A 1930s mystery that turns pretty much every convention of the genre on its head. We see the murder, we know who did it, and the plot is basically theA 1930s mystery that turns pretty much every convention of the genre on its head. We see the murder, we know who did it, and the plot is basically the Great Detective deciding the victim deserved it and doing his best to obstruct the police investigation, while finding out who did it for his own satisfaction. Plot twist: He is terrible at both.
It's hard not to conclude that in this, the ninth Roger Sheringham outing, the author had come to loathe his smug twat detective as much as any reader will. That said, it's written in an entertainingly breezy manner. You might also think the entire 'bitch had it coming' storyline was an exercise in misogyny, though it does have an excellent supporting cast of women, and the real villain (as so often in books of this period) is the divorce laws.
A weird but entertaining read. Roger Sheringham is still the most loathsome of all Golden Age tecs and it's nice to see him fail. ...more
Entertaining, written in a highly personal manner which I found endearing because I like David Mitchell. Don't think I learned anything very new but hEntertaining, written in a highly personal manner which I found endearing because I like David Mitchell. Don't think I learned anything very new but he's good at contextualising and it's funny and readable. ...more
A painstaking account of a true crime, in which a dodgy little shit eventually murders his wife. It's interesting with lots of factual underpinning, bA painstaking account of a true crime, in which a dodgy little shit eventually murders his wife. It's interesting with lots of factual underpinning, but--as a non-true-crime reader--I started to be unsure why I needed to know about this particular little shit and his victims. I think that's entirely a me issue.
Does that thing prevalent in non fiction where far too many paragraphs end in ellipses for no reason......more
Interesting introduction comparing today's celebrity cults and the nature of celebrities with the way celebrity played out in the Regency. Plus ca chaInteresting introduction comparing today's celebrity cults and the nature of celebrities with the way celebrity played out in the Regency. Plus ca change, basically.
I'm not sure the selection of people entirely backs up the premise. Harriot Mellon, absolutely: an actress who married first Thomas Coutts and then the Duke of St Albans. Also Lady Charlotte Bury, once agreed to be the most beautiful woman in England, whose story is a fabulous illustration of how quickly and easily you could slide down the privilege scale and the things people did to keep afloat: really interesting. But Princess Lieven wasn't interested in appealing to the masses, only to the elite and the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos was an aristo not a celeb, and neither of them really fulfils the premise. Thomas Lawrence combines incredible talent and achievement with a huge amount of personal fame, especially in his heavily promoted child prodigy days, but again, it's veering away from the premise. Basically I'd have liked more variety. What about Samuel Coleridge-Taylor or one of the Sons of Africa? What about a celebrated villain?
Still, the stories are well told (except for the enraging habit of calling each subject 'our hero/heroine') and it's well researched and interesting stuff. ...more
Absolutely outstanding, possibly the best biography I've ever read.
This has a huge amount of erudition: there's limited existing information about DoAbsolutely outstanding, possibly the best biography I've ever read.
This has a huge amount of erudition: there's limited existing information about Donne's life, but tons of cultural and historical context. The analysis of the poems and writing is woven in throughout and really well explained. The author is clearly a huge Donne fan but not obsessively (I had to laugh when the recommended reading section concludes with a warning not to go near a notoriously unreadable polemic of his), and has a clear eye to his obvious and many personality defects while also bringing across what was clearly incredible personal charm.
And it is so *readable*. Here I am sure Rundell's background as a children's novelist kicks in, because the tone is perfectly judged: never dry even while conveying a huge amount of info, constantly engaging, often funny. It feels like having a really interesting person talk to you about something they find really interesting. Even the image choices are terrific. (A guy Donne worked with was known to a friend of his as 'Camel Face'. Some biographers would mark that as totally irrelevant to the matter at hand; Rundell makes sure we get a picture. Wow, the guy looked like a camel.)
That rare thing: a bio that both humanises the subject and makes his whole era feel accessible--not modern, but nevertheless containing people fundamentally like us. and never loses sight of the magic of Donne's writing. A triumph. ...more
Excellent. I think the best in the series in that the author has got the balance of romance and plot and politics just right for me. The MCs are both Excellent. I think the best in the series in that the author has got the balance of romance and plot and politics just right for me. The MCs are both lovely--practical, self-respecting working men. The milieu is done really well-- the drive for self improvement through education, the oppressive politics and repressive laws, the gross inequality. I love how it presents Georgian Britain as a place where people were queer and trans and had unconventional relationships and mostly managed to live perfectly good lives under the radar. (There is quite a lot of available middle ground between 'doom' and 'candyfloss' though you might not often think it.)
The romance is really sweet and engaging slow burn, and thoroughly convincing, with a terrific climax. The threat element does get pretty tense due to the MCs' all too realistic powerlessness in the face of wealth and authority, but the resolution is terrific, and I loved the light we get on the earl's relationship with his valet.
I read this when it came out and remember finding it really enjoyable and interesting, so I got the revised edition. It doesn't stand up terribly wellI read this when it came out and remember finding it really enjoyable and interesting, so I got the revised edition. It doesn't stand up terribly well, tbh. I don't know if this is the revision but the tone seemed awfully self-satisfied with Englishness, either rolling around in the good characteristics or being amusingly tolerant of the bad ones. It reminded me of people with bloody awful dogs going 'oh he's such a bad boy aren't you darling' while the damn thing eats your handbag. That is quite the overextended metaphor but I stand by it.
I suppose it is inevitably navel-gazing. That's not necessarily bad: I do think there's a lot of value in seeing your culture analysed if you deal with a lot of people not from that culture. It helps to drive home the point that your normal is other people's weird, and vice versa, and to notice habits that can be genuine problem-causers (the relentless irony/understatement/hypocrisy/refusal to say what we actually mean, which are so ingrained as to seem perfectly reasonable). and definitely if you aren't English and have to deal with English people, it would be pretty useful to read at least the first few chapters just so you could stop thinking eg that 'I dare say we can think about that' means anything other than 'no, you idiot'.
It felt incredibly old fashioned. There's huge sections on fashion and brand names that have been updated but which already feel extremely dated again. There's some brief stuff about multicultural England and what I cannot help but feel is pretty snobby discussion of working class culture but the perspective is shriekingly white upper middle cishet woman in a way that I'm not sure the author even notices. (I am a white upper middle cishet woman, it's not a bad thing, but it's not the baseline either.) I live in North London, there's 42 languages spoken at our local primary school, I just do not recognise a lot of the picture presented here.
Eh. There are some fantastic insights, especially in the first few chapters (the latter third becomes very repetitive because effectively it's covering the same few points exhaustively and from different angles) but on the whole I don't feel I gained much....more
Extremely interesting and well written overview of the Viking period inn British history. This is very much a history of the Vikings in Britain, ratheExtremely interesting and well written overview of the Viking period inn British history. This is very much a history of the Vikings in Britain, rather than the Vikings in general, so while we get lots of interesting stuff about culture, there's also lots of the politics manouevrings and wars and resistance/response to the waves of onslaught. Very interesting and hugely readable, with a few good jokes, a humanised, not overly reverent attitude to the past and to historiography, and a powerful sense of place and time. ...more
Immensely self-indulgent (no kidding, it's Ackroyd) roll around in myths, artists, writers, schokars, musicians and creatives of all sorts, attemptingImmensely self-indulgent (no kidding, it's Ackroyd) roll around in myths, artists, writers, schokars, musicians and creatives of all sorts, attempting to find a thing that can be defined as the English imagination. He does acknowledge that English lit and lang are magpies that endlessly accrete from other languages and influences, but mostly focuses on Europe. I'd have been really interested on an application of the thesis to, say, japonisme or chinoiserie, let alone Indian influence in the Georgian/Victorian period--all huge in art, design, fashion, and architecture.
We'll just bypass the tendency of massive books to have one chapter entitled 'women' shall we.
I found it worth reading in that he does have a lot of interesting things to say especially about Old English up to early modern. And there are some really good observations--about the serpentine line, the clash of low humour and high literature, the tendency towards flat melodrama over deep feeling. Dickens looms large over these pages. Whether one can say any of those are primarily let alone exclusively English I don't know. Can one draw meaningful conclusions from the fact that no other Euro country has a national portrait gallery, or is that just a quirk of history?
Some good points. I initially rolled my eyes when he attempted to trace a line from the little grotesque figures in illuminated manuscripts to the golden age detective novel, with its grotesque goings on in an idyllic but enclosed often country setting. But then I remembered Jane Austen's comments about how she worked on 'two inches of ivory', ie creating miniatures of country life, and then I remembered that the word 'miniature' actually comes from the red lead used in manuscript illumination, and okay, that's quite nice.
Entirely self indulgent, as I say, and the thesis is the epitome of shonky but if this is the sort of thing you like there's plenty of interesting nuggests....more
I really love Matt Cain (The Madonna of Bolton made me cry buckets of happy tears) and I was hugely looking forward to this. The premise is fab (43yo I really love Matt Cain (The Madonna of Bolton made me cry buckets of happy tears) and I was hugely looking forward to this. The premise is fab (43yo man is brutally dumped by his husband, reevaluates how much he's been putting himself last for others, and erupts out of chrysalis as drag queen, with new romance) and there's a wonderfully conceived cast, with steadfast if flawed friends, a really moving defiant elderly gay gentleman, and Polish new man with his own heavy baggage. Matt Cain writes defiantly joyful queer books where the majority of people are decent if flawed, and people can be better, and the world is on an upward trajectory, and god knows we need that. I read the whole thing because I was absolutely committed to the story.
Unfortunately it didn't click on a writing level for me due to really not good enough editing on both a development and a copy level. I don't *want* to sit here and enumerate things I didn't like because I loved the heart of this book, but for me, the text really needed a thorough redraft to sing as it should have, and I'm actively cross it didn't get that. I read it with my red pen hand itching throughout because it was so clear what needed to be done and it wouldn't even have been hard. Bloody publishers.
Which said, there's plenty of people who don't read in that way, and those people will roll around in a lovely story of middle-aged queer joy and self-acceptance with immense pleasure. ...more
Excellent bio of Surrey, jerk, pioneering poet, and son of one of the ghastlier Dukes of Norfolk, not that that narrows it down.
Really good on sense Excellent bio of Surrey, jerk, pioneering poet, and son of one of the ghastlier Dukes of Norfolk, not that that narrows it down.
Really good on sense of place and time and personality, and the fear and paranoia of Henry VIII's court. Excellent writing, lively and engaging, and the parts about Surrey's poetry are fascinating. How historical biography should be done. ...more
A literary, which is to say very well-written and thoughtful, detective novel. Intriguing plot with long buildup and a complex entanglement of charactA literary, which is to say very well-written and thoughtful, detective novel. Intriguing plot with long buildup and a complex entanglement of characters leading to a reveal I didn't see coming.
As ever I didn't really see the need for present tense narration, especially given the story jumps from past to now with lots of flashbacks and memories, but those who don't object to present tense (apparently literally everyone in the world except me) will have no issues. Interesting series detective and I really liked the St Albans setting and the strong mood....more
A headteacher's diary. I read this hoping for a bit of insight (I'm a school governor) and got it in spades. It's a very good read, with some laugh ouA headteacher's diary. I read this hoping for a bit of insight (I'm a school governor) and got it in spades. It's a very good read, with some laugh out loud moments, and it's genuinely inspiring in a lot of ways--both the pupil stories and Smith's obvious decency and dedication which is on the nose the character of our own Head: he could have written this book. There is clearly a type of person who can do this amazingly hard and demanding job, from which I would run away at high speed, and it's criminal we don't reward them as they deserve.
Re the pupil stories, this is not one of those awful exploitative books like that horrible racist woman who keeps being all over Twitter: what comes across is how much he appreciates the kids and their individuality and potential (not in a cheesy way, he readily admits how exasperating to destructive they can be).
What is also unmissable is the level of damage done by the last 13 years of relentless government cuts that are driving schools and teachers into the ground, and by the endless changing barely comprehensible government 'guidance' made up by politicians who know nothing about education but won't let that stop them in their 18 months as Education Sec, and by Ofsted and their hugely damaging 'inspection' regime. Every word of this rings true to my experience. Teachers deserve far better than the way they're treated by the government. So do kids.
I'm not a huge Lorac fan but this one was highly entertaining. A very weird family seething with mutual hate, set in a crumbling manor house, with a rI'm not a huge Lorac fan but this one was highly entertaining. A very weird family seething with mutual hate, set in a crumbling manor house, with a ridiculously over-complicated murder. This is what I go to golden age pulp for. ...more
Another immensely enjoyable instalment in the rural-fantasy series. This is kind of...think Jack Reacher but with heart and magic. Big taciturn hero (Another immensely enjoyable instalment in the rural-fantasy series. This is kind of...think Jack Reacher but with heart and magic. Big taciturn hero (who is in this case a dryad's son) and narrates in a low-affect, heavily detailed-oriented way; a bit of a drifter who takes on terrifying bad guysin order to do the right thing. It is immensely satisfying.
Here we have a Welsh setting for a Queen under the Hill/fairy abduction case, some properly sinister magic, and an intriguing hint that Dan might have more power than he realises, boding well for the next book. /rubs hands/ I enjoyed it enormously.
I had an ARC from the publisher, which came exactly when I needed to kick me out of an imminent reading slump. ...more
Huge and terrifically informative tome covering every aspect of English food you can think of, including Indian food as it is now the best part of EngHuge and terrifically informative tome covering every aspect of English food you can think of, including Indian food as it is now the best part of English food. (Not Chinese, though I'd have thought there was a strong argument for there being a specific AngloChinese cuisine, but this book is already massive.) Lots of really interesting stuff focusing heavily on the effects of poverty and wealth (no top down measures to make the poor eat healthily have ever worked, because when you can't afford much food you max out calories, not vitamins.) Tons on techniques, some of which are terrifyingly labour intensive, and the evolutionn of recipes, and the way set meals have changed, and the way our favoured meats have changed and...pretty much everything you can think of. My copy is dog eared to hell, rendering dog-earing completely pointless, but luckily it is intelligently divided into essays on the various foods, meals etc, so should be easy to find what you need.
It's written with strong opinions and a lot of personality. I think that's exactly right: one of the lessons you draw from this book is how easily we assume our food standards to be normal. Nobody's objective, everyone's coming from their own experience and culture and history, and the smokescreen of academic neutrality has covered up a great deal of opinionated or biased writing over the years. The book finished with an unexpectedly moving essay on the author critiquing her mother's food cupboard which...is a good reminder about a lot of things, including the things food makes us hope for.
Highly recommended, although don't try to read it in a sitting, you'll be stuffed....more
I felt the urge to return to Dennis Wheatley's occult thrillers after reading an excellent bio by Phil Baker. Obviously, this is terrible on several lI felt the urge to return to Dennis Wheatley's occult thrillers after reading an excellent bio by Phil Baker. Obviously, this is terrible on several levels: hack writer, huge racist (though in fairness not antisemitic, which is at least less shitty than most 1930s pulp, and with a surprisingly open mind to the value of other cultures and religions considering the aforesaid racism. In some ways at least.)
But Wheatley can tell the fuck out of a story, with what he called a 'snakes and ladders' approach to plot (things going well for the heroes? Kick it out from under them!) and there's some really amazingly weird stuff in here alongside the compelling plot which had visible impact on 20th century British occultism. Plus, marvellous depiction of Alesteir Crowley. Very effective thriller, genuinely terrible writer, and all the alerts for ableism, racism, orientalism, et cetera ad nauseam....more
Delightful very gentle comedy about Miss Buncle, now Mrs Abbot. Like its heroine, this is soothing, kind, undemanding but with a concealed and very shDelightful very gentle comedy about Miss Buncle, now Mrs Abbot. Like its heroine, this is soothing, kind, undemanding but with a concealed and very sharp observational edge....more
I like Richard Coles a lot on the radio, but let's be real, this would not have been published if it wasn't by a famous person, still less with the amI like Richard Coles a lot on the radio, but let's be real, this would not have been published if it wasn't by a famous person, still less with the amazing blurbs by other famous people on the back. It really just isn't that good.
Not *bad*, I should say, just not terribly good. Best parts are definitely the bits about being a vicar and there's some nice writing. The Vicar of Dibley type setting is entertaining; the canon himself is rather bland but has potential. But the cast is overblown and not terribly distinct en masse, and includes a bunch of people who play no part in the story at all (why did we need the brother?), the plotting is woefully underdone (it's the kind of murder where anyone could have done it so you have to pick by motive), the murderer unconvincing, and the motive even less so.
Also, huge props to the editor who saw the dialogue line "Why would anyone murder Bob?" and inserted a tidy comma to make it "Why would anyone murder, Bob?" despite Bob not being in the conversation due to having been, er, murdered. (Quoted from memory and name changed to avoid spoilers.)
File under "will doubtless read the sequel when I see it in the charity shop"....more
you know, people are always on at romance for being formulaic, but I could pick out a surprising number of highbrow historical English-set novels withyou know, people are always on at romance for being formulaic, but I could pick out a surprising number of highbrow historical English-set novels with a fantastical twist that have snakey images on the cover. Just saying.
The premise of this (English Civil War, witch-finding, possession) is fab but it never really took flight for me. I felt like it couldn't pick a genre: there's a lot of elements reminiscent of Hammer movies but it never leans in to being horror/scary; we set up a lot of great conflicts regarding the operation of the law and the MC's position trying to get out of being a soldier but they never really come to a head; there's bits about strange gods that *also* don't come to a head; and there's a lot of research-heavy historical scene-setting which slows the pace considerably. I just felt everything needed turning up a few notches. On the other hand, if you like understated, this is for you.
If I'm honest, it lost me at the 'that John Milton will never amount to anything!' gag (not in those words) which authors of historical fiction really do need to retire.
Mph. If you want a leisurely period-detail-heavy book with plenty of atmosphere, there's a lot to like here, but it didn't compel me. Hey ho. ...more
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