Book Review by G.S.: Humbug is a very good novel, yet another reminder that there is more to E.M. Delafield than the Provincial Lady ( excellent as that is). Like many of her novels of the early twenties, it is an impassioned plea for honesty. It begins with the splendid sentence: Good women know by … Continue reading
Tagged with Family fiction …
Potterism (1920) by Rose Macaulay
Book review by George Simmers: In this novel, Rose Macaulay gives her diagnosis of what is wrong with Britain after the end of the First World War. She sums this up in one word: ‘Potterism’. Which means sentimentality, materialism, mental laziness, and the avoidance of awkward truths. Mr Potter is a press baron; ‘a small, … Continue reading
Family Roundabout (1948) by Richmal Crompton
Book Review by Ros W: Richmal Crompton is better known for her William books, even though she wrote over forty novels and nine short story collections for adults. Family Roundabout centres around two families in a country town called Bellington and covers the period from the early 1920s to 1939. The Willoughbys and the Fowlers … Continue reading
Family Roundabout (1948) by Richmal Crompton
Book Review by Kathryn R: This novel was written by the author of the ‘Just William’ stories. It appears that Crompton was the author of around 40 novels for adults. It is set in the interwar years and is the story of two families, both headed by a widow. The Willoughbys are ‘new money’, the … Continue reading
Caroline (1936), by Richmal Crompton
Funny how Caroline’s eyes betrayed her exasperation rather than her voice or manner. They were almost grey when she was pleased, but they turned a clear cold blue when she was annoyed or irritated. (ch 2) In Caroline and other novels, like Narcissa (1941), Richmal Crompton explores appalling, outrageous, even monstrous behaviour masquerading as normal; … Continue reading
Millicent Dorrington (1927) by Richmal Crompton
Book Review by George S: I’ve always thought of Richmal Crompton as the quintessential Home Counties writer. The smugness of that area has never been beter caught than in Crompton’s depiction of the commuter-belt village that so restricts the free spirit of William. But in fact, she was born and brought up in Bury, and … Continue reading
Merlin Bay (1930) by Richmal Crompton
Merlin Bay (1930) by Richmal Crompton Book review by Frances S: I first came upon William Brown in a 1950s edition of William Carries On from the family bookcase and subsequently enjoyed various television adaptations and the Martin Jarvis Radio 4 readings. I knew very little about Richmal Crompton herself until Reading 1900-1950 invited us … Continue reading
Hatter’s Castle (1931) by A J Cronin
Book Review by Sylvia D: I decided to read Hatter’s Castle for the Scottish and Welsh session, because, apart from the treatment of its women characters, Cronin’s The Citadel was a good read with a strong message. Hatter’s Castle was his first novel and couldn’t be more different from The Citadel. It is 600 pages … Continue reading
The Amazing Summer (1941) by Philip Gibbs
Review by Sylvia D: Philip Gibbs’ The Amazing Summer (1941) is a good example of his journalistic novel-writing, set as it is against a backdrop of the hot and sunny summer of 1940, the Battle of Britain and the early months of the Blitz. It has resonances with Elizabeth Goudge’s The Castle on the Hill … Continue reading
Joy and Josephine (1948) by Monica Dickens
Book review by Sylvia D: What a shock it must be suddenly to discover in your teens that the people you thought were your parents are only your adoptive parents. And what a much greater shock it must be to discover that no-one actually knows who you are. You must be overwhelmed by a sense … Continue reading
Reading 1900-1950 