Ann Veronica, by H G Wells (1909)

Spoiler alert.   Oh, Ann Veronica, Ann Veronica!  You had me, growing up in the 1970s, from the start.  I sympathised with your yearning for independence and fulfilment.  I felt your exasperation with your narrow-minded relatives.  I wanted you to unwrap your ‘wrappered life’.  And in a way you did, in spite of the society … Continue reading →

Enduring Adventure by Norah C. James (1944)

This novel (by the author of the earlier and better known Sleeveless Errand) supplies a lucid account of life on the home front, and in particular the experience of the London blitz, giving voice to the trials, fears, doubts and frustrations undergone by those involved. That the author is, at least in part, concerned to buoy … Continue reading →

Delia Blanchflower by Mrs Humphry Ward (1915)

Mary Ward was a bestselling novelist of the late Victorian period, but was regarded as a little old fashioned by the time this novel was written. She was also a notable public figure, campaigning tirelessly for education for women (including the founding of Somerville College, Oxford) and education for children, especially those with disabilities.  Nevertheless, … Continue reading →

Suffragette Sally (1911) by Gertrude Colmore

Book Review by Sylvia D: Gertrude Colmore (1855-1926) finished writing Suffragette Sally in February 1911 at the height of the women’s militant suffrage campaign. She covers the two years preceding the book’s publication and, through the experiences of three women from very different backgrounds, attempts to explain the way the women’s actions were misrepresented and … Continue reading →

The Squad Goes Out by Robert Greenwood (1943)

This novel (whose author is perhaps better known as the author of the slightly earlier ‘Mr Bunting’ novels) centres on the work of a voluntary ambulance squad during the London blitz. The novel depicts the personal struggles and internal tensions within the squad and its individual members, with the implicit (though not entirely persuasive) sense … Continue reading →

The Lion’s Share (1916) by Arnold Bennett

Book Review by George S: In 1915 Arnold Bennett commented in his journal about The Lion’s Share, which he had just begun to write: The novel is light and of intent not deeply imagined, but it seems to me to be fairly good and interesting. He does not say much more about the novel in … Continue reading →