Happy March! Here in the UK we seem to be alternating bright sunshine and torrential rain. As I write this, it’s one of the sunny days – cold, sunny weather is my favourite, and hopefully it’ll continue as I jaunt round London this weekend. The world might continue to get worse and worse every day (don’t you miss the days when villains were at least a little nuanced? Not ‘I’m going to deprive the world’s most vulnerable and then lie about fraud’ levels evil?) but here’s a book, a link, and a blog post to make things feel momentarily less bleak.
1.) The book – I’m halfway through a proof copy of Mark Hussey’s Mrs Dalloway: Biography of a Novel and absolutely loving it. Hussey goes from the genesis of the novel through its writing to its publication, reception and aftermath. Definitely one for people who already know and love Mrs Dalloway, but I am happily in that camp. Looks like it’s out in May, so get your pre-orders in now.
2.) The link – not a usual one for me, and not about books, but this long read in the Financial Times by Madison Marriage is absorbing, excellent, and devastating. It’s about the inquest into her brother’s death, and the 48 hours that led to it while he desperately tried to get an urgent repeat prescription – and the ways the NHS, pharmacies and others failed him.
3.) The blog post – March is Reading Wales month – get some suggestions over at Booker Talk.
Thanks for another inspirational weekend miscellany. It’s your favourite sort of day here too – frosty and sunny. I hope you enjoy your London jaunt. Just before I read your post, I had been checking the London weather forecast, as I am going there tomorrow for a week too. I am hoping to research bookshops near where I will be staying later! (any good recommendations accessible on foot from near The Millennium Bridge?!).
The Mark Hussey book immediately went on my wish list. I’ve been reading Mrs Dalloway again this week (inspired by The Hundred Years hence challenge but I did not really need an excuse!).
Thanks for the reminder about Reading Wales. I will save the Madison Marriage article for later, although my own last few years’ experience of fighting for treatment from the NHS, sadly means I was not surprised to read the headline.
Oo have a lovely time in London! Staying near the millennium bridge is fun. Sadly, the secondhand bookshop scene in London is much worse than it used to be – Henry Porde and Any Amount of Books are worth a visit on Charing Cross Rd, but they’re not what they were. I also used to love Notting Hill Book and Comics, but that’s gone downhill significantly of late. There are a couple lovely bookshops further out – quite small, and quite chaotic, but worth a visit – Walden Books in Camden and Hurlingham Books – I don’t remember exactly where that one is, but quite a journey. Otherwise, the bookstalls on the southbank are fun and probably your closest ones.
Many thanks for those bookshop suggestions. I hope you are able to enjoy some of the spring sunshine this week, whilst you are in London. It’s beautiful outside today. I have already discovered the rather woeful lack of bargains in Judd’s books and Skoob’s. I was tempted by a Janet Malcolm but it was fairly easy to resist once I enquired the price! And I do have to be mindful that I have to be able to lift my already book laden suitcase onto the train!
Ah yes, I haven’t been to Judd in ages, and I’m always slightly underwhelmed by the selection in Skoob.
Thanks for the heads up on Mrs Dalloway. I pre-ordered it just now, but it looks like I shouldn’t hold my breath waiting for it. Summer reading material, perhaps.
Sometimes you get a nice surprise when a pre-order comes early, so fingers crossed!
Virginia Woolf was on my bucket list of authors to try, and I did so with Mrs. Dalloway, which I didn’t care for at all, so I’ll give this biography a pass. But I’m glad you found it, since the concept of writing a biography of a novel you loved is a great one.
I’m intrigued that you didn’t care for it. What didn’t you like? It’s one I can’t feel objective about – it seems miraculously good to me!
I almost wish I hadn’t read the FT article, but I couldn’t not—I’m Type I diabetic and I’ve had a version of this experience, running out of insulin and then getting the run-around from the GP-pharmacy interface. It’s terrifying. Covid made it so clear how contingent my life was on the system working properly, and in 2021 the fear of a full global supply chain breakdown was one of the factors that put me on anti-anxiety medication (ironically, another prescription!) This poor man and his family. Reading the transcripts of the pharmacy calls is re-traumatising but vindicating; this is exactly what happens, and it’s devastating.
Oh I’m so sorry that it rings so true, Elle, that sounds so stressful. I had no idea about the possibility of getting emergency drugs without a prescription, so hopefully that gets better publicised now.
Ooh can’t wait for your review of Mark Hussey’s book – I’ve just said I’ll review it for Shiny and am waiting hopefully for my copy to arrive.
Oh brilliant! I’ve finished now and he packs so much into quite a short book.
Mrs Dalloway is a way of life – thanks for the tip, I shall pre order!
Isn’t it just! I think you’ll love it.