Clouds of Witness (1926) by Dorothy L. Sayers

This is the first book review by Daniel, who is joining me at the Special Collection for a work placement. Daniel is a second year English and History student, and thus perfectly placed to get involved with the collection. Welcome Daniel! Review by Daniel G: As the first book of the Readerships and Literary Cultures … Continue reading →

An acutely self-conscious novel: Mrs. Maxon Protests (1911) by Anthony Hope

Review by Lisa Hopkins The plot can be summarised as follows: Winnie Maxon finds that her husband Cyril, a rising KC, crushes her, so she leaves him.  He disapproves of divorce but she scorns pretence so lives openly with Godfrey Ledstone, whom she meets at the house of her freethinking cousin.  Godfrey is worried about … Continue reading →

Thomas Henry (1909) by W. Pett Ridge

William Pett Ridge (1859-1930) was an extremely prolific and popular author, publishing over sixty novels and short-story collections. We have ten novels by William Pett Ridge in the collection:  click here to see the full list. Pett Ridge’s upbringing was humble; his father was a railway porter, and the young Pett Ridge became a clerk … Continue reading →

Tristram of Blent: An Episode in the Story of an Ancient House (1925) by Anthony Hope

Review by Lisa Hopkins The plot of this novel can be summarised as follows: An elderly gentleman, Mr Neeld, makes a hobby of editing memoirs.  In one he reads how Adelaide Tristram, heir of Blent, married her second husband Captain Fitzhubert after she had run away from her first, Sir Randolph Edge.  Pregnant, and anxious … Continue reading →

A Liebster Award!

Reading 1900-1950 has been given a Liebster Award! Apparently the word comes from the German, meaning “dearest” or “beloved” and is given by fellow bloggers to new blogs with fewer than 200 followers and deserving of recognition and encouragement. Thank you Kaggsys Bookish Ramblings, for this lovely piece of encouragement – it is much appreciated. … Continue reading →

Green Battlefield (1943) by Victor Canning

Review by John Higgins The plot of Green Battlefield can be summarised as follows: Bomber pilot Patrick Orleigh parachutes to ground when his plane is shot down over Normandy, where he is befriended by Arlenne Resant and her elderly servants, the Bonparts. A German officer arrives to billet six soldiers in her house. In the … Continue reading →

The Three Taps: A Detective Story Without a Moral (1927) by Ronald Knox

Review by John S: Miles Bredon, a brooding gentleman detective, and his very witty wife, Angela, travel to a god-forsaken village in the Midlands to investigate the death of a businessman called Mottram, found gassed in his hotel bedroom. If the cause of death is suicide, the Indescribable Insurance Company, on whose behalf Bredon is … Continue reading →

Services Editions – Books for the British Armed Forces during World War II

Our latest donation to the collection is a small number of Services Editions. For those of you who haven’t seen them before (and that included me) these are special editions of novels that were printed in vast numbers for distribution to the British Armed Forces during World War II. They are rarely seen now, despite … Continue reading →