Book review by George S: Mrs Frensham Describes a Circle is about an extended family in an English country town during the Blitz. Richmal Crompton shows how the war brings out different responses in the varied personalities of the family, and suggests which temperaments are best able to deal with a historical crisis.
Filed under Book reviews …
Poor Caroline (1931) by Winifred Holtby
Book review by Sylvia D: Poor Caroline is a satire in which Holtby pokes fun at the worlds of philanthropy and religion but also introduces other themes: the loneliness and frustrations of old age, the position of women in interwar society, and the lingering impact of the First World War on those who fought in … Continue reading
The Vanity Girl (1920) by Compton Mackenzie
Book review by Sylvia D: When Compton Mackenzie’s The Vanity Girl (the copy I read being the Remploy reprint of 1973) was first published in 1920 by Macdonald, it was dedicated to Mackenzie’s sister, Fay Compton, the actress. When it was republished in 1954, Mackenzie (1883-1972) re-wrote the original dedication, with the words ‘Dearest Fay, … Continue reading
Gallipoli Memories (1929) by Compton Mackenzie
Book Review by George S. We’ve been reading fiction by Compton Mackenzie this month, but I deviated from the brief slightly by reading an example of his non-fiction. He published Gallipoli Memories in 1929, fourteen years after his participation in the unsuccessful military campaign. He tells us that he had spent years pursuing ‘that elusive … Continue reading
Women in Exile (1942) by Jean Ross
This wartime novel (written by Scottish author Irene Dale Hewson, but published pseudonymously) takes as its main subject the plight of women evacuees during the Second World War, with the concomitant theme of exile both implicitly and explicitly present throughout. Attention is focused away from the blitz-stricken capital (though London – and also Belfast – … Continue reading
The Pillar of Cloud (1948) by Francis Stuart
By JV Dominic, an Irishman, finds himself in a small town in the French occupied region of post-war Germany. As a citizen of a neutral country (Eire) his presence in Marheim comes under suspicion from all sides and his life is precarious. He suffers from hunger and cold as do the other people who have … Continue reading
Twenty-Four Hours Leave (1943) by Renee Shann (pen name of Carol Gaye)
By Helen N. This is an American edition (Triangle Books, New York 1944) of a 1943 British novel, which accounts for the cover which has a sketchy picture of a woman in uniform reading a letter. It is very much a “Woman’s book”, in that the story is written from the woman’s point of view, … Continue reading
Mr Norris Changes Trains (1935) by Christopher Isherwood
By PG Mr Norris Changes Trains is a novel by Christopher Isherwood set in the early 1930s during the inter-war period. It’s a highly entertaining romp through life during the time that Hitler rose to power, seen through the eyes of the main character, William Bradshaw, which coincidentally are Christopher Isherwood’s own middle names. It … Continue reading
Something in My Heart (1944) by Walter Greenwood
Walter Greenwood is, of course, famous as the Salford author of the best remembered thirties depression novel, Love on the Dole, a novel which has had considerable impact, then and since. In fact, he lived for the rest of his life as a professional author, writing new works and adaptations right up until the late … Continue reading
Stamboul Train (1932) by Graham Greene
By JN The Orient Express, a fascinating machine transporting people from different walks of life across Europe in a web of murder, lies and love. That’s the image that Graham Greene establishes in his gripping page-turner ‘Stamboul Train.’ This cemented his reputation as ‘one of the most important British writers of the twentieth century.’ (Daily … Continue reading
