I’m up at the Keswick Convention this week, in the Lake District, and one of the things on my list was to visit Michael Moon’s bookshop in Whitehaven. It’s perhaps not as well known as nearby Bookcase in Carlisle, but it’s almost as wonderful a treasure trove. A warren of rooms, very reasonable prices, and a huge amount of older books – many of which seem to be the sort of books that were read by the masses (piles of Warwick Deeping, Ethel M. Dell etc.).
I went last year but was doing Project 24 – this year, I could be a lot less restrained. I bought one to give away (a compilation of Cornelia Otis Skinner’s best sketches in That’s Me All Over), and this lot for myself… I leant towards authors I’ve heard of but not read, and would be particularly interested in any recommendations from this haul.
Cleo by Mary Lutyens
A very 1970s cover for this (signed!) novel about a 15-year-old and her first romantic experience – and how her understanding of it changes in the years that follow. I don’t know if this will be insensitive or ahead of its time – time will tell.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice by Stephen Leacock
Only the other day I was wondering which Leacock books I was still missing – and then I stumbled across this one, which looks like it is Leacock in serious rather than comic mode. The opening line, ‘These are troubled times’, reminds me that every period feels more or less like that.
The Inn at the Edge of the World by Alice Thomas Ellis
One of my favourite tropes is a group of strangers gathering together – And Then There Were None and The Enchanted April being two excellent examples. This novella by Alice Thomas Ellis seems to do the same thing – five people at a remote Scottish island at Christmas.
Young Claudia by Rose Franken
I don’t know why I know the name Rose Franken, but it hovers on the peripheries of my knowledge. This one caught my eye, and I was sold by the opening line – ‘Half-way through the job, Claudia knew she was a fool to have begun with the hedge in the first place.’ I now see from Scott/Furrowed Middlebrow that she wrote a lot of novels about Claudia, so I’m not sure where this falls in that series.
The City of Pleasure by Arnold Bennett
There’s always room for another Arnold Bennett on the shelves.
So Many Loves by Leo Walmsley
Having loved Walmsley’s autobiographical trilogy of moving to Cornwall (or at least the first two, as I have yet to read the third), I was happy to pick up a book that I don’t know anything about. It turns out that this is straight autobiography, particularly about his childhood.
A Porch At My Door by Rex Matthews
The bookshop had quite a lot of books from The Country Book Club (which, rather thrillingly, say they must not be sold to the general public – what a maverick I am!). I bought a couple – I don’t know anything about Rex Matthews, but the lure of a book about house-hunting was enough for me.
Village in the Sun by Dane Chandos
This was the one Country Book Club choice, and an author I have read – only one book, Abbie, but I enjoyed it a lot. If memory serves, Dane Chandos is the pseudonym of a pair writing together. I rather expected this book to be about England, but it turns out it’s set in Ajijic, Mexico.
Lady Living Alone by Norah Lofts
I get Norah Hoult and Norah Lofts confused. The latter is predominantly a historical novelist, but she wrote four suspense novels under the pseudonym Peter Curtis – at least one of them, Lady Living Alone, was reprinted under Lofts own name in the 1980s. I’m intrigued by the story of a historical novelist with a phobia for being alone, and how she gets involved with a man who may or may not help…
A Cat in the Window by Derek Tangye
The bookshop had quite a few books by Tangye, all apparently about moving to Cornwall and life there – I toyed with buying the lot, but chose instead just to get the small volume dedicated to a cat.
No Lady With A Pen by Ursula Bloom
Bloom was the incredibly prolific writer (500+ books) among whose output was the British Library title Tea Is So Intoxicating, under the name Mary Essex. I’ve bought a few of her non-fiction titles, and this book about her early career on Fleet Street looks interesting.
Quorum by Phyllis Bentley
Another name I’ve seen around a lot, I certainly had plenty of Bentley books to choose from in the bookshop. In the end I chose Quorum because it looks like an interesting structure – it’s about a committee, and the chapters are dedicated to different committee members and then different matters (minutes, finance, analysis of project etc.) It could be successful or not, but it looks like an innovative and unusual approach,
And all that for £30! I’m excited to see what gems are among them – I think the Norah Lofts will be my first port of call. Any recommendations – and where would you start with this haul?
So funny to see your first line — we’re off to Cumbria with friends late this month, and one in our party has a dodgy knee and is on crutches, so on days we go hill walking we may well drop her off at Keswick Convention!
I didn’t know about Bookcase, but if we end up going to Carlisle on the train, I’ll look it out, thank you.
I read the Tangye for Reading the Meow and it was lovely; I’d like to read more from that series. I’m also keen on the Alice Thomas Ellis.
Bookcase is such a treasure trove – I’m always too exhausted by the time I get to the paperback room (which is bigger than most bookshops) to even look through those. And yes, I knew I’d seen the Tangye somewhere, thanks for the reminder.
Derek Tangye is brilliant. I was seriously addicted to his Cornwall books when I was young. Also liked Norah Lofts too – lots of juicy reading there!
Lovely! I wish I’d bought more of the Tangyes on offer now :D
Nothing like a good book haul to strike envy in the hearts of your readers.
The Inn At the Edge of the World sounds the most inviting to me. Now that you’ve bought it, please read it immediately so that you can let us know. : )
It is very short so there is a stronger chance of me getting to it :D
Yes, do! I’ve started it several times and then put it down and forgot about it. Report back and inspire me to try again (or not!).
I’ve read the Inn at the Edge of the World and liked it a lot, thought it’s not my favourite Alice Thomas Ellis. She’s probably best compared to Murial Spark but possibly darker and leaning towards the supernatural occasionally. I’d bet A Midsummers Night Dream was her favourite Shakespeare!
I loved this book too and a much neglected writer now sadly.
True, I don’t see her mentioned as much as I did even ten years ago.
I’ve read a couple and not sure how I feel about her, but liked enough to keep going – which is your favourite?
I hope Keswick is going well. I look forward to hearing more about Lady Living Alone. I think that sounds very intriguing. The opening line of the Stephen Leacock definitely makes me want to read on. I also like the sound of The Inn at the Edge of the World. I have seen quite a few of the Country Club books in second hand and charity shops recently. It makes them seem all the more tempting given their illicit nature!
I have never felt like such a rebel in a bookshop! And thanks, Keswick was fun – very wet, but that helped people want us to come into the tent.
The Alice Ellis Thomas is wonderful!
She is certainly winning out in the comments!
I once managed to collect all the Claudia books but eventually sold them. There’s some nice stuff about houses but I got annoyed with Claudia because she so doted on her husband that she always put him first, and ahead of the children
Oh interesting, I can see that would get frustrating. Does it matter if you read the books out of order?
Probably better in order as the series takes you right through her marriage and various moves.
Can’t help you with which to choose, but I do love reading all your reviews of these forgotten authors.
Thanks Annabel!
There’s a companion volume to Abbie entitled Abbie and Arthur (1961) but if I’ve got this right “Dane Chandos” was first a pseudonym for Peter Lilley and Richard Oke (but Oke was also a pseudonym for N.S. Millet) and they’re the two who wrote Village in the Sun. The later Dane Chandos books were collaborations between Lilley and Anthony Stanfield. Richard Oke published a few novels—Frolic Wind is certainly the most well known (and I should probably read it again…)
Oh thanks Jack, I hadn’t realised Dane Chandos changed over the years! I do have Abbie and Arthur but haven’t read it yet – and would need to reread Abbie to remember it.
I’m curious about the Phyllis Bentley novel. There’s a short story by her – The Photograph – in the first
Persephone Book of Short Stories, which I enjoyed very much. Alice Thomas Ellis, as others have already said, is wonderful. If you like Muriel Spark, early Beryl Bainbridge, Barbara Comyns, Angela Carter, you should like her. The best way I can describe her is to say she wrote odd, quirky, dark fairy tales. But at the same time (much like Shirley Jackson) she produced light-hearted, humourous newspaper pieces about her home and family. and you think gosh, could the same person really have written these!
Thanks Christine! Phyllis Bentley is one of those names I see so much that I should find out what she’s actually like. And I do like all those authors you mention, but felt a bit lukewarm with the Alice Thomas Ellises I have read – Unexplained Laughter, and another I forget. I will definitely try more. But now I wanted to know where the funny domestic pieces are collected!
There were several books – three or four from memory – all called Home Life. I did have them, and I’ve had a quick look, but cannot find them. Sorry. However, they are available online, or you night find them in a big second-hand book shop.
Good to know, thanks!
I’ve read Claudia: the Story of a Marriage, and according to my color coding system of books on my list that I’ve finished, I liked it, but I can’t remember anything about it. I also put a strike out line through Claudia and David on the list, so I’m guessing I didn’t like what I read well enough to seek out the other book.
I love that idea of your past notes/code telling you what you can’t remember! Good to know your thoughts.
I’m not going to be of much help sorry Simon. I’ve heard of only two of those authors – Alice Thomas Ellis and Arnold Bennett. I read Bennett for the first time this year and really enjoyed him so my leaning would be towards him
He is so fun, and so prolific!
Ooh, a book about househunting and a book about a committee! Well, those would be my first picks, obviously!
Absolutely understandable!