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...
It's barely been a minute since my last "tea and a book" post, but I just read a novel and need to tell you about it. If you know me at all, you know I'm obsessed with the Brontë sisters, particularly Charlotte, and that Jane Eyre is on my top ten list of favorite...
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...
Recently I began to watch the Netflix original film, Things Heard and Seen, which seemed exactly my kind of spooky with its tale of a young couple settling into an old house with a tragic history. I appreciated how it offered a slow burn of horror rather than an...
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...
Recently I read When the War is Over, by Barbara Fox. This memoir of the author's mother, Gwenda Brady Gofton, focuses on her childhood years as a WWII evacuee in Cumbria. After a couple of false starts in other evacuation areas, Gwenda and her older brother Doug...
January has been a good month, for I finally seem to have dragged myself out of the COVID reading slump. I started the year with Kevin Wilson's Nothing to See Here and devoured it in two days. I loved the Tennessee setting, the quirky characters, and the way this...
One of the few positive things about this terrible pandemic is that it's forced us all to spend more time with ourselves. In our own heads. Dreaming, reading, planning, growing. I'll confess that I love being alone. I inherited this trait from my mother, and many of...
I'd been looking for an "Autumnal" story for some time. I really just wanted a good yarn, maybe with a bit of romance and some charming scenery, organized with a beginning, middle, and end (as one might expect). Well! This "Post-Brexit" novel DID NOT fit the bill....
