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Charlotte Mew and Her Friends by Penelope Fitzgerald

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46. Charlotte Mew and Her Friends by Penelope Fitzgerald

The first of my reviews I’m going to point towards, over at Shiny New Books, was the most unexpected treat. Indeed, it’s going on my 50 Books list – which is coming towards a close now, and that makes me nervous. (What if I read something superlatively brilliant just after putting the 50th book on the list?)

I had thought Penelope Fitzgerald was already represented, as I’ve loved The Bookshop and At Freddie’s – but apparently neither quite made the list. Charlotte Mew and Her Friends is a little more outside the box – being a biography of a turn-of-the-century poet – but has just as wide an appeal, honest. It’s one of the few biographies I’ve read where the subject mattered less than the writer – not ostentatiously in the writing, but in my response to it.

Do head over to my Shiny New Books review for the complete picture…

Shiny New Books: Issue 2!

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It is with excitement, pleasure, and pride that I announce that Issue 2 of Shiny New Books is now live! We have new colours, new images, a new competition, and – most importantly – lots and lots of new reviews and features.

Image borrowed from co-editor Annabel

I’m excited about reading it, because I’ve only seen the pieces I wrote, edited, or proofread – and there are over 100 posts to read in total. (If you’ve written for us, or sent a book, we’ll be in touch separately – but it might not be immediately, with so many lovely people to contact.)

I’ll be pointing towards things I’ve written over the next few weeks, and some other personal highlights, but for now – go and browse!

Once again, a hearty and affectionate ‘thank you’ to Annabel, Harriet, and Victoria, my co-editors – and equally hearty apologies that I napped through our Skype appointment yesterday, and final adjustments were thus made later than intended…

More Muriel

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My stream of reading Muriel Spark doesn’t look likely to come to an end any time soon – so was just so wonderfully prolific – and the latest one I’ve read is Territorial Rights (1979), given to me by Virago in their nice new edition, and reviewed over on Shiny New Books.  The copy I read, I will confess to you, was the copy given to me by Hayley after Muriel Spark Reading Week (and I gave the Virago copy to a deserving friend).

It’s not in the top two or three Spark novels – or maybe even top ten – but it’s still brilliant, with lots of recognisably Sparkian elements. Head on over to my Shiny New Books review to find out more…