The White Company (1892) by Arthur Conan Doyle

Book review by George Simmers: In 1891, at the same time that the first Sherlock Holmes short stories were appearing each month in the Strand Magazine, Doyle’s The White Company was being serialised in the Cornhill Magazine, a rather more staid and traditional publication. Sherlock Holmes made Doyle famous and made him money, but The … Continue reading →

Beau Brocade (1907) by Baroness Orczy

Book review by George Simmers. This month we are looking at books and writers connected with Derbyshire and Yorkshire, and this novel, despite being written by the Hungarian, Baroness Orczy, qualifies on both counts. It is set on the moors of Derbyshire, and Baroness Orczy, having married her theatrical collaborator, Montagu Barstow, lived with him … Continue reading →

The Launching of Roger Brook (1947) by Dennis Wheatley

In the middle of the 20th century, Dennis Wheatley (1897-1977) was a prolific and popular author of thrillers, best known for writing about the occult. I came across his books, I think, through a holiday job in my local library. There were plenty on the shelves, in the lurid dustjackets his publishers seemed to favour. … Continue reading →

City of Gold (1939) by Francis Brett Young

Book Review by Mary Grover: Having, years ago, read one of Young’s Mercian novels I was bamboozled, late at night, by the fact my copy of The City of Gold had front and end papers decorated with maps of the Severn valley and of the Midland counties in which most of Young’s novels are set. … Continue reading →

They Were Defeated (1932) by Rose Macaulay

Book Review by Mary Grover: They were Defeated was said to be Rose Macaulay’s favorite novel. Published in 1932, this historical novel about intellectual life during the mid seventeenth century was well reviewed but never proved as popular as her contemporary novels. There is a double focus: the poetry and opinions of the real poet … Continue reading →

“Mr Rowl” (1924) by D.K. Broster

Book review by Mary G: Ever since I was a young teenager I have had a horror of the Hulks, decommissioned ships which were used as prisons during the Napoleonic Wars. I had gradually attached the horrific experiences associated with these floating death camps with Great Expectations. The crucible of Magwitch’s fearsome appearance and ferocity … Continue reading →

Ships in the Bay! (1931) by D.K. Broster

Book review by George S. Ships in the Bay! is a historical romance set during the French revolutionary wars. In 1796 there was an abortive French attempt to invade Ireland, and in 1798 a small and soon-foiled invasion at the Welsh town of Fishguard. Ships in the Bay! is based on the unwilling involvement in … Continue reading →

Sylvester (1957) by Georgette Heyer

By Val Hewson I have been a fan of Georgette Heyer since a teacher recommended her, in an attempt to get the class in the mood for our Year 10 set book, Pride and Prejudice. She is an under-rated writer, whose work has long been scorned. Romance? Historical fiction? Comedy? Written by a woman and … Continue reading →

The Toll-Gate (1955) by Georgette Heyer

Book Review by George S.: I’ve read reviews on the internet complaining that The Toll-Gate is not a proper ‘Regency Romance’ in the usual Georgette Heyer manner. It isn’t. It’s more of a comedy-thriller romp set in the past – and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The hero is Jack Staple, a huge man, a Captain … Continue reading →

Summer Will Show (1936) by Sylvia Townsend Warner

Book Review by George S: Sylvia Townsend Warner’s Lolly Willowes (1926) is about a woman leaving an ordinary environment and developing in extraordinary ways (she becomes a witch). Summer Will Show also describes the extraordinary progress and liberation of a previously conventional woman, but this time the process of liberation is not magical but emotional … Continue reading →