The book I review this week is by Virginia Pye, a writer I have not read before. Net Galley sent me the uncorrected proof of The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann for review. The novel is inspired by a woman writer who wrote under the pen name, Gail Hamilton. She was exploited by her BostonContinue reading “Week beginning 4th October 2023”
Author Archives: robrjo
Week beginning 29th September 2023
This week’s blog is mainly about travelling in Porto and Amsterdam. However, I have been indulging myself with some novels bought for fun rather than NetGalley reviews. Two have men as their main protagonists, which is an interesting change for me. One, The Trophy Wife by Valerie Keogh I have not finished. It is aContinue reading “Week beginning 29th September 2023”
Week beginning 20 September 2023
Hillary Rodham Clinton is the subject of this week’s review. Do All the Good You Can, How Faith Shaped Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Politics by Gary Scott Smith, University of Illinois Press, 2023 will be published in October. Gary Scott Smith provides a rather different perspective on Hillary Rodham Clinton, or so it seems to me.Continue reading “Week beginning 20 September 2023”
Week beginning 13 September 2023
This week I have recovered my earlier review of The Agatha Christie Collection as I am renewing my acquaintance with her work during my visit to Wallingford where Agatha Christie is being commemorated. Agatha Christie, The Agatha Christie Collection (Kindle Edition) The Agatha Christie Collection is a great ‘starter’ collection for readers new to Christie.Continue reading “Week beginning 13 September 2023”
Week beginning 7 September 2023
Barbara Pym, her novels and her relationship with her sister, Hilary, are at the forefront of my mind this week. I have just attended the Barbara Pym Conference on the theme of sisterhood, so Some Tame Gazelle (first published 1950, Virago Modern Classics 2009) is an appropriate place to begin. Barbara Pym’s first published novelContinue reading “Week beginning 7 September 2023”
Week beginning 30 August 2023
Eliot A. Cohen The Hollow Crown Shakespeare on How Leaders Rise, Rule, and Fall Basic Books: New York, 24 October 2023 Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review. This is an exciting read, from an author whose political experience and preceptive approach to politics, power and Shakespeare is only occasionallyContinue reading “Week beginning 30 August 2023”
Week beginning 23 August 2023
The book reviewed this week is a study of Agatha Christie’s novels, referred to as looking at the science of her work. I initially saw this as considering the use of poison in her novels. I have not looked at this as an issue in the Agatha Christie work that appears at Further Commentary andContinue reading “Week beginning 23 August 2023”
Week beginning 16 August 2023
This week I review two novels by Kerry Fisher. They are both set in Rome, tempting me to add this city to my 2024 travels as features that I have not read about previously are brought to light in these detailed works. One, Secrets at the Rome Apartment, was sent to me by NetGalley asContinue reading “Week beginning 16 August 2023”
Week beginning 9 August 2023
The book sent to me as an uncorrected copy from NetGalley for review is by Hanna Flint. What Movies Teach Us Strong Female Character begins with a criticism of the form in which Barbie appears without the trappings of her many manifestations as a career woman, adventurer, glamour icon etc. For Hanna Flint the searchContinue reading “Week beginning 9 August 2023”
Week beginning 3 August 2023
Two books are reviewed this week – one that I read some time ago and somehow neglected to publish on the blog (the third in Kerry Wilkinson’s Whitecliff Bay series) and Keith Urban by Jeff Apter. Both were provided to me by NetGalley as uncorrected proofs for review. Jeff Apter Keith Urban Kensington Books Citadel,Continue reading “Week beginning 3 August 2023”
Robin's Room 