Older 'Recently Enjoyeds'
Summer and Autumn 2003
Claire Tomalin
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Claire Tomalin's award-winning biography of Samuel Pepys (it was the 2002 Whitbread Book of the Year) is a great read. A fascinating history of his 17th century times, an eye-opener to the viciousness and carelessness of the later Stuart kings, and an attractive introduction to the Diary itself. In many ways Pepys may be considered one of the inventors of the self, with his honest and unblinking description of his actions and feelings. Often a cheat and a crook, yet always loveable. "When you turn over the last page of the Diary," Tomalin concludes, "you know you have been in the company of both the most ordinary and the most extraordinary writer you will ever meet." |
I've been re-reading Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea novels.
This summer we made some brilliant discoveries, especially (since taking possession of our new flat in Shropshire) of
Mary Webb
(1881-1927). Her novels, set in the Shropshire landscape she knew so well from childhood, and loved all her life, are romantic stories which capture in evocative prose the natural beauty of the countryside, and the depth of the characters' feelings for nature and for each other.
In her lifetime relatively few recognised her genius (among them John Buchan and Rebecca West), but shortly after her death she was acclaimed by the then Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, and a collected edition of her works was published. A number of her books, written in the 1910's and 20's, have been re-issued by Virago Modern Classics.
Precious Bane is set in the years after the Battle of Waterloo, and tells the story of Prue Sarn, disfigured by a harelip which her superstitious neighbours regard as a sign that she is a witch. But, though she flees human company, a deep inner goodness transforms her and enables her to deal with the hardship of her life and circumstances, and eventually to find happiness with a man who sees beyond the physical appearance, to the beauty of her soul.
Gone to Earth is the story of Hazel Woodus, a child of nature
who simply wants to be herself, living among the remote Shropshire
hills, but gets drawn into the world of normal human relationships.
Torn between the spiritual love of the minister, Edward Marston,
who marries her, and the physical passion of the local squire Jack
Reddin who seduces her, she comes to a tragic end...
But there's a lot of fantastic writing, and poetry, and a lorra
lorra laughs, along the way.
One of the things that strikes me most about Mary Webb is her
sympathy for all the characters she describes. There are no
villains; she sees the truth and good in everyone.
There is a Mary Webb Society.
Have you discovered BookCrossing yet?
A really great Internet idea, and a site for all booklovers to revel in:
Or you can go straight to my BookCrossing bookshelf
There's a new Jasper Fforde out!
The latest, and third Thursday Next adventure is
The Well of Lost Plots, in which Jurisfiction agent Thursday,
on the run from the vengeful Aornis Styx whose brother Acheron she
killed, is in hiding in the Well of ...
Oh look, it's no good me trying to explain. If you haven't fallen
for these books already, don't wait any longer. You're missing a
real treat.
You might also like to visit the author's own website.
The earlier book in the series are The Eyre Affair and Lost In A Good Book.
If you love Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey books
Don't miss Robert Harvey's Cochrane: The Life and Exploits of a Fighting Captain. Thomas Cochrane was the real-life original on which O'Brian based his Jack Aubrey novels. Some of the things that really happened were too unbelievable for him to use in fiction and he had to tone them down...
Background Reading for the Sexuality Debate
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Jo Ind's
Memories of Bliss: God, Sex and Us. In the present climate
of controversy about homosexuality, this is the most helpful book
I've found: a racy, entertaining, well-written and profound
meditation on the meaning of sexuality and believing in God. |
Remember, these are only recent(ish) reads: for older ones and especially for all-time favourites, there's my All-Time Favourite Reads page. (Naturally).