Another in an irregular series of reviews of books I have not enjoyed. Links to earlier episodes are at the end. Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough, Beyond the Northlands. Viking Voyages and the Old Norse Sagas This book, bought at the British Museum’s bookshop, was so promising, with such a good pedigree: an exciting young(ish) scholar; a … Continue reading Raging aggravations
Category: publishing
A list of non-London novels
A recent article in The Bookseller talked about the importance of regional publishers, and the impossibility of dragging the London publishing companies and agents out of their self-determined comfort zone (I looked for it for ages and couldn't find it, will post it if I do). The Bookseller also this year established its inaugural Regional … Continue reading A list of non-London novels
Recovery research and publishing
Several years ago, I was interviewed about my practice as a print culture researcher. I've updated my Q&A preparation notes, as a reintroduction to why I read the way I do, and why I spent so many years as an academic researching a particular kind of book. What do you do and why? I was … Continue reading Recovery research and publishing
This Little Art
Kate Briggs’ meditation on the art of translation meanders around her experience of translating some lectures given by Roland Barthes in (I think) the 1970s, her deep interest in the translations by Helen Lowe-Porter of Thomas Mann, and the relationship between Andre Gide and his besotted translator Dorothy Bussy. I’m not interested in Barthes, but … Continue reading This Little Art
The Virginia Woolf industry is a problem
After I stopped applying for jobs in academia, I felt free to say this in public: I don't like what the Virginia Woolf industry has done to the scholarly study of women writers. I should also say that, while I don't much like her novels, Woolf's essays have influenced me, and I reread them for … Continue reading The Virginia Woolf industry is a problem
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
The 2017 Vondel Prize
The Vondel Translation Prize - a bi-annual prize established by the Society of Authors - has been awarded to the American translator David McKay, the translator of Stefan Hertmans' novel Oorlog en Turpentijn / War and Turpentine. It's set during before, during and after the First World War, in Flanders and is based on the … Continue reading The 2017 Vondel Prize
Penguin New Writing 39: woman sighted
This is the penultimate issue of Penguin New Writing, from 1950, and I think John Lehmann is losing his grip (again). He actually opens the art section with two paintings by a woman, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham: this has never happened before. Other notable contributors include Paul Bowles, Cecil Day-Lewis, Kathleen Raine and Tom Hopkinson. Lehmann's 'Foreword' … Continue reading Penguin New Writing 39: woman sighted
Help make Handheld Press ebooks visible
You might remember that I set up a publishing house this year, Handheld Press. We've published two books already - Ernest Bramah's What Might Have Been, and John Buchan's The Runagates Club - and there are three more in production. We're hoping to publish ten a year. It's looking good so far. All Handheld books … Continue reading Help make Handheld Press ebooks visible
Penguin New Writing 38: John Lehmann loses his judgement
There is full-on puffery in John Lehmann's Foreword to Penguin New Writing in this 1949 issue. It's been only a few issues since he sent out a plea for someone to contribute something funny; he's lost all sense of proportion now. His Foreword begins with the question of how can we know 'if a man … Continue reading Penguin New Writing 38: John Lehmann loses his judgement
Kate Macdonald 