Jerry and Ben by Willie Riley (1919)

Review by George Simmers (see his Great War FIction blog) This is a book that must have seemed old-fashioned even when it was written (1919), which may have been a large part of its appeal. Peg, Mamie and Betty are single women, with nothing much to look forward to but living as perpetual aunties, until … Continue reading →

Willie Riley (1866-1961) and Windyridge (1912)

Willie Riley is another of those authors who were extremely popular in their day and are almost entirely forgotten now that we specialise in at the Sheffield Hallam collection. Riley, a businessman from Bradford, published his first novel, Windyridge, in 1912 when he was in his forties. It was written, not for publication, but to cheer up some … Continue reading →