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The Best Books About Books…Part 2!

The post I wrote last week about non-fiction books about books seemed to strike a chord with many people… It turns out (surprise!) there are plenty of us in the bookish community who love books about books!

This week, I thought I’d turn my focus to fiction – loads of the replies I got last week talked about people’s favourite stories set in the worlds of libraries and bookshops, or featuring writers and stories within stories.

Without any further ado, here are some great novels set in the world of books. As is usual with me, there is a distinct Victorian/murder mystery theme, but plenty of others too!

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‘The Reader on the 6.27’ by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent (translated from French)

This is the first book in absolute years that I read in one sitting!

It’s the story of a man who works for a company that pulps unwanted books, much to his horror. He takes stray pages from the pulping machine and reads them aloud to commuters on the 6.27 train every morning. One day he finds a memory stick containing private diaries and his life is due to be changed forever.

This book is absolutely gorgeous and charming – the main characters (Guylian and Julie) are lovely, there are some brilliant and very funny supporting characters and the whole thing is uplifting and sweet. Highly recommended!

‘The Journal of Dora Damage’ by Belinda Starling

This was a debut (and only) novel by a writer who is sadly no longer with us – I would genuinely have loved to see what else she had up her sleeve after this one.

I picked this up in a charity shop purely because it had a pretty cover, featured Victorians (yes, my obsession) and was about bookbinders. This is easily one of the best charity shop purchases I’ve ever made!

The book is about a woman who is married to a bookbinder and has to take over his business when he becomes ill. To make ends meet, she gets embroiled with some rather unsavoury aristocratic characters and takes up binding pornography, while also becoming involved with an apprentice in the business.

What I loved about this book was the strong and resourceful women in what was clearly a man’s world. This book was full of unexpected elements and felt really fresh and interesting – plus the setting was beautifully imagined and written. It really is a surprising and engaging read.

‘Magpie Murders’ by Anthony Horowitz

Let me just say up front – I did enjoy this book, but it was odd…

The novel is essentially two books in one. Firstly, there is the ‘fictional’ murder mystery, ‘Magpie Murders’, written by Alan Conway and featuring his celebrated detective Atticus Pund. Secondly, there is the investigation into Alan Conway’s own death by a publishing executive who is involved in the publication of ‘Magpie Murders’. The two narratives are linked as the fictional story supposedly contains clues to its author’s murder.

Confused yet? I was intrigued as to how this premise could work. How could a story give clues about its creator’s death since they were obviously writing it when very much alive!? The answer lies in the book’s structure – we get the Atticus Pund mystery nearly in its entirety before the discovery that the final chapters are missing. The publishing executive then embarks on a quest to find the missing pages, uncovering clues as she goes.

Both of the narratives are pleasing, full of shady characters, red herrings and plenty of hidden motives. What is a bit strange is that we get the publisher’s views on the Pund book, which essentially boils down to Horowitz critiquing his own story. Clever or a bit weird?

Overall, I would recommend this to people who love cosy crime fiction – there’s no real tragedy or graphic forensic detail here, which I think is positive. However, readers have to be prepared to stick with the two narratives – with all their quirks and flabby bits – as the payoff is ultimately satisfying.

Horowitz has since published other crime books for adults and his latest – ‘Moonflower Murders’ – is a follow-on to ‘Magpie Murders’.

‘An Expert in Murder’ by Nicola Upson

This is the first book in an engaging historical crime series that feature the crime writer Josephine Tey as the main protagonist. Her writing (crime novels and plays) form the backdrop to these books as she takes on the role of detective with her friend, Chief Inspector Archie Penrose.

This first book in the series, centring around a production run of Tey’s play ‘Richard of Bordeaux’, isn’t the strongest of the series but is worth reading as it establishes the characters in this semi-fictional 1930s world. There are some real gems later in the series – ‘Nine Lessons’ in particular is absolutely fantastic.

An engaging series in which a writer takes centre stage – excellent!

‘The Little Paris Bookshop’ by Nina George

This is a beautifully written story about a man, Jean Perdu, who has lost 21 years of his life mourning a relationship in which his partner (who was married to someone else) left him. On hearing news of her death, he decides to travel to meet her husband and discover more of her life story.

It’s also a book about bibliotherapy, an idea I love! Perdu runs a bookshop from a boat on the Seine and ‘prescribes’ books to people. What a great way to explore the power of literature!

Overall, this is a charming story with some lovely touches – the eccentric residents of Perdu’s house in Paris are a treat!

‘Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore’ by Matthew Sullivan

Lydia works at the Bright Ideas Bookshop in Denver surrounded by BookFrogs, the collection of quirky and tragic figures drawn to the warmth, security and comfort of the store. She is hiding her own tragic past, but the bookshop is somewhere that people don’t ask questions. Until Joey, a young BookFrog, kills himself in the store and Lydia is drawn into investigating her own past and the events that occurred 20 years before.

This is an inventive and compelling murder mystery, but it’s also much more than that. It’s also an exploration of human relationships and the psychology of trauma, but is so cleverly and skilfully done that you just keep turning the pages to find out what happens next. The characters are realistic and it is easy to get caught up in their lives. My only criticism – and this is a personal thing – is that it is quite bleak in places.

Highly recommended for those who like contemporary crime novels, although be warned that there is nothing cosy about this mystery.

‘Murder on the Eiffel Tower’ by Claude Izner (translated from French)

This is the first book in a series featuring Parisian bookseller Victor Legris as the investigator of a number of murders.

As with the Nicola Upson series described above, the first book isn’t the strongest of the series but it is worth a read to immerse yourself in Victor’s late nineteenth-century world. The murders are page-turning and the settings are just fabulous – the Eiffel Tower, the Pere-Lachaise cemetery, Montmartre. Plus, there’s a bookshop as a focal point…

‘The Bookish Life of Nina Hill’ by Abbi Waxman

This one was shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Prize 2020.

Nina Hill works in a bookshop in a quirky area of Los Angeles. She’s happy with her life, with its pub quiz fixtures, cinema trips and plenty of time scheduled for reading. In fact, Nina prefers books to people and is quite content sharing her life with Phil, her cat. However, her life changes forever when she gets the news that her absent father has died, leaving her a bequest and a big, complicated family to deal with. A handsome quiz rival further pushes Nina to question her attitude to life.

This is a jolly, light-hearted book – although Nina suffers from anxiety, it’s not all doom and gloom and there is the sense that nothing truly awful will happen. It’s cosy, escapist fiction and I think it should be appreciated as such – I enjoyed it, read it quickly and it left me feeling happy. Surely then it’s met its objectives!

‘Flaubert’s Parrot’ by Julian Barnes

A book ostensibly about Flaubert wouldn’t be a hit with me, although I did read Flaubert’s ‘Madame Bovary’ at university and remember liking it. However, in Barnes’ hands, this becomes the story of obsession as scholar Geoffrey Braithwaite grapples with life and love through his Flaubert fixation. On the way, we learn a lot about the great French writer.

This – while tackling some big issues about life and art – is readable, funny and full of in-jokes for anyone who knows ‘Madame Bovary’.

‘The Truth’ by Terry Pratchett

Anyone who reads this blog regularly will know that I’m not a massive fantasy fan. However, I can easily make an exception for the witty, wise and wonderful Terry Pratchett.

The Librarian at Unseen University (an orang-utan, for those uninitiated into Pratchett’s Discworld series) would make this list on his own merits, but instead I’ve chosen the fabulous ‘The Truth’.

It’s about writers – in this case journalists – and the introduction of the printing press to Discworld by William de Worde. As someone who unwittingly introduces the first newspaper to Discworld, he then has to deal with the can of worms he has unleashed! With its exploration of ‘fake news’ and the power of publication, this (written in 2000) feels like it really should be having its moment now.

OK, so journalism isn’t quite books, but printing is absolutely on message for this list and this book is so hilarious that I hope you forgive me wandering a little from the brief!

It is also worth mentioning some books that I’ve already featured on the blog. These would absolutely belong on this kind of list, but I thought it was cheating to feature them again when there were so many books I haven’t talked about!

‘Eight Detectives’ by Alex Pavesi – crime novel delving into the tricks of crime novels! A clever debut and reviewed here.
‘Shadowplay’ by Joseph O’Connor – brilliant novel about Bram Stoker writing Dracula during his time as manager of the Lyceum Theatre in a vividly-drawn Victorian/Edwardian world – reviewed here.
‘The Binding’ by Bridget Collins – a fantastic novel about an apprentice to a bookbinder who learns the dark and mystical secrets of the trade – reviewed as part of my ’10 Brilliant Historical Novels You Should Read’ here.
‘Swan Song’ by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott – a fictionalised account of Truman Capote’s life and relationships with the women he called his ‘swans’ (but ultimately betrayed in his writing). Interesting stuff and reviewed again as part of my ’10 Brilliant Historical Novels You Should Read’ here.
‘A Theatre for Dreamers’ by Polly Samson – gloriously sun-drenched novel about a community of artists and writers (including Leonard Cohen and Charmian Clift) living on the Greek island of Hydra in the 1960s. I reviewed the audiobook here.
‘The Postscript Murders’ by Elly Griffiths – cosy, twisty mystery about the death of a ‘murder consultant’ to crime writers. Reviewed here.
‘Frankissstein’ by Jeanette Winterson – excellent modern retelling of Frankenstein with an AI twist, interspersed with scenes of Mary Shelley writing the original novel. Reviewed here.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my list – please do recommend me more books about bookshops, libraries and writers!

‘People of Abandoned Character’ by Clare Whitfield

Happy publication day to this delicious slice of dark, historical fiction!

I am obsessed with anything set in the Victorian era and have read a lot about the Jack the Ripper murders. With that in mind, I came to this book with lots of enthusiasm and a little bit of trepidation – I am a bit of a stickler for historical accuracy when a writer is using events that are so well documented as the basis for their story.

I needn’t have worried at all – I was in safe hands with Clare Whitfield who has produced a well-researched and absolutely compelling book.

The story follows a young woman, Susannah, without family of her own who comes to work at the London hospital as a nurse. She catches the eye of a young doctor, Thomas Lancaster, who marries her and installs her in his home in Chelsea. The marriage isn’t a happy one and, as the Ripper murders begin to terrorise the streets of Whitechapel, Susannah is led to consider the possibility that her husband is responsible for the killings.

What I loved about this book was the way that Susannah herself is presented. The story is told primarily in the first person, so we are given access to Susannah’s thoughts and perspective. This is really effective as our doubts about Thomas grow as Susannah’s do, although we also recognise her unreliability as our guide through this period of Victorian history as she has a laudanum dependency.

Another strength is the way that the Ripper murders are integrated into the story; initially, they are merely backdrop but, as Susannah’s focus shifts to them, we get more involvement and detail. True Ripperologists will note the inclusion of the death of Elizabeth Smith, not one of the canonical five and often disputed as being one of Jack’s victims, but this absolutely works in relation to the story and gives Susannah personal investment in the crimes.

Indeed, the treatment of the victims by the writer is another commendable aspect of the novel; the women are given personalities, back-story and even a voice though Susannah’s own imaginings of them.

Without giving too much away, the plot is extremely clever and the way that twists in the story are gradually revealed is absolutely engrossing – as the novel gathers pace in the second half, the reader is on constantly shifting sands which definitely left me racing for the denouement.

Overall, this is a well-constructed and well-paced novel with convincing historical detail and a heroine who – far from being perfect – is unreliable but extremely resourceful.

I would recommend this to any lovers of historical fiction, but also those who enjoy psychological thrillers as there is something extremely tense (but enjoyable) in watching Susannah weigh up how dangerous her husband may prove to be.

I received a free copy of the e-book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. However, I’d recommend that readers try to get a physical copy of the book as there are some little illustrations separating chapters that I bet look fabulous in print.

If you would like a copy of this fabulous book, please consider using my affiliate link below – at no extra cost to you.

Header photo with thanks to Renè Müller for sharing their work on Unsplash.

‘The Postscript Murders’ by Elly Griffiths

This book will be published on 1st October so time to get a pre-order in now!

In what seems to be turning into a recurring theme for me, I came to this book not realising it was second in the series featuring Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur.

Luckily for me, this one works as a stand alone novel really rather well! The novel opens with the death of an old lady in a flat overlooking Shoreham sea front. She is found by her carer, Natalka, who – along with another elderly resident of the block of flats and the local coffee shack owner – become the unlikely sleuths in a case that starts to spiral.

The key to the mystery seems to lie in the lady’s past and, in particular, her provision of consultancy services on murder methods to writers. DS Kaur leads the investigation into the possible murder and finds herself caught up in a literary puzzle.

This was an enjoyable and light read – very much in the realm of cosy crime as there’s nothing graphic or particularly perilous here. Instead, it’s a quite lovely tale of how some unlikely characters forge relationships and support each other. In particular, DS Kaur’s Sikh family were great – warm and likeable – so I hope they appear more in future outings. I wouldn’t say the events were particularly realistic but it’s a clever premise and I was happy to be drawn along in its slipstream.

Overall, this is a rather gentle but engaging mystery. For all its cosiness, I’d still say that it has plenty of surprises and twists that make it enjoyable for fans of this genre.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Header photo with thanks to Art Lasovsky for sharing their work on Unsplash.

The Best Books About Books

I recently reviewed ‘Dear Reader’ by Cathy Rentzenbrink (you can see the review here) and many of the comments I received were about the fact that people really love books about books!

With this in mind, I thought I’d introduce you to some of my favourites!

Links are affiliate links that I earn commission on at no extra cost to you – thank you for supporting my blog.

‘Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading’ by Lucy Mangan

As a life-long bookworm, I could not wait to get my hands on Mangan’s book about her childhood reading. I’m always keen to read about the experiences of one of my own tribe of book obsessives and was anticipating a blast from the past of my own childhood reading.

I was absolutely not disappointed. Being a similar age to Mangan, a lot of her book choices are cosily familiar and she writes with humour and passion. It was lovely to hear her take on old favourites, such as The Borrowers and Goodnight Mister Tom, as well as many books that I loved as a child and have recently shared with my own children. It was also wonderful to hear echoes of my own adult reservations about some of the books I loved as a child – growing up really does put some of them in a new and unflattering light!

I was also reminded of some books I haven’t thought about for about 20 years…for example, Love and Betrayal and Hold the Mayo (anyone?!) Of course not all of Mangan’s choices were familiar, but it’s so well written that it feels like a friend recommending you great new reads.

What I really loved was Mangan’s defence of being a bookworm as it is something a lot of people don’t understand. Bits of this made me laugh out loud as it was all so familiar.

I’d strongly recommend this to any keen readers who want a humorous, nostalgic trip through the bookcases of their childhood. I suspect it will particularly strike a chord with (probably female) bookworms of a similar age to Mangan (I think 43) who will have a great time rediscovering their love of Sweet Valley High, Judy Blume and other classics!

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

‘The Year of Reading Dangerously: How Fifty Great Books Saved My Life’ by Andy Miller

This is another one I only have a Kindle copy of and I regret that – it is definitely one that I would love to dip back in to sometimes.

I really loved this book. Andy Miller is very funny and the book really struck a chord with me. He is a Literature graduate (like me) with a young family (like me when I read this) and really missed reading, so he decided to tackle all the books he claimed to have read in the past and the ones he thinks he should have read.

I think we can all relate to this – as a Literature graduate, there are definitely books that were on my course that I ‘should’ have read or ones that I have a vague idea I might have read bits of only (*ahem* most of Charles Dickens and even a lot of Jane Austen. I know).

His ‘List of Betterment’ was really interesting and made me think about what I want to read – it actually inspired me to pick up ‘War and Peace’ again and I did get a fair way through it…OK, not all the way, but it’s a start and it turns out I like the Peace so much more than the War…

It was a shame that the book didn’t cover all 50 of the books, but I really enjoyed reading about his year as he writes so entertainingly. I heartily recommend this if you want a clever, witty and relatable jaunt through a reading challenge.

‘The Anna Karenina Fix: Life Lessons from Russian Literature’ by Viv Groskop

Another memoir-style book about books, this one follows Viv Groskop as she relates what she has learnt from Russian literature. Like Andy Miller, she is an engaging and lively narrator and this one is definitely worth a read.

I picked this up because I liked Russian literature at university (confession: all in English translation, obviously, and I didn’t like it enough to read all of ‘Crime and Punishment’. Wow, that is bleak). Groskop actually studied Russian at university and lived in Russia for a time, mistakenly believing she was getting back to her roots (it turns out she actually has Polish ancestry).

The book is a very funny trip through Groskop’s Russian adventures as told in a series of mini-essays about what we can learn from classic Russian literature. A lot of it was familiar to me from my university forays into these books, but there were also some really new (to me) and interesting ones covered too.

‘Dear Fahrenheit 451: A Librarian’s Love Letters and Break-Up Notes to Her Books’ by Annie Spence

This is a really unusual idea, but an interesting one! It’s a series of letters to books that Spence has fallen out of love with and books that she is ‘weeding’ from the library she works at to take out of circulation.

It’s really entertainingly written – there’s a lot about the library and some of its patrons as well as about the books themselves. There’s a lot of American books here (Spence is American) and more Sci-Fi than I would read, but it is so engaging – it would be especially amazing for readers who share Spence’s genre interests.

This is worth reading for the section on Judy Blume’s ‘Forever’ – a book that probably needs no introduction for anyone of my generation!

‘Books that Changed the World: The 50 Most Influential Books in Human History’ by Andrew Taylor

I loved the idea behind this one – to take 50 books that have had a huge impact on the world and write a short essay on each (5 or 6 pages each) explaining their main ideas and why they had such an impact.

Some I was familiar with already and are well-known (e.g. Homer’s ‘Iliad’ and Johnson’s Dictionary) but some choices were really unexpected and it was fascinating to read Taylor’s views on why they were so important. It also gave me more information on books that I really should know more about (for example religious texts, a personal blind spot for me!) It was also lovely to see some old favourites mentioned – a bit of nostalgia for my degree course!

‘1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die’ by Peter Boxall

From 50 books in Taylor’s view to 1001 that you MUST read before you die! I love this kind of list book, but I will never get near having read even a fraction of these books!

This is a lovely reference book for bookworms because it features so many fabulous books – some of which you will recognise and others that are new. Because it isn’t just about books published in English (although obviously English translations are available for them all), it is really interesting to read about classic and highly-regarded books from other countries. Each book also has an accompanying picture too, so this is a great book to have a browse through.

Be warned: this is a dangerous book for anyone’s TBR!

‘Read This Next…And Discover Your 500 New Favourite Books’ by Sandra Newman and Howard Mittelmark

This is another book that might well destroy your TBR. It has sections about some brilliant books (12 books per section, divided into themes like ‘Family’ or ‘Love’ or ‘History’) and then recommendations of other books to read if you enjoyed the focus book.

What I loved about this book was that it contained so many books I already really loved (it is always nice to spot something familiar in these books!) However, it also introduced me to many books that I hadn’t heard of, or knew the title only – the synopses are interesting and really give you a sense of whether you’d like the book. There are also some really interesting boxes of information sprinkled through the book – snippets about writers or quirky facts or context – that are a brilliant addition.

There’s also discussion points for book groups which are fascinating – some real food for thought and ways to think about the books that I’d never really considered.

‘The Novel Cure: An A to Z of Literary Remedies’ by Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin

This is another book which recommends books to readers, but this time based on a range of ailments that need a literary cure!

Arranged like a medical dictionary, you look up your ‘ailment’ and get your literary prescription (which is then explained to you so you get a flavour of the book recommended).

Is your problem ‘being fifty-something’? Look it up and there are ten novels recommended for you. Maybe you have that ‘Monday morning feeling’ – the cure is ‘Mrs Dalloway’ by Virginia Woolf! Road rage? Shame? Yearning for home? They’re all here with the perfect literary remedy.

This is a fun idea and an engaging read, but it also introduced me to some great new books!

‘Literary Landscapes: Charting the Real-Life Settings of the World’s Favourite Fiction’ edited by John Sutherland

As well as books, I also have an obsession with maps so this one is perfect for me!

It’s beautifully illustrated (sometimes with maps, often with book illustrations, book covers and author photos) and takes the reader on a trip around the worlds created in fiction. These range from the worlds of Romantic or Modernist novels to contemporary books – date-wise this means from Austen’s ‘Persuasion’ to books published in the last decade.

The focus on the places behind the novels or that shaped them is always fascinating and it is another book that – sorry – will probably add to your TBR!

‘What Matters in Jane Austen: Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved’ by John Mullan

This is a must-read for any Jane Austen fan as it explains some of the things that seem a bit puzzling for the modern reader. It is also really engagingly written by someone who really knows their stuff – I saw John Mullan speaking at the Hay Festival and can confirm he is a fascinating chap!

This is a great book if you have ever wondered about the conventions and norms of society sitting behind Austen’s stories – from proposals of marriage to money to how the characters address each other, it’s all here.

It also asks some interesting questions about Austen’s body of work such as ‘Is there any sex in Jane Austen?’ and ‘Why do her plots rely on blunders?’ The answers are always readable and often surprising! (Spoiler: there is a lot of sex in Jane Austen’s books! It might be euphemistically referred to but it is there!)

Phew, that’s 10 brilliant books about books! However, I thought that there should also be some ‘honourable mentions’ – books that are also absolutely awesome but I couldn’t fit on my list here:

‘The Complete Polysyllabic Spree: The Diary of an Occasionally Exasperated but Ever Hopeful Reader’ by Nick Hornby – this is a collection of Hornby’s essays on ‘Stuff I’ve Been Reading’ that were originally published in a US magazine in the noughties. If you like Nick Hornby, you’ll like this.
‘Madresfield: The Real Brideshead’ by Jane Mulvagh – this one really stemmed from my love of Evelyn Waugh’s ‘Brideshead Revisited’. It is about the house and the family that inspired the novel and is a fascinating slice of history.
‘Mad World: Evelyn Waugh and the Secrets of Brideshead’ – yes, OK, I have a Brideshead obsession! This is really engagingly written, and this time focused on Evelyn Waugh himself and his his relationship with the Lygon family at Madresfield. I read this when I was pregnant and gave me my daughter’s name – Evelyn Waugh was married to a lady called…Evelyn!
‘The Writer’s Map: An Atlas of Imaginary Lands’ by Huw Lewis-Jones – a gorgeous book that only doesn’t appear higher up the list because I couldn’t find my copy! Packed with maps of lands created only in writers’ imaginations from Treasure Island to the Marauders’ Map in Harry Potter, this is worth every penny.
‘The Literary Detective: 100 Puzzles in Classic Fiction’ by John Sutherland – Sutherland is always an interesting guide to literature and this book (in the vein of Mullan’s Austen book mentioned above) seeks to solve things that might not make sense to readers of classic novels.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my list – please do let me know of any books about books that you love. I’m always on the lookout!

Blog Tour: ‘Unto This Last’ by Rebecca Lipkin

I’d like to welcome you to my stop on this blog tour for Random Things Tours. This book was published on 28th August by Book Guild Publishing.

From the Publisher

London, 1858. Passionate, contradictory, and fiercely loyal to his friends, John Ruskin is an eccentric genius, famed across Britain for his writings on art and philosophy. Haunted by a scandalous past and determined never
to love again, the 39-year-old Ruskin becomes infatuated with his enigmatic young student, Rose La Touche, an obsession with profound consequences that will change the course of his life and work.

Written in a style recalling Victorian literature and spanning a period of twenty years, the story poses questions about the nature of love, the boundaries of parenthood, and compatibility in marriage.

‘Unto This Last’ is a portrait of Ruskin’s tormented psyche and reveals a complex and misunderstood soul, longing for a life just out of reach.

“This is an atmospheric and utterly convincing novel… tackling the subject with great empathy in prose that is both detailed and vivid. A considerable achievement.” Michael Crowley, writer and dramatist

“Deeply researched and charmingly written, it resurrects not only John Ruskin, one of the most influential characters of the Victorian age, but his fascinating pupil Rose La Touche, who is portrayed so sensitively that you feel as though you know her.” Daisy Dunn, author of In the Shadow of Vesuvius: A Life of Pliny

“Rebecca Lipkin’s thoughtful novel about this complicated man – and his often-confusing world – is a pleasure to
read and a very welcome addition for all lovers of Pre-Raphaelitism.” Lucinda Hawksley, biographer

My Review

I am a huge fan of any books set in the Victorian era as I love this period in history. As soon as I knew that this was a book about John Ruskin, artist and art critic linked to the Pre-Raphaelites (who I also love!) then I knew this would be a book for me.

It is a huge book that has been meticulously researched and beautifully written. In keeping with the great Victorian novels themselves, it feels substantial and weighty, retaining the writing style while also being compelling and readable.

Given the fact that Lipkin’s book is a (fictionalised) biography of a character that I thought I knew, I was surprised to read about this aspect of his life – books on Ruskin tend to focus more on his failed marriage to Effie Grey which happens before the opening of this book (although is explored later in the narrative).

This book is instead about his relationship with young Irish girl Rose La Touche, a child who (along with her sister) started as his student but later became the focus of his obsession. The fact that Ruskin is in his late thirties when he meets ten year-old Rose seems slightly uncomfortable to a modern reader (and perhaps was also odd to the Victorians) but Lipkin doesn’t shy away from the less comprehensible elements of Ruskin’s personality. The relationship – not inappropriately physical but oddly obsessive – is presented with all its ups and downs through the narrative and through letters between the key parties (including Rose’s mother, who is the one who brings Ruskin in as art tutor for her children and seems to have a soft spot for him herself).

Indeed, the presentation of John Ruskin is very well done. He is a complicated character and Lipkin presents this through all his contradictions and traits – both noble and less pleasant. There were times in the novel when I really didn’t like Ruskin, but appreciated the factors that had shaped him to be like this – for example, his problematic relationship with his father and his living situation in Denmark Hill. His own struggles with his relationship with Rose are evident in the novel and he – ultimately – seems like a complex man with conflicting emotions.

I did love the way that Rose was portrayed. From the immature petulance of a slightly over-indulged ten year-old, I felt that she grew into someone with so much depth and richness to her personality. I could have happily read more about her in this book.

The real strength in this book is that Lipkin has taken a figure from the Victorian era and breathed life into him. Ruskin isn’t someone that widely known now outside of history and art buffs, so this is a lovely book to reintroduce him to a modern readership. You may not find his situation relatable, but I think most readers would recognise the portrait of a man struggling with his own emotions and desires.

I would recommend this to any fans of the Victorian era and anyone who enjoys reading about interesting characters from the past. In ‘Unto This Last’, Lipkin has produced a gloriously lavish, engaging and immersive book.

About the Author

Rebecca Lipkin has had a passion for Victorian art and literature from a young age. She first discovered John Ruskin through E.M. Forster’s novel, A Room with a View, and later joined the Ruskin Society at the age of seventeen to learn more about Ruskin’s work. Rebecca pursued a career in journalism, specialising in arts writing
and theatre reviews, and has worked for a number of national publications. Rebecca says, “Most accounts of John Ruskin’s complex personal life focus on his brief marriage to Effie Gray, but his twenty-year relationship with Rose La Touche was of huge importance to the evolution of his thinking; it is a captivating and tragic story of two people whose loving friendship transcended boundaries and conventions to the very end.”

With thanks to Random Things Tours for my copy of this book for review.

‘Keeper’ by Jessica Moor

In all the excitement of setting up my blog and all the new releases, I feel that I’ve not shared my reviews on some absolutely outstanding (but slightly older) books.

This book was released in March 2020 and was one of my five star ARCs of 2019.

I really didn’t know what to expect from this, but wow! This is a well-written and pacy thriller that will not be forgotten easily. It’s shocking, sad, tragic…but more than anything made me feel so angry. Just as the writer intended, I think.

The story begins with the body of a young woman, Katie Straw, being recovered from a river in a small town somewhere outside Manchester. The police recognise that it’s probably a suicide, but they just need to check out a few things to close the case. The narrative then splits between the investigation in the ‘Now’ sections of the book and Katie’s life leading up to her death (‘Then’). In this strand, a much darker theme of domestic abuse rears its head and the novel becomes almost unbearable in its inevitability.

However, this is so much more than your average thriller. It is unflinching and quite unsettling in its portrayal of the trauma suffered by the women in the novel. The women’s refuge featured is at once a safe space but also precarious and underfunded. The women residents are flawed and realistic, their decisions often poor and their thinking blurred by their suffering.

It made me angry, I think, because it was so believable; this does happen every day and the statistics about women being killed by their domestic partners speak for themselves. But how do you help or understand women who repeatedly return to or excuse their abusers?

I raced through this book and recommend it highly. It will make you absolutely furious that this happens, but it’s a clever and an engaging read too and recognises some important issues. It’s much darker than my usual reads, but I am so glad I chose it give it a try.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Header photo with thanks to Sydney Sims for sharing their work on Unsplash.

‘Life in Pieces’ by Dawn O’Porter

This book, to be published on 1st October, is a non-fiction journal of the lockdown period in spring/summer 2020 by the journalist, writer and television presenter, Dawn O’Porter.

I really like Dawn O’Porter. Having watched several of her documentaries and read a couple of her novels, I’d say I was pretty much sold on her work and so was very much looking forward to reading this book, a diary of her lockdown experiences. She lives in LA with her actor husband and two small sons so I was fairly confident that her experiences of lockdown wouldn’t be anything like mine!

Saying that though, O’Porter’s experiences are pretty relatable for anyone who has lived with small children. The potty training, the sleep deprivation, the repetitive questions about favourite dinosaurs…I think most people would recognise something there! Add into this pet ownership, navigating the weird new world of lockdown, preparing for a house move, cooking, and the ups and downs of marriage and I expect that something in this book will strike a chord with everyone.

Other reviewers have mentioned that it is a bit soon to be reading about lockdown. As we seem poised on the edge of a second wave of coronavirus, I can totally understand that this book might be a bit too much for some people. As it was, I didn’t particularly focus on the lockdown theme as O’Porter writes engagingly about things not connected to the virus.

Yes, it was lockdown that meant she had to spend more time with her kids, but the anecdotes about family life are funny and entertaining. Indeed, there’s plenty here that’s not corona-themed, such as O’Porter’s grief about the death of her friend, Caroline Flack, or her musings on the death of George Floyd from the centre of LA’s protest-zone (where she lives).

At its best, this book is hilarious and fresh – a funny and lively take on a time that challenged most of us. However, for me, the political elements of the book were slightly less successful and a bit discordant after the candid, confessional style of the rest. It was interesting to hear O’Porter’s views on racism and anti-racism, but it did move the book from something fairly light and entertaining to something more didactic, which wasn’t really what I was after.

Overall. if you like Dawn O’Porter’s writing then there is a lot you will like here. Some of the things she writes about are relatable, some are a bit banal and some are a bit odd (she lost me at the crystals). Some things are very funny and others sad. What isn’t in doubt is O’Porter’s ability to entertain with her writing and it is for this reason that I’d recommend this book.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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Header photo with thanks to engin akyurt for sharing their work on Unsplash.

‘Dear Reader’ by Cathy Rentzenbrink

This lovely book is out this week – it really is one to savour and return to repeatedly!

I love books and I love books about books! This one is partially a series of book recommendations, part autobiography of Rentzenbrink’s life around books and part meditation on the function of books in our lives.

Rentzenbrink intersperses elements of her own life story with discussion of the books that helped her to get through or make sense of it all. Some of that life story is sad, especially the event of her brother’s death which became the focus of her own book. However, it’s also uplifting as she finds meaning and support and inspiration from the pages of the books she reads which, ultimately, sees her rising through the ranks at Waterstone’s and into a writing career.

The books she discusses are varied and interesting, from the childhood comfort of an Enid Blyton book to the Julian Barnes books that inspired her to take a new path in life.

Overall, if you love reading then there is much to enjoy here. Reminders of books that you have read and enjoyed. An interesting autobiography. Recommendations on books by genre. Lots of bits that will make you nod in recognition. The sense that you have found one of your book tribe! Personally, I found this a comforting and engaging read that made me reflect on the books in my own life.

I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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Header photo with thanks to Aung Soe Min for sharing their work on Unsplash.

‘Just Like You’ by Nick Hornby

Released this week – a new book from Nick Hornby is always an event in my diary!

I feel like I should declare my love of Nick Hornby books at the start of this review – I usually love the dialogue and the insight into people and the humour of Hornby’s writing. Indeed, ‘High Fidelity’ is up there with my absolute favourite novels and I think I’ve read pretty much all his work.

This book had so much promise – essentially an age gap romance between a 42 year-old white woman (Lucy) and a 22 year-old black man (Joseph) set against the Brexit referendum. There’s loads of scope for exploration of people’s attitudes to race, class, age, 21st century British society…so far, so good!

And indeed, a lot of this is delivered upon very well by Hornby – he perfectly captures, for example, the rage caused by Brexit on both sides of the Leave/Remain debate. Lucy’s job as a teacher also struck a chord with me as reflecting my own life.

However, it’s not a perfect novel. While it’s enjoyable and interesting, it doesn’t quite hit the spot for a romance as it’s too messy and makes you wonder what the appeal is in the relationship, especially for Lucy who tolerates some pretty poor behaviour from Joseph. It felt a bit more like social commentary than a fully absorbing novel in places.

Overall, I would say this is an engaging and light read with some interesting points about British culture in the age of Brexit and Black Lives Matter. Whether it works as a romance is more up for debate – it didn’t for me. If you like Hornby’s writing (as I do) then you’ll probably like this, but for everyone else then I’d start with ‘High Fidelity’ or ‘About a Boy’ as Hornby’s real masterpieces.

I received a free copy of the novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Header photo with thanks to Jude Beck for sharing their work on Unsplash.

‘And Now For The Good News’ by Ruby Wax

I really like Ruby Wax and – to be honest – felt like I needed to read some good news in 2020, so this seemed like a good book for me right now.

This book is packed with ‘good news’ – ways in which humanity is making steps forward in various fields that are often unreported by the doom-and-gloom mass media.

It was really heartening to read of some really positive projects and people really making a difference, from a global project setting up ecovillages to those individuals helping refugees on the front line in camps in Greece. There are some really worrying and harrowing stories alongside the cheeriness – it is useful (but sad) to see the extent of the problem before Wax shows us the people and projects trying to fix the issues.

Wax also looks at technological advances and the ways in which businesses are embracing more sustainable models and developments in education so that schools become more than exam factories. In order to do all this, she travels widely and meets lots of interesting people. This all makes for engaging reading as Wax relates all this with her trademark humour and self-deprecation.

One of the slightly odder things about the book is that it was written pre-pandemic so it doesn’t grapple with that at all. However, Wax has added some footnotes and a little bit of an introduction to explain this so it is not a problem – just strange to read the optimism with the hindsight of what has actually happened!

All in all, this is an uplifting and hopeful book and one that I would recommend to anyone who feels that the world is headed in the wrong direction. I can’t quite embrace the mindfulness that Wax endorses so enthusiastically, but I’m totally on board with all the other messages in this engaging and positive book.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Header photo with thanks to Jon Tyson for sharing their work on Unsplash.