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Kate Macdonald

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Month: January 2021

Kerri Andrews, Wanderers. A History of Women Walkers

Where Rebecca Solnit's Wanderlust is a theoretical and philosophical discussion of women and walking, Wanderers is a set of case studies from three hundred years of (mostly) British women walking and writing about it. It leans on Wanderlust, but it's a robust book on its own, with depth and range to keep a reader happy … Continue reading Kerri Andrews, Wanderers. A History of Women Walkers →

Kate 18thC, 19thC, 20thC, 21stC, biography, community life, diary, feminism, history, Kerri Andrews, letters, literary history, memoirs / diaries, nature, outdoor adventure, passion and secrets, political / social commentary, the life of the times, travelogue 5 Comments January 25, 2021January 25, 2021

I vent my spleen on duds

Reading good books is a joy. Reading duds is not. Reading when the supply of books through libraries and bookshops and second-hand outlets has been more difficult (though never impossible, unless money is also tight), is more of a commitment. Reading duds in those circumstances is downright annoying. Here is my latest parade of failures. … Continue reading I vent my spleen on duds →

Kate 20thC, 21stC, animals, biography, community life, David Garnett, Edith de Born, Edwardian, historical romance, literary history, middlebrow studies, Naomi Royde-Smith, nature, Neil Gunn, outdoor adventure, passion and secrets, political / social commentary, publishing, Sarah Knight, the life of the times Leave a comment January 19, 2021

Letters to and from Sylvia Townsend Warner

I've spent the sixteen days since Christmas reading the letters that Sylvia Townsend Warner wrote to and received from two of her most constant and articulate correspondents, David Garnett and William Maxwell. Both books were presents, and shoved aside all other claims from the reading pile. Sylvia and David knew each other in the 1920s, … Continue reading Letters to and from Sylvia Townsend Warner →

Kate 20thC, animals, autobiography, biography, community life, David Garnett, diary, getting published, humour, letters, literary history, memoirs / diaries, nature, passion and secrets, poetry, political / social commentary, short stories, Sylvia Townsend Warner, the life of the times, the world of work, William Maxwell 4 Comments January 11, 2021January 10, 2021
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Recent Posts

  • Kerri Andrews, Wanderers. A History of Women Walkers
  • I vent my spleen on duds
  • Letters to and from Sylvia Townsend Warner
  • 2020: The good books
  • Farah Mendlesohn, Creating Memory
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Top Posts & Pages

  • Epic Poems You've Never Read 3: John Milton's Paradise Lost
    Epic Poems You've Never Read 3: John Milton's Paradise Lost
  • Kerri Andrews, Wanderers. A History of Women Walkers
    Kerri Andrews, Wanderers. A History of Women Walkers
  • Ernest Hemingway's Islands in the Stream
    Ernest Hemingway's Islands in the Stream
  • Re-reading Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising
    Re-reading Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising
  • Oliver Rackham's The History of the Countryside
    Oliver Rackham's The History of the Countryside
  • Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer
    Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer
  • Framework, unfinished: Terry Pratchett's The Shepherd’s Crown
    Framework, unfinished: Terry Pratchett's The Shepherd’s Crown
  • The shrine of Beverley Nichols: should one worship?
    The shrine of Beverley Nichols: should one worship?
  • Gene Wolfe's The Shadow of the Torturer
    Gene Wolfe's The Shadow of the Torturer
  • Flying with the brain ships in Anne McCaffrey's The Ship Who Sang
    Flying with the brain ships in Anne McCaffrey's The Ship Who Sang

this is what I write about

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