This is part of an ongoing series where I write about a different author for each letter of the alphabet. You can see them all here.
Thanks for your lovely comments on my first post in this series, A is for Athill. I should have said – if anybody else wants to use the idea too, I’d be delighted to see which authors you come up with. And it’s a good gap-filler when you don’t feel inspired to review a book!
My choice of author today won’t surprise long-term StuckinaBook readers, and well done Andrea, who was the first to guess that Frank Baker would be the author I’d choose for B.
How many books do I have by Frank Baker?
There are two ways to answer this. On the one hand, there are twelve books in this pile – on the other, five of them are Miss Hargreaves. It’s my favourite novel and I get every edition I can find – I still don’t have the early editions with their lovely dustjacket, but maybe one day. At the bottom is the gorgeous Tartarus Press edition (which was published just after I recommended it to Persephone, who rejected it) – the blue ones are the Bloomsbury reprint that they did on my recommendation, which is still one of the most exciting moments in my life! Why two? Well, I lend it so often and don’t want to lose the Bloomsbury edition. And since I once had four of them, you can see why I’m nervous about not getting them back!
How many of these have I read?
I’ve read Miss Hargreaves, of course, and a handful of the others – Before I Go Hence, Stories of the Strange and Sinister, The Birds (which he claimed Alfred Hitchcock and/or Daphne du Maurier had plagiarised), and his autobiography, I Follow But Myself. I’ve also read Mr Allenby Loses The Way, in the Bodleian Library.
How did I start reading Baker?
I never particularly liked learning the piano, but I did discover that my piano teacher have very similar taste in books to me. Or, indeed, she helped form my taste. It was she who first lent me a copy of Miss Hargreaves (which has a lot of music stuff in it), and I was entranced. For the few who don’t know, it’s a novel about a man who invents an old, eccentric lady to get out of an awkward conversation. He and his friend give her all sorts of curious attributes, and send a letter inviting her to visit, as a joke. The joke turns on them when she arrives… it’s a book that really does make you laugh and cry. I’m so grateful to Lylah for introducing Miss Hargreaves to me, and vice versa.
General impressions…
Sadly, it’s rather diminishing returns after that. I was so excited to discover a new favourite author, but Miss Hargreaves is worlds better than the others I’ve tried. It’s hard to pinpoint what’s wrong with the others, but they just don’t have much spark or vitality.
My second favourite book by Baker is his autobiography, I Follow But Myself, told through portraits of various people he knew, including the famous (Edward Garnett, Arthur Machen) but mostly the unknown. It’s worth reading for the portrait of Amy Carr alone.
I still have three of his novels unread on my shelves, a couple of which have been there for nearly two decades. And several of his novels I haven’t found. Maybe lightning struck twice with Baker, and I’ll keep reading. But if it doesn’t, to have created Miss Hargreaves is more than enough for any author.
Yes – this would most definitely be your B author! I’m grateful you introducted *me* to Miss Hargreaves, because I love the book. But I’ll take note of your reactions to the others and be wary if they come my way… !
Though I can’t help myself from collecting them anyway!
Inspired by your posts, I’m thinking of dusting down my ‘Annabel’s Shelves’ Project page, which previously got stuck after ‘C’ is for…
Ah I knew the idea had lain in my subconscious from somewhere!
My premise was different to yours – I read a book/author beginning with the letter rather than telling about the books I own/have read.
I hadn’t heard of this writer, so thanks for the nice intro! Miss Hargreaves sounds like a lot of fun and just what I need these days; I’ll have to check it out. Thanks!
I have the blue Bloomsbury edition as well! Found it at a thrift store in Ellensburg, Washington and loved it. So charming !
Lovely, Linda!
Lovely! Definitely a good distraction from the world at the moment. And originally published in 1940, so probably a welcome distraction then!
On your recommendation I read “Miss Hargreaves” for the first time last week. Thanks for a great read and for all your wonderful posts and podcasts!
Wonderful, Carol! I love to think of the number of people who’ve ‘met’ Miss Hargreaves as a result of Lylah recommending it to me. And glad that she lived long enough to see the Bloomsbury edition come out!
I had never heard of Frank Baker so thank you for the introduction, this is a great idea for a series and having a filler for when you don’t have a review to post is brilliant thinking!
I bought Frank Baker’s The Call of Cornwall back in the early 80’s, fittingly at a jumble sale. I was there for the first time (In England for the first time) and had fallen madly in love with the area. This book was such a pleasure to read that it sealed the deal – I thought if I could live there it would be full of erudite people like him, I envisioned the rest of my life spent on a blustery cliff gazing out at the Scilly Isles before heading to some picturesque cottage for tea with someone who quoted Pope and Arnold with no trace of affectation. Alas, the fantasy dissolved unfulfilled, but I still have the book and snatched it right off the shelf the moment I read your post. Thank you for the throwback!
You have convinced me I have to get a copy of Miss Hargreaves.
Simon, I’m popping this in here even though it’s not germane to your post — please feel free to delete or move it. Michael Dirda, a book critic for the Washington Post, put up a list of suggested summer reading, and the last paragraph reminded me of you:
‘Unlikely as it may seem, if the above printed matter starts to run low or pall after three weeks of R&R, I can always turn to my latest project: reading British novels, published mainly in the 1920s and 30s, that depict the aftermath of global cataclysm. Most of these books, often written in reaction to World War I, are half forgotten, but the subgenre includes James Elroy Flecker’s “The Last Generation” (1908), J.D. Beresford’s “Goslings” (1913), Edward Shanks’s “The People of the Ruins” (1920), Cicely Hamilton’s “Theodore Savage” (1922), J.J. Connington’s “Nordenholt’s Million” (1923), Neil Bell’s “The Seventh Bowl” (1930), John Collier’s “Tom’s a-Cold” (1933), J. Leslie Mitchell’s “Gay Hunter” (1934), and T.H. White’s “Earth Stopped” (1934) and “Gone to Ground” (1935). They remind me that bad as things are today, they could be worse.’
Do you know any of the above? I always appreciate your recommendations!
Miss Hargreaves sounds like my kind of book. I put it in reserve yesterday and – amazingly – my closed library responded immediately that it will have it read for me Monday when its curbside delivery begins! Thanks for the suggestion.
Well I didn’t guess correctly who “B” was did I :-)
“This is part of an ongoing series where I write about a different author for each letter of the alphabet. You can see them all here.” If I click on “here” I get taken to a login page which I rather suspect you didn’t intend.
Have a good weekend.
Oops, many thanks for that!
I love this idea for a series! Really looking forward to seeing how you go with the trickier letters… and I am indeed very tempted to take you up on your offer to have a go myself ;)