Some tame gazelle by Barbara Pym

Find this book at your library

Read more reviews at NoveList

Genre - Fiction


Belinda & Harriet Bede are sisters living in an English village in the 1950s. They’re happily unmarried, although Harriet has an admirer, Count Bianco, who proposes marriage at regular intervals. Belinda has been in love with Archdeacon Hoccleve since their University days but he married the very capable Agatha instead. This is a story of gentle irony & humour as village life brings challenges such as the church fete & what to give the local seamstress for lunch when she comes to make up the new curtains. When Archbishop Theodore Grote arrives for a visit from his African diocese, Belinda finds herself the object of attentions that she suspects Agatha might envy.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

The monster in the box by Ruth Rendell

Find this book at your library

Read more reviews at NoveList

Genre - Mystery


Inspector Reg Wexford is startled to see a face from the past, a man who he believes has committed at least two murders, but who he never expected to see again. This is the catalyst that takes Wexford back to his early days in the police force, when he was convinced that Eric Targo had murdered young mother, Elsie Carroll. He had no evidence & was too junior to influence the murder investigation, but he knew Targo was guilty, & Targo knew that Wexford knew. So, a strange game developed where Targo would walk his dog past Wexford’s house or stare up at the windows of the police station. Then, he would disappear for years before unexpectedly turning up again. As Wexford tells the story to his deputy, Mike Burden, the evidence becomes more compelling, especially when another murder occurs close to Wexford’s home. The Wexford series has been one of the best police procedurals for over 40 years & this is another great installment. It’s not one of the best, but interesting to see Wexford as a young man, starting his career & meeting his wife, Dora.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

The pattern in the carpet by Margaret Drabble

Find this book at your library

Read more reviews at NoveList

Genre - Non Fiction


The subtitle of this book is “A personal history with jigsaws”. Drabble reminisces about her childhood visits to her Auntie Phyl, who lived in a B&B on the Great North Road, the main route from London to Scotland. Assembling jigsaws became one of the pleasures of these childhood holidays & they continue to enjoy it on many later visits until Phyl’s death. Drabble intended to write a history of the jigsaw puzzle & she has done this, but the picture she draws of her childhood in the 40s & 50s & Phyl’s life as a schoolteacher & later helping her parents run the B&B is the most interesting part of the book. Jigsaws began as dissected maps that could be assembled as an aid to teaching children geography. It wasn’t until the 20th century that they became a pastime that everyone could afford. Drabble’s research into the history of art, mosaics & children’s toys is fascinating but the heart of the book is her relationship with Phyl & her memories of a happy childhood.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Forbidden fruit by Kerry Greenwood

Find this book at your library



Genre - Mystery


The latest Corinna Chapman mystery is set at the beginning of a hot summer in Melbourne. Corinna hates summer, hates Christmas & just wants December to be over so she can close her bakery & have a month’s holiday. Her lover, Daniel, has been hired to find two runaway teenagers, Manny & Brigid. Brigid’s parents, members of a strange religious group, locked her away when they discovered she was pregnant. Manny helps her escape & they’re now on the run, with the baby due any day. There are lots of echoes of the Christmas story in this fast-paced book – the race to the hospital with Brigid riding on a donkey called Serena is especially funny - & Greenwood uses traditional carols & Christmas music to great effect. As always in this series, the luscious descriptions of food & drink & the lives of the people & cats living in the Insula building are almost more important than the plot. This series is a treat for the senses, full of humour & a real feeling of life lived to the full.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

The last office by Geoffrey Moorhouse

Find this book at your library

Read more reviews at NoveList

Genre - Non Fiction


This is the story of the monks of Durham Priory & their fate when Henry VIII split with Rome over his divorce from Catherine of Aragon & created the Church of England. The Dissolution of the Monasteries was a complete break with religious life as it had been lived for hundreds of years. Henry & his chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, were eager to get their hands on the riches of the Church & to have complete control on the religious life of the nation. Small monasteries & nunneries were broken up & the monks & nuns pensioned off or sent to other houses. Gradually it was time for the larger priories such as Durham to be transformed from Catholic communities into Anglican cathedrals with priests rather than monks. Moorhouse describes the life of the Priory before the Dissolution & how the Bishop of Durham & the Prior guided the monks in their care towards an accommodation with the new order.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Jane Austen ruined my life by Beth Pattillo

Find this book at your library

Read more reviews at NoveList

Genre - Fiction


I’m not a fan of the many Austen sequels, prequels & other novels cashing in on the popularity of one of my favourite authors. This novel is an exception as it uses Austen’s life & work in an intriguing way. Emma Grant is an American academic. Her life is falling apart. Her husband has been unfaithful & she’s lost her job due to an unfounded allegation of plagiarism. Emma has been contacted by Mrs Parrot, a mysterious woman who hints that she has access to over a thousand unpublished letters by Jane Austen. Emma sees publishing the letters as a way of regaining her academic reputation. So, she goes to England to meet Mrs Parrot. Emma is sent on a series of journeys to places associated with Jane – Bath, Lyme, Winchester - & must pass tests at each place to be allowed to read more of the letters & discover more about the secret at the heart of Austen’s life. Emma also meets up with Adam, an old friend who is also in London doing research. Is his interest in Emma altruistic or is he chasing the same prize? The plot has a few holes in it, but Emma is an engaging character & a tour of Jane Austen’s England is always a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Sherlock Holmes was wrong by Pierre Bayard

Find this book at your library



Genre - Non Fiction


What if Sherlock Holmes missed some vital clues in his investigation of the mystery of the Hound of the Baskervilles? Bayard reimagines the classic crime story from a new angle. He takes the story as written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, & interprets the clues differently to come up with a different ending - & a different murderer. This is a lighthearted look at a classic story & an iconic figure of crime fiction. Bayard has previously written about Agatha Christie in Who Killed Roger Ackroyd? & does a great job of breathing new life into the Holmes legend.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Mud, muck & dead things by Ann Granger

Find this book at your library



Genre - Mystery


This is the first in a new series of mysteries by Granger, set in the Cotswolds. Lucas Burton, a shady businessman, is lured to a deserted farmhouse for a meeting. Instead of his business partner, he finds a dead girl in the barn. In his panic, he scrapes his silver Mercedes against a fencepost & is seen leaving the farm by Penny, who owns the livery stables nearby. Inspector Jess Campbell is called in to investigate the murder, &, as well as identifying the victim & coping with the eccentric old man who owns the farm, she has to deal with the expectations of her new boss, Superintendent Carter. No sooner has Jess & her team identified Lucas’ car & tracked him down, than he is found murdered in his garage. Granger sets up her characters nicely in this first novel, & the Cotswolds setting is a bit less attractive than usual – all that mud & muck. Great for fans of Midsomer Murders.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Dark mirror by Barry Maitland

Find this book at your library



Genre - Mystery


Marion Summers dies a painful death in the London Library. The autopsy reveals that she died of arsenic poisoning, a method of murder more suited to the murky 19th century world of the Pre-Raphaelite painters & poets she was researching. Detectives Brock & Kolla investigate secretive Marion’s background & discover that her research may have been the reason she was killed. Did her discoveries threaten the career of her academic supervisor? Or was it the fellow researcher who had been following her, taking photos on his mobile phone? Or her mysterious lover, who may have been the father of the child she lost just weeks before her death? This is a complex mystery with fascinating literary & historical elements. Brock & Kolla are sympathetic characters & it’s always good to catch up with them again.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Love letters by Katie Fforde

Find this book at your library



Genre - Romance


Shy Laura is about to lose her dream job in a bookshop where she’s been responsible for organizing successful author events & bookclubs. She finds herself agreeing to help run a new literary festival at the stately home of Fenella & Rupert. When she reveals her admiration for the writing of reclusive Irish novelist, Dermot Flynn, she finds herself on the way to Ireland to convince him to appear at the festival. This is a lovely romantic comedy about first love, literature & friendship. Dermot is an engagingly scruffy, sexy hero & there’s a lot of humour in Laura & Dermot’s growing relationship.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

The little stranger by Sarah Waters

Find this book at your library

Read more reviews at NoveList

Genre - Literary fiction


This is an atmospheric ghost story set in England after WWII. Hundreds Hall is a crumbling stately home & the Ayres family are struggling to survive with dwindling income & only a couple of servants. Local GP, Dr Faraday is called in to attend the housemaid, Betty, & meets Mrs Ayres, her son, Roderick, who was badly injured in the war, & her daughter, Caroline. Dr Faraday was a working class boy who became a doctor & has never felt at home with the local gentry, but in the post-war world, he becomes a trusted friend of the family. The social changes of the period are obvious as the Ayres are forced to sell off their estate to property developers to survive. The strange happenings at the Hall - the running footsteps in the old nursery, the speaking tubes whistling for no reason, the fires that break out in Roderick’s room – unsettle everyone. Is a malevolent spirit haunting the family or are they tainted with madness? Echoes of Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca are very effective in creating an atmosphere of menace & doom in this beautifully written story of a family in a time of change.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

The sisters who would be queen by Leanda De Lisle

Find this book at your library



Genre - Non Fiction


Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Days Queen, is a well-known figure. Her two younger sisters are not so well-known. This excellent biography follows the three sisters as they are each caught up in the murky world of Tudor politics. Protestant Jane was declared heir to the throne by the dying Edward VI in preference to his Catholic half-sister Mary. Jane was less of a victim of powerful men than has been supposed, & De Lisle shows that she was determined to rule in her own right. However, Mary’s supporters deposed Jane & she was executed when she became a focus for rebellion. When Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1559, Katherine Grey was seen as her heir by the English nobility. She foolishly fell in love & secretly married without Elizabeth’s permission. When she then gave birth to two sons (the second child conceived while both parents were imprisoned in the Tower), the Queen’s anger was terrible, the couple were separated & Katherine died young. The youngest sister, Mary, also married without the Queen’s permission. Her choice was one of her jailers, Thomas Keyes, who was imprisoned in terrible conditions for falling in love with an heir to the throne. This is a fascinating look at the Tudor court & the perils of being too close to the throne.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Pauline Bonaparte by Flora Fraser

Find this book at your library



Genre - Non Fiction


Pauline was Napoleon’s favourite sister & lived a privileged life when her brother was First Consul & then Emperor of France. She was a beautiful woman who married twice – once for love & once for money - & had many lovers. Flora Fraser specializes in writing the lives of 18th century women. Her previous books have included biographies of the daughters of George III, Emma Hamilton and Caroline of Brunswick. Pauline Bonaparte is a less interesting character than these women, her life was essentially aimless. She was privileged & she created a lot of scandal but her life was purposeless. Her most attractive quality was her loyalty to Napoleon. She followed him into exile on Elba when the rest of their siblings had abandoned him.

---- Reviewed by Lyn Baines

A perfect death by Kate Ellis

Find this book at your library



Genre - Mystery


A woman is burnt alive in a deserted field in Devon. The murder has echoes in the past when a woman was burnt alive by her husband, who suspected her of being unfaithful, on the same spot in the 13th century. An archaeological dig has just begun on the site before a new housing estate is built, & the developer’s wife has received death threats. A group protesting about the influx of holiday home owners are suspected of being involved in arson attacks on holiday homes. D I Wesley Peterson investigates the links between these events & another archaeological dig on the same site 20 years before that ended with the mysterious deaths of two of the archeologists involved. This long-running detective series combines modern day mystery with a historical subplot. Fans of Time Team will also enjoy the archaeological plots which are a big part of the series.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

A Winter's tale by Trisha Ashley

Find this book at your library



Genre - Romance

Sophy Winter unexpectedly inherits her grandfather’s crumbling stately home, Winter’s End. Along with the house, she inherits an eccentric family & a lot of debt. Sophy’s charming but shady cousin Jack thought he would inherit & sets about alternately trying to persuade Sophy to sell the estate to him at a knockdown price or marry him so they can live there happily ever after. Another distraction is gorgeous gardener, Seth, who plans to restore the Elizabethan gardens & doesn’t seem to have eyes for anything else. Then there’s the rumour that Shakespeare spent his lost years at Winter’s End & the discovery of a manuscript in the Bard’s hand. The grand opening of the house & garden to the public is the grand finale to this lovely romantic comedy.

---- Reviewed Lyn, Headquarters

Jane's fame by Claire Harman

Find this book at your library



Genre - Non Fiction


This is a witty & informative account of Jane Austen’s reputation since her death in 1817. Although the recent TV & movie adaptations have made Austen one of the most famous authors in the world, her books were out of print for several years after her death. Her reputation was only revived with the publication of the first biography written by her nephew in the 1870s. That was when the cult of dear Aunt Jane, the refined, elegant spinster, began. Austen’s reputation in the 20th century was enhanced by the scholarly editions of the novels published by R W Chapman which was the beginning of the academic critics’ interest in her work. The explosion of popular interest which began with the BBC’s Pride & Prejudice in 1995 has led to hundreds of websites, blogs, movies, sequels & prequels of the novels. Harman explores everything from chick lit & the internet to serious academic works in this exploration of how Jane Austen conquered the world.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Jane & Prudence by Barbara Pym

Find this book at your library






Jane & Prudence met & became friends at Oxford. Jane was a tutor & Prudence her student. Now, years later, Jane is a happy but scatty vicar’s wife & Prudence a researcher in London unrequitedly in love with her dull boss. When Jane & her family move to a country parish, she is determined to find a suitable husband for Prudence. Unfortunately, the available men are a selfish widower who adorned his wife’s grave with a huge photo of himself; and a preoccupied MP who would rather complain about his busy life at Westminster than talk to Prudence at a garden party. When a new young man starts work at her office, Prudence looks set to embark on another unsuitable love affair. Barbara Pym’s novels are full of humour & so perceptive about love & relationships.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

The diary of a provincial lady by E M Delafield

Find this book at your library






This classic comic novel is the story of the Provincial Lady (we never know her name), her husband, Robert, children & servants, living in an English village between the wars. Our heroine has constant run-ins with the obnoxious Lady Boxe who lives at the Big House & is the sort of woman who always knows best. Cook is constantly threatening to hand in her notice, muttering darkly about the freshness of the fish & the vagaries of the Range. Robert spends the evenings falling asleep behind the newspaper. His only contribution to the household is to complain that his breakfast porridge is cold & the toast burnt. The Diary was originally published in a weekly magazine & the entries are in a breathless, witty style as the Lady rushes from one potential disaster to the next.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Crossed wires by Rosy Thornton

Find this book at your library



Genre - Romance


Peter Kendrick is a Cambridge lecturer, a widower with twin daughters. When he narrowly avoids running over the neighbour’s cat but doesn’t avoid a tree stump, he rings his insurance company & finds himself talking to Mina Hepponstall, a single mother living in Sheffield. There’s an immediate connection between these two lonely souls &, after Mina rings Peter at home to reassure him about his no-claim bonus, they become friends over several Sunday-night phone calls. This is a lovely, gentle romance, with the story moving between Peter’s life with his daughters, neighbours, research student & dog, & Mina’s worries over her younger sister, Jess & her daughter Sal’s lack of friends. The details of family life are beautifully observed, with lots of humour & just a hint of tragedy. A perfect Sunday afternoon read.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters

Lady Worsley's whim by Hallie Rubenhold

Find this book at your library



Genre - Non Fiction


This story of an 18th century marriage is a cautionary tales about sex, scandal & divorce. Seymour Fleming was only eighteen when she married Richard Worsley. It was a marriage of convenience, & after the birth of a son & heir, Richard neglected his young wife, who ran wild with her friends & behaved indiscreetly with a number of young men. When Seymour fell in love with George Bisset, a friend of her husband, Richard seemed happy to accommodate the relationship & all three lived together. When the lovers eloped, however, Richard Worsley took his revenge. He sued his wife’s lover for criminal conversation, a legal way of separating from his wife without actually divorcing her & allowing her to remarry. The trial transfixed society, the newspapers & cartoonists of the day reporting on every scandalous detail. Neither party came out of the trial with their reputations intact. Richard escaped the gossip by travelling in Europe & Seymour dropped out of society altogether. This is a sad story of two young people hurried into marriage & suffering the consequences of incompatibility. Rubenhold has done a wonderful job piecing it together from contemporary documents & newspapers.

---- Reviewed by Lyn, Headquarters