Cosy, Eerie, and Splendid, a writer’s blog
May Tea and a Book: Doreen, by Barbara Noble
The featured Persephone title for May is Doreen (1946) by Barbara Noble. I'm rather obsessed with narratives concerning child evacuees during WWII, and this novel did not disappoint. From Jessica Mann's introduction at the Persephone website: In 1946 the theme of...
April Tea and a Book: Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
April calls for another unread book that has languished too long on my shelves, and thus I am sharing the lovely and unforgettable Brooklyn, by Irish author Colm Tóibín. I saw the film years ago and enjoyed it -- Saoirse Ronan is wonderful as Eilis -- but the book...
March Tea and a Book: One Afternoon by Sian James
My featured Persephone title for March is One Afternoon (1975), by Welsh author Siân James. How I LOVED this book! From the Persephone blog: One Afternoon is precisely what we want a Persephone book to be: intensely readable and unputdownable but about many, many...
February Tea and a Book: V for Victory, by Lissa Evans
Last month I shared a Persephone novel -- Young Anne (1927), by Dorothy Whipple. This month's featured contemporary novel is V for Victory (2021), by Lissa Evans. This novel is a sequel to Evans' Crooked Heart (2014) and shares backstory with Old Baggage (2018). In...
January Tea and a Book: Young Anne by Dorothy Whipple
Just before Christmas, Steve and I spent some time in Bath, and I was excited to finally visit the shop for Persephone Books. Here's an introduction from the website: Persephone Books reprints neglected fiction and non-fiction, mostly by women writers and mostly...
November Tea and a Book: Island Whispers, by Frances Hardinge
My recommendation for November is a spooky tale of personal loss, adventure, and heroism. Island of Whispers is appropriate for MG readers and older. Our hero may be a boy, but his journey is rather epic! Synopsis (from the publisher): On the island of Merlank, the...
Folk Horror options for your Halloween Viewing
What is Folk Horror? Wikipedia offers a helpful explanation: Folk horror is a subgenre of horror film and horror fiction that uses elements of folklore to invoke fear and foreboding. Typical elements include a rural setting, isolation, and themes of superstition, folk...
October Tea and a Book: A Haunting on the Hill, by Elizabeth Hand
Earlier this year I recommended Elizabeth Hand’s Wylding Hall (see the review here ), and it was shortly after reading that captivating novel that I learned Hand had been approved by Shirley Jackson’s estate to write a sequel to The Haunting of Hill House. I...
September Tea and a Book: The Green Man of Eshwood Hall, by Jacob Kerr
September’s offering for “Tea and a Book” is Jacob Kerr’s The Green Man of Eshwood Hall (2022), a disquieting mystery steeped in folk horror. This novel features a child as the protagonist, but the story is for adult readers. From the publisher: Eshwood Hall is a...
August Tea and a Book: Lanny, by Max Porter
August's "Tea and a Book" offers Lanny by Max Porter, published in 2020 and long listed for the Booker Prize. This is a strange book with an experimental narrative style, but it swept me up so completely that I finished it in a day. (See more professional accolades...
July Tea and a Book: The Wild Hunt, by Emma Seckel
For July's "Tea and a Book" I'm recommending The Wild Hunt, published in August 2022 by Tin House. Author Emma Seckel is a Canadian photographer and writer who has studied at St. Andrews and Cambridge. (No slouch, this one! Check out her website.) Seckel's debut novel...
June Tea and a Book: In the Night Wood, by Dale Bailey
June's offering is a novel I devoured a couple of years ago and lately was tempted to reread, particularly because of its folk horror elements. (I didn't know much about that genre when I first encountered the book.) I so enjoyed revisiting In the Night Wood and was...
May Tea and a Book: The White Hare by Jane Johnson
Here I am again at the last minute with May's horror reading recommendation. Continuing with last month’s theme of folk horror, I offer a mysterious and romantic tale set in Cornwall shortly after World War II. Check out this synopsis from the publisher: In a Cornish...
April Tea and a Book: Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand
This month I have another Gothic offering to enthusiastically recommend: Wylding Hall, by Elizabeth Hand. [Is the above the UK cover? The PB edition? Not sure, but I like it.] Synopsis (from the publisher): When the young members of a British acid-folk band -- known...
March Tea and a Book: Weyward by Emilia Hart
Before I tell you about this wonderful new book, I wish to celebrate the fact that I've read more this month than I have in a long time. I've struggled to focus on novels for a while now, and in most cases it was very slow going. This month, however, things have...
