The Uninvited -- originally known in the UK as Uneasy Freehold -- was published in 1942 by Irish author Dorothy Macardle and was adapted to the screen by Dodie Smith in 1944. Go here for my post about the film starring Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey. I'm pleased to say...
Several years ago I enjoyed film adaptations of these novels written by women in the early 20th century. For September's post I decided to finally READ the novels. What a delight! I began with The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim. (published 1922) The...
(Just under the wire with this August post!) This year my intention was to recommend novels by female authors published in the early 20th century. I veered into mid-century with Dodie Smith and I'm doing it again today with Barbara Pym's Jane and Prudence (1953) and...
Continuing with women's fiction from the early 20th century, today I'm pleased to share Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Making of a Marchioness in a gorgeous paperback edition from Persephone that includes its sequel. The publisher has this to say: "Little Lord...
For June’s “Tea and a Book” I am celebrating the work of Winifred Holtby (1898-1935), an English author who published seven novels, two books of poetry, two collections of short stories, and a critical memoir of Virginia Woolf, all before succumbing to kidney disease...
Continuing with our focus on early 20th century female writers, May’s “Tea and a Book” features two cosy mysteries (yay!) by E.C.R. Lorac (1894-1958). Lorac wrote quite prolifically under three pseudonyms, so check out her impressive catalog on Wikipedia.
April’s “Tea and a Book” continues its focus on the early 20th century by recommending Rachel Ferguson’s THE BRONTES WENT TO WOOLWORTHS. Rachel Ferguson (1892-1957 — not to be confused with last month’s author, RUBY Ferguson) was a journalist, author, biographer,...
For March Tea and a Book I am recommending two titles by English writer Ruby Ferguson (1899-1966). Like the authors previously featured this year, Ferguson published her novels in the middle of the 20th century (active from 1926 to 1965). In addition, she wrote...
For February’s “Tea and a Book” I am recommending THE NEW MOON WITH THE OLD, first published in 1963 by Dodie Smith. Smith began her writing career with plays and soon turned to novels. (Eventually she became a screenwriter, as well.) I CAPTURE THE CASTLE is my...
This year it's been far too easy to put a book down. Many of us have suffered from diminished attention span during the pandemic, of course, and accepting this has made it easier to let go of books that aren't working for me. Lately I've found it particularly...
During our many summers in Oxford, I spent a lot of time in Blackwell's Bookshop -- browsing, reading, drinking tea, and sometimes even writing. It's probably my favorite bookstore in the world because it is enormous, exhaustively stocked, and yet somehow intimate and...
Writing is hard work, especially when you must squeeze it in alongside the daily commitments of employment, relationships, domestic engineering, childrearing and pet wrangling. Sometimes the only way to get anything done is to abandon these commitments altogether! If...
Timeless is a celebration of Mackinac Island and its cottage architecture. The book includes historical context and gorgeous exterior and interior design photography -- perfect for fine coffee tables everywhere! That said, I must also tell you that this post is much...
I first encountered Eva Ibbotson in the YA section of our local Borders bookstore in the early 2000s -- back when I was teaching high school English (and Borders still existed). I began with A Countess Below Stairs and so enjoyed this story of a Russian countess...
I am such a fan of Stella Gibbons, so it seems strange that I've only read four of her novels. You can see them above, except for The Woods in Winter, a strange yet endearing story I read on my kindle. Today I want to share Westwood, a story I struggled with and yet...
