Adèle and Co., (1931), and Blind Corner (1927), by Dornford Yates

Book Review by Chris Hopkins Adèle and Co. is told in the first person by Boy, part of a close-knit group, made up of Daphne, his sister who is married to their cousin Berry Pleydell, Jonathan Mansel, whose sister Jill is married to Piers, the Duke of Padua, and Adele an American married to Boy. … Continue reading →

Blood Royal (1929) by Dornford Yates

Book review by George Simmers: This is the third of Dornford Yates’s ‘Chandos’ novels, and the first not to feature Jonah Mansel. Mansel had followed the Bulldog Drummond pattern for a twenties action hero – he was an ex-soldier sorting out peacetime problems by bringing into play the attitudes and skills learned in war. In … Continue reading →

The Phantom of the Opera (1910) by Gaston Leroux

Book Review by Jane V. I wanted to source an early title for the session on books produced by Mills & Boon publishers at the beginning of their existence. After much ado trying to find a title which I could verify was actually published first by M & B and which was not exorbitantly expensive, … Continue reading →

Portrait of a Village (1937) by Francis Brett Young, with Woodcuts by Joan Hassall

Book Review by Chris Hopkins. Frances Brett Young in his ‘Author’s Note’ starts by referring to a novel he published three years earlier: Some years ago, when I published a book called This Little World, I was assured, by a multitude of correspondents, that they knew not only the village of which I had written … Continue reading →