the weakest of her historical reconstructions, but I liked it enough to keep reading, simply because I don’t know the history of Charles II's escape from the Battle of … Continue reading These I have quite liked →

Kate 19thC, 20thC, 21stC, Aliette de Bodard, community life, dystopia, fantasy, Georgette Heyer, history, Malcolm Saville, Naomi Mitchison, nature, outdoor adventure, passion and secrets, Penelope Lively, Peter S Beagle, political / social commentary, Richard Jeffries, the life of the times, William Golding 4 Comments January 12, 2018January 12, 2018

The Memoirs of Madame de La Tour du Pin

I bought this imposing Harvill Press hardback on impulse while looking for something entirely different, and it held me enthralled for five evenings of reading. Before this, I didn't know much about the French Revolution, and I knew nothing about the years between the Terror and Napoleon's coronation. Madame de La Tour du Pin's memoirs … Continue reading The Memoirs of Madame de La Tour du Pin →

Kate 19thC, baroque and dramatic, community life, family saga, history, letters, Madame de L Tour du Pin, nature, passion and secrets, political / social commentary, the life of the times 2 Comments January 8, 2018January 6, 2018

News from Handheld Press

You may remember that when I'm not reading books to review here, I run a publishing company. I've posted a couple of things on the Handheld Press website recently, which may interest you in these languid early days of the New Year. The first was the December issue of the Newsletter: if you like this, … Continue reading News from Handheld Press →

Kate publishing Leave a comment January 3, 2018
Follow Kate Macdonald on WordPress.com

Recent Posts

  • The Good Books of 2022
  • Books I Want To Keep
  • Becky Chambers, The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
  • Oriel Malet, My Bird Sings
  • More good books
There ain't no pay in blogging, and when there ain't no regular income either, every little helps, and is gratefully received. Thank you! Donate Button

Archives

  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • May 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014

Top Posts & Pages

  • Women in Translation: Colette’s Gigi, and The Cat
    Women in Translation: Colette’s Gigi, and The Cat
  • George Orwell's The Road to Wigan Pier
    George Orwell's The Road to Wigan Pier
  • Working is good for you: Louisa May Alcott's An Old-Fashioned Girl
    Working is good for you: Louisa May Alcott's An Old-Fashioned Girl
  • Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer
    Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer
  • H G Wells: Mr Britling Sees it Through
    H G Wells: Mr Britling Sees it Through
  • The Faerie Queene, by Edmund Spenser
    The Faerie Queene, by Edmund Spenser
  • Neil Gaiman’s The Sleeper and the Spindle
    Neil Gaiman’s The Sleeper and the Spindle
  • Vita Sackville-West, Saint Joan of Arc
    Vita Sackville-West, Saint Joan of Arc
  • John Wyndham's Trouble with Lichen
    John Wyndham's Trouble with Lichen
  • Breathlessly whirling with Georgette Heyer's Cotillion
    Breathlessly whirling with Georgette Heyer's Cotillion

this is what I write about

1920s 1930s 1950s 1960s aliens Angela Thirkell archaeology architecture Barbara Pym biography birds Cambridge detection Dornford Yates Dorothy Richardson drinking duds family life fantasy farming feminism fiction First World War France gender Germany Harry Potter H G Wells history Ireland Japan John Buchan John Lehmann journalism King Arthur literary history London magic memoir middlebrow murder music myth Naomi Mitchison nature newspapers Paris Penguin New Writing poetry politics post-war poverty publishing Rivers of London romance satire science science fiction Scotland Second World War servants small-town America space opera Sylvia Townsend Warner Terry Pratchett translation travel village life Vulpes Libris Wales wartime witchcraft witches women's history women's lives

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets
Blog at WordPress.com.
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Kate Macdonald
    • Join 426 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Kate Macdonald
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...