The Shapes of Sleep by J. B. Priestley (1962)

Review by David R: Ben Sterndale, a freelance journalist, is offered a commission by a friend. The boss of the advertising agency where the friend works has lost, or had stolen a sheet of paper. This paper was covered in figures, but no-one knew what they meant. Sterndale establishes who visited the boss’s office, and … Continue reading →

Mr Standfast by John Buchan (1919)

Here’s another of John Buchan’s Richard Hannay novels. The series runs: The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915); Greenmantle (1916); Mr Standfast (1919); The Three Hostages (1924); The Island of Sheep (1936). Review by David R: As with “Greenmantle”, this is very much a novel of its time. Germans are occasionally referred to as “The Boche” and there … Continue reading →

The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan (1915)

This is John Buchan’s first ‘shocker’. He dedicated the book to his friend and business partner Thomas Nelson (of Thomas Nelson Publishing): My dear Tommy, You and I have long cherished an affection for that elementary type of tale which Americans call the ‘dime novel’ and which we know as the ‘shocker’ – the romance where the … Continue reading →

Frontier Passage by Ann Bridge (1942)

Review by Sylvia D: I’d never heard of Ann Bridge until I read Frontier Passage which turned out to be one of 14 novels written by Bridge between 1932 and 1953.  Ann Bridge is the pseudonym of Lady Mary Ann Dolling (Sanders) O’Malley, also known as Cottie Sanders, yet another woman novelist who wrote partly … Continue reading →