Archives by Tag 'Victorian'
‘The Crimson Petal and the White’ by Michel Faber
I hate to seem prejudiced, but there are certain literary devices which I tend to find very off-putting in a book. The first is present tense narration: logically the action of the book can have taken place in the past or it could be going to take place in the future, but I’m always very aware [...]
‘The Victorian Chaise-Longue’ by Marghanita Laski
Although I’ve only read one book published by Persephone before now (the delightful Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson) this, combined with the numerous reviews I’ve read for books from this publisher on other blogs, has been sufficient to create a preconception in my mind of what a Persephone book will typically be like. I expect them [...]
‘Diary of a Nobody’ by George and Weedon Grossmith
One of the best things about taking part in the Victorian Literature Challenge is that it has made me aware that the scope of Victorian literature is much wider than I had previously anticipated. It isn’t just doorstop sized books featuring worthy governesses, scheming gentlemen and the deserving poor; there’s also a lot of slimmer, [...]
‘Lady’s Maid’ by Margaret Forster
When I came up with the idea of using a random number generator to select one book for me every month, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was letting myself in for. I needn’t have worried about January’s choice though, as it seems to have been remarkably kind to me in my first month. by [...]
Review: ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman’ by John Fowles
Title: Author: John Fowles Published: Pan Books, 1987, pp. 399. Originally published 1969. Genre: Historical fiction Blurb:In this contemporary, Victorian-style novel Charles Smithson, a nineteenth-century gentleman with glimmerings of twentieth-century perceptions, falls in love with enigmatic Sarah Woodruff, who has been jilted by a French lover. (Goodreads.com) When, where and why: I think my mother [...]
Review: ‘The Affinity Bridge’ by George Mann
Welcome to the bizarre and dangerous world of Victorian London, a city teetering on the edge of revolution. Its people are ushering in a new era of technology, dazzled each day by new inventions. Airships soar in the skies over the city, whilst ground trains rumble through the streets and clockwork automatons are programmed to [...]
Review: ‘The Trespass’ by Barbara Ewing
London 1849. The capital city is living in fear. Cholera is everywhere. Eminent MP Sir Charles Cooper decides it is too risky for his younger daughter, the strangely beautiful and troubled Harriet, and sends her-but not her beloved sister Mary-to the countryside. Rusholme is a world away from London, full of extraordinary relations: Harriet’s cousin [...]