hang on

There is no book being reviewed this week because I am moving house. All my books are in boxes, waiting to be delivered (tomorrow!) from a depot somewhere near Corsham, to our new house just outside Bath, in the west of England. I am so tired from garden wrangling, tradesman supervision, long-distance driving, listening to … Continue reading hang on →

Believe the hype

In which I agree with the universal acclaim for two hugely hyped books that show no signs of losing any popularity. Mary Beard, Women & Power Mary Beard is doing very nicely out of her television presenting work because (a) she’s being herself, unaffected and normal, and (b) she’s writing some well-received books about that … Continue reading Believe the hype →

Lyndall Hopkinson, Nothing to Forgive

Lyndall Hopkinson is the daughter of Tom Hopkinson (author, journalist, editor of Picture Post), and the novelist and poet Antonia White (her real name was Eirene Botting, but she never used it so let’s stick to Antonia). This 1988 biography of Antonia is mainly about, and trying to explain, if not excuse, Antonia’s destructive awfulness … Continue reading Lyndall Hopkinson, Nothing to Forgive →

N K Sulway, Rupetta

In the seventeenth century, in the French countryside, an automaton called Rupetta is created. She has a psychic connection with her Wynder, the woman of the family who created her, who reaches into her chest to touch the mechanics of her silver and leather heart, and for whom she feels a great and powerful love. … Continue reading N K Sulway, Rupetta →