Mystery in Geneva (1922) by Rose Macaulay

Book Review by Kathryn R: Mystery at Geneva – An Improbable Tale of Singular Happenings is a short novel, telling the story of Henry Beechtree, a newspaper correspondent for the British Bolshevist who is in Geneva for a meeting of the League of Nations in the early 1920s. The book opens with the following note … Continue reading →

Skylighters (1934) by J.B. Morton

Book review by George S: Skylighters is a light comedy about a trio of swindlers who reckon they can make money by starting a new religion. It is by J.B. Morton, who had in 1919 published The Barber of Putney, one of the better early novels about the Great War. By 1934 he was already … 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 →

Two women in one: Rose Macaulay’s ‘Keeping Up Appearances’ (1928)

*Warning! Contains spoilers!* Review by Helen C: I enjoyed this unusual book, carried along by the author’s enthusiasm, wit and convincing characterisation.  She clearly revels in words, and in some descriptions, heaps them up in piles, in a crescendo of extravagance (I came across at least 6 that I did not know and had to … Continue reading →