August Folly by Angela Thirkell
For some reason I was under the impression that August Folly was the first in Thirkell’s Barsetshire series, but it isn’t. I should have read High Rising first but I don’t have that one yet. This one...
View ArticleCheerfulness Breaks In by Angela Thirkell
I needed another trip with Angela Thirkell down Barsetshire way and I thought this book would hit the spot, and it did. First published in 1940, the Second World War is just beginning to change...
View ArticleWild Strawberries by Angela Thirkell
I had been looking for this book for ages and had to end up getting it from the internet. My other Thirkell books are all original old hardbacks but this one is a modern paperback from 1983 but the...
View ArticleThe Old Bank House by Angela Thirkell
This book was first published in 1949 so we’re still in the middle of food shortages and rationing despite the fact that the war has been over for three years. Food is often a topic of conversation but...
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Christmas Books
So continuing our no nonsense so no disappointments way of ‘doing’ Christmas gifts, I also got quite a few books which I had seen over the past couple of months and asked Jack to buy them for me and...
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Enter Sir Robert by Angela Thirkell
Where do I go when things like the weather and never ending house stuff are getting me down? To Angela Thirkell’s Barsetshire of course! Her books never fail to cheer me up. Whilst I was reading Enter...
View ArticleNever Too Late by Angela Thirkell
Angela Thirkell seems to have been writing one book a year for quite a long time and by popular demand but this is the first time I’ve ever read two back to back in quick succession. It was just...
View ArticleThe Headmistress by Angela Thirkell
The Headmistress was first published in 1944, in fact my copy is a first edition hardback, not that I’m bothered about such things but I do prefer hardbacks to the modern paperbacks. This one mainly...
View ArticleRead Scotland 2014
Have you signed up for Peggy Ann’s Read Scotland 2014 Challenge yet? If not then have a wee think about doing it as I’m sure you could read at least 3 or 4 books which would qualify for it without even...
View ArticleHappy Returns by Angela Thirkell
Angela Thirkell’s books could be subtitled Hatches, Matches and Dispatches in Barsetshire I suppose, but they’re always very enjoyable and funny comfort reads for me. I was so lucky to stumble across...
View ArticleJutland Cottage by Angela Thirkell
Jutland Cottage by Angela Thirkell was first published in 1953 and early on in the book the inhabitants of Barsetshire are quite despondent as the death of King George VI is announced, like everyone...
View ArticleTitty or Tatty? what’s in a name
It’s a good long time since I read Swallows and Amazons and I don’t even remember one of the characters being called Titty, it can’t have struck me as being weird at the time. However her name is being...
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Recent Book Purchases
On our recent road trip down to England I bought quite a few books – surprise surprise I hear you say. 1. Film-Lovers’ Annual – 1934 2. The Derbyshire Dales by Norman Price 3. The Better Part by Annie...
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Love At All Ages by Angela Thirkell
Love At All Ages by Angela Thirkell was first published in 1959 and it’s everything that you would expect from a Thirkell book. The government’s tax regime has caused the one time wealthy of the...
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The 1951 Club
I’ve read and blogged about quite a few books that were published in 1951 in recent years, so if you’re interested in my thoughts on them click on the titles. A Game of Hide and Seek by Elizabeth...
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Three Score and Ten by Angela Thirkell and C.A. Lejeune
Three Score and Ten by Angela Thirkell is her last book, unfortunately she died before she was able to finish writing it, but her friend C.A. Lejeune finished it off for her, presumably she had left...
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High Rising by Angela Thirkell
It’s the time of the year when if I’m not on holiday then I have people visiting me for a holiday, so I’ve just been too busy to blog recently, but a fun time was had by all as we dashed about the...
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Wild Strawberries by Angela Thirkell
Wild Strawberries is the second of Angela Thirkell’s Barsetshire books, first published in 1934 but my copy is a 1983 Hamlyn paperback. This one revolves mainly around the Leslie family. I remember...
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The Demon in the House by Angela Thirkell
The Demon in the House by Angela Thirkell was published in 1934, a busy year for the author it would seem. She so fell in love with her character Tony Morland who first appears in High Rising – that...
View Article20 Books of Summer 2017 update
I’m doing quite well with my 20 Books of Summer 2017 list this year although I had meant to do a bit of a half-way roundup before now. I have veered slightly from the list for various reasons, but I’m...
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