Phyllis Bentley in Batley

From Sue Roe: Recently I have been helping my husband out with his research on the former players for Batley Rugby League Club. This has involved checking through the Batley News for details of games. In course of this research I came across two articles on Phyllis Bentley, describing her involvement with the Dewsbury and … Continue reading →

Blue Danube (1943) by Eunice Buckley

Book review by George S: Blue Danube is the third novel to appear under the name of Eunice Buckley, but its author had written other books and plays before, under the names of R. Allatini, A.T. Fitzroy, R. l. Scott, Mrs Cyril Scott and Lucian Wainwright. As A.T. Fitzroy she had written Despised and Rejected … Continue reading →

Event on Famous British Authors of 1937 Wills Cigarette Cards Series

Four Bestsellers Lost and Found images On the afternoon of Saturday 18th November 2017, we will be holding an event at Sheffield Hallam University to explore why some books and their authors are remembered and why some are forgotten by looking at some of the writers featured in this 1937 set of attractive cigarette cards. … 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 →

Mr Norris Changes Trains (1935) by Christopher Isherwood – a second review

By ARP. Isherwood’s story Mr Norris Changes Trains is set in pre-war Berlin between 1935 and 1939. The story is filled with mystery from the beginning due to the illusive protagonist ‘Herr Norris’ and a rather young and naïve narrator, William Bradshaw, who takes everything and everyone at face value. The two characters meet, by … Continue reading →

The Heat of the Day ( 1948) by Elizabeth Bowen

By LA It is war time in the blazing city of London and the beginning of this novel introduces the protagonist Stella and her two male interests. Stella battles between the man she loves, Robert but also the man who seems to feel affection for her, Harrison. Harrison is a spy following Robert as he … Continue reading →

The Death of the Heart (1938) by Elizabeth Bowen

By LMC Written by Elizabeth Bowen, The Death of the Heart (written in 1938), is one of her best known novels. The novel focuses on the main protagonist, Portia, who goes to stay with her half-brother, Thomas and his wife, Anna, due to her being orphaned. However, Portia is considered to be unusual by Anna, … Continue reading →

Coming Up for Air (1939) by George Orwell

By JF The author of this novel, George Orwell, most famously known for his satires on society in Animal Farm and 1984, here composes what can be interpreted as the preliminary text in a trilogy which serves as a worthy political antecedent to these two great, significant literary pieces. Often overlooked by many, Coming Up … Continue reading →

Brideshead Revisited (1945) by Evelyn Waugh

By AW Written between December 1943 and June 1944 following a parachuting accident, Evelyn Waugh’s “operation of divine grace on a group of diverse but closely connected characters” (so described in the novel’s preface) has received significant acclaim: Time magazine in 2005 heralded it as one of the hundred best post-1923 novels of the English … Continue reading →

The Three Miss Kings by Ada Cambridge

Book review by Sylvia D: The Three Miss Kings by Ada Cambridge (1844-1926) was serialised in The Australasian in 1883. It was then published by Heinemann in England and Australia in 1891 and I read a Virago 1987 edition.