Chain of Witnesses: The Cases of Miss Phipps (2014) – Phyllis Bentley

Review by George S: As well as her historical novels set in Yorkshire, Phyllis Bentley had a less well-known sideline writing detective stories. This is a collection of her short stories featuring novelist-detective Miss Phipps. The book was published in 2014; previously, the stories had only appeared in magazines. The earliest were published in British … Continue reading →

The Heart of a Goof by P G Wodehouse (1926)

Review by Jane V: The Heart of a Goof consists of nine stories related by the Oldest Member of a golf club.  He sits aside from the action puffing a cigar and observing the joys and the sorrows, the triumphs and the defeats in matters of golf and the heart enjoyed and suffered by the … Continue reading →

Eggs, Beans and Crumpets by P G Wodehouse (1940)

Review by George Simmers: This collection of short stories features several familiar Wodehouse characters. Four centre on Bingo Little, familiar from stories in The Inimitable Jeeves (1923). That book’s stories showed him madly in love with a succession of girls, with Bertie Wooster roped in to help him. In the last of the stories he … Continue reading →

May Fair by Michael Arlen (1925)

Next up is Michael Arlen (real name was Dikran Kouyoumdjian), an Armenian who grew up in Britain. Arlen found fame in the 1920s with his novel The Green Hat (1924), which was one of the first to depict the ‘Bright Young Things’ of post-World War I Mayfair. He followed up this success with this collection, May Fair. … Continue reading →

Fifty-fifty by Pamela Frankau (1936)

Having made the decision to have ‘Frankau month’ at the special collection, I really hoped that some of the novels would be good – I am relieved to be able to report that Fifty-fifty is good. Phew! It is a collection of short stories; some are better than others, but the best have an oddness, and a … Continue reading →

The Path of the King by John Buchan (1921)

Review by Helen C: An ingenious and unusual book by a master storyteller, based on the suggestion, made to the author in a discussion with friends, that great leaders or creative geniuses may seem to arise from humble backgrounds, but who knows whether they have descended from great men or rulers in the distant past, … Continue reading →