As I am in Daphne Du Maurier country I thought it worth including two past reviews of associated books. Patricia White Rebecca BFI Bloomsbury Publishing Plc London and New York, 2021. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this uncorrected proof in exchange for an honest review. I was thrilled to receive this thorough interpretation ofContinue reading “Week beginning 17 June 2026”
Author Archives: robrjo
Week beginning 10th June 2026
Zoe Fairbairns Bloodless Coup, Poems by Zoe Fairbairns Lost Souls Events, UK, 2026. Bloodless Coup is Zoe Fairbairns’ new literary accomplishment. I read her novels, which she began publishing in the late 1970s with admiration and mixed pleasure and anguish. In these, Benefits, Stand We At Last, Daddy’s Girls, Here Today, Closing and Other NamesContinue reading “Week beginning 10th June 2026”
Week beginning 3 June 2026
Tony Castro The Girl Who Would Be Marilyn Monroe, An Intimate Portrait of the Young Norma Jeane, Bloomsbury Press, September 2026. Tony Castro’s concentration on Norma Jeane, rather than Marilyn Monroe, is a haunting reminder of a girl whose aspiration was never dimmed by her childhood, or young womanhood. It was written for the 100thContinue reading “Week beginning 3 June 2026”
Week beginning 27 May 2026
Nicholas Fogg The Tudor Theatre 1576-1642 Pen & Sword, January 2026. Thank you, Net Galley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review. Nicholas Fogg has brought so much to the history of the Tudor theatre in its golden age. Visiting The Globe on the South Bank, or Stratford-Upon-Avon and attending the Royal ShakespeareContinue reading “Week beginning 27 May 2026”
Week beginning 22 May 2026
Dr Christopher Herbert Jane Austen’s Favourite Brother, Henry Pen & Sword | Pen & Sword History, May 2025. Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review. Christoher Herbert’s history employs one of the most useful strategies when dealing with a subject for whom the material is sparse. In this case, there is anContinue reading “Week beginning 22 May 2026”
Week beginning May 13, 2026
Jane Davis The Bookseller’s Wife The Chiswell Street Chronicles Volume 1, Rossdale Print Productions, March 2024.* Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review. Dorcas Turton is an engaging character whose story takes place in the 1770s. She is the daughter of Samuel Turton, whom her mother married so as toContinue reading “Week beginning May 13, 2026”
Week beginning 6 May 2026
Victoria Purman The Marriage Trap Harlequin Australia, HQ (Fiction, Non Fiction, YA) & MIRA | HQ, April 2026 Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review. I regret having come late to Victoria Purman’s historical fiction, and of the many books she has published I have read only two: The Radio Hour andContinue reading “Week beginning 6 May 2026”
Week beginning April 29 2016
Michael Ridpath Operation Berlin Boldwood Books, April 2026. Thank you, NetGalley and Boldwood Books, for this uncorrected proof for review. Having recently reread Michael Ridpath’s financial thrillers I found it difficult to change pace with this more elegant approach to murder. Operation Berlin has a certain charm, which grows as the narrative moves toward revealingContinue reading “Week beginning April 29 2016”
Week beginning 22 April 2026
Anjali Enjeti Ballot Bloomsbury Academic, February 2026. Thank you, NetGalley and Bloomsbury Academic, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review. Ballot makes an enlightened and enlightening contribution to the Object Lessons series. It is passionate, without being didactic, politically astute in its descriptions of voting practices and advice on how these have impactedContinue reading “Week beginning 22 April 2026”
Week beginning 15 April, 2026
Kate Stephenson The Book Lover’s Guide to Edinburgh Pen & Sword | White Owl, January 2026. Thank you, NetGalley and Pen & Sword, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review. Kate Stephenson’s Guide is not only a notable practical resource, but a pleasure to read. Well designed and clearly explained walks become literary explorations asContinue reading “Week beginning 15 April, 2026”
Robin's Room 