Just finished reading 'Cold Comfort Farm' by Stella Gibbons which was hilarious, and provided complete escapism from all the current woes of the world (an understatement if ever there was one). About to read the second book in the Cazalet Chronicles. Agree that older books are invariably more satisfying than current publications!
Love this post and the suggestions in the comments. Can't remember the last time I read a new book that really lived up to the hype which leaves me feeling permanently disappointed and pissed off. I'd add to the recommendations Iris Murdoch (The Sea, the Sea and the Black Prince), Mary Wesley (Chamomile Lawn) and Nancy Mitford (anything). I've read Hens Dancing by the wonderful Raffaella Barker more times than I can remember. Also Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller and the Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber which I'm rereading at the moment - a feminist Dickensian masterpiece that I wish was longer
Two of my favourites from the twentieth century (and both lovely light short journeys into other worlds). They were both reissued recently, so not hard to find:
The Women in Black by Madeleine St John. Published in 1993 but set in the 1950s in the dress department of a Sydney department store.
Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day by Winifred Watson, published in 1938.
Follows the adventures of a governess and a nightclub singer over 24 hours. Really fun and guaranteed to cheer you up.
I absolutely loved The Women in Black - I had read Madeleine St John's other books at the time of their publication, but must have missed this one. It was my favourite book in Lockdown. Also enjoyed Miss Pettigrew.
I couldn’t manage Kate Atkinson then tried listening to it . Borrow box is an app which connects to your local library - if u have a card - and saved my life in lockdown . Love maeve binchy and Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier x
Totally agree on Restoration; one of my favourites by Rose Tremain, along with Music and Silence. Also I absolutely loved A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
“Fugitive Pieces” by Anne Michaels from 1997 is super-wonderful. I couldn’t get enough of A.S. Byatt at one point. Probably about time to revisit her work.
I'm pretty sure this is because it was out of print for a bit and has been re-issued. So old copies will be scarce but new copies will be a regular book-shop price. This is all just a guess though
If Barbara pym is your thing, do try Angela Thirkell's Barsetshire novels. Theyre gentle and funny and soothing to your brain. However also witty and bright and characters from previous ones pop up obligingly in later ones (but it doesn't matter if you havent read their ones). Theyre also being republished by Virago Modern Classics so have gorgeous covers.
The Cazalets always get a vote from me.
Anything by Eva Ibbotsen.
I read The Interestings by Meg Worlitzer and couldn't put it down. Not that 'old' but fantastic.
Marjorie Morningstar (Herman Wouk), all of the Jane Gardam so-called children's books, Elizabeth Jane Howard, now re-reading Dorothy L Sayers after listening to an excellent Backlisted podcast. Also Mary Wesley (The Camomile Lawn etc) - not very highbrow but so so sweet.
I’ve found myself really struggling to get stuck into a lot of literature published recently, and for the first time ever have abandoned a few books halfway through, as they were either not as entertaining as promised or just seemed a bit…soulless? My mum has been in a book club for 30 years and over the years some of my favourite books have been pilfered from her shelves. I read The Poisonwood Bible a couple of years ago and I still think about it a lot. I’ve also loved the Barbara Pyms I’ve read, and Elizabeth Jane Howard always a winner especially for some glorious escapism. Have ordered a second-hand Rose Tremain and looking forward to it!
I've just read two of Barbara Pym's books (after reading an article on her writing, in an old Guardian Review of Books) and found myself really absorbed in the the parochial worlds she so cleverly creates (and observes).
I’ve also just ordered a secondhand Rose Tremain - Restoration, based on the positive comments here. I have never read any of her work before, but am always excited by good recommendations
Restoration is my book of 2021, I adored it. My literary but non-literary guilty pleasure is historical fiction in general, I love getting lost in a few books in a row by CJ Sansom, Sharon Penman, Ken Follett… I always learn a lot about eg. medieval cathedral building, too, which is obviously a bonus.
More highbrow and also wonderful are the Cazalet Chronicles, Wide Sargasso Sea and, the most modern of my choices, Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny.
I loved it too and subsequently read everything she's written - all first class stories and beautifully written. My own recommendation for historical fiction (which I love too) is 'Hild' by Nicola Griffith. Set in 7th Century Britain with a strong female lead and a powerful sense of time and place. Also great narrative pace.
Lesley, I’m not sure if you’ll get a notification about this but I just wanted to say I’m about halfway through Hild and it is fantastic! Thank you thank you and hope you have a lovely long weekend planned.
Oh wow that's brilliant, thanks so much for the feedback and I'm glad you're loving it too. And if you haven't read Matrix, you may well like that also.
Oh thank you for mentioning Hild! I really wanted to like it because I love that period of history... I had mixed feelings, but several years later a lot of scenes are still quite vivid, so it's definitely effective. I'll read the sequel Menewood when it comes out.
So pleased to see you recommending Restoration - it's one of my favourite books. It's such a superbly written book and I loved the wonderfully flawed Merivel. Did you know there is a sequel? Merivel- A Man of His Time. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Restoration but it did mean I could lose myself in Merivel's world again for another few days, which was absolute bliss.
I'm very on board with this theme and am taking note of the suggestions! By the end of last year I realised that a) 80% of the books I'd read that year featured some type of sexual abuse of young girls, and b) of the books I'd read, my favourite by far was Fortnight In September by RC Sheriff. It was written in the 30s I think, and I may even have heard about from On The Spike or its lovely commenters?
Forgot in my comment below what with the excitement of O Caledonia and Laurie Colwin and past books for ever reviving by world of mouth, to say that my newsletter this month, like The Spike, is in praise of independent bookshops and publishers. The real book shop is a vanishing pleasure. https://mailchi.mp/2a13858eb669/newsletter-in-praise-of-independent-bookshops-and-publishers
Not a recommendation exactly but I have found a few good books recently by listening to a Good Read on R.4. I like being able to hear why other people have enjoyed the book and having a rough idea of what to expect.
Just finished reading 'Cold Comfort Farm' by Stella Gibbons which was hilarious, and provided complete escapism from all the current woes of the world (an understatement if ever there was one). About to read the second book in the Cazalet Chronicles. Agree that older books are invariably more satisfying than current publications!
Love this post and the suggestions in the comments. Can't remember the last time I read a new book that really lived up to the hype which leaves me feeling permanently disappointed and pissed off. I'd add to the recommendations Iris Murdoch (The Sea, the Sea and the Black Prince), Mary Wesley (Chamomile Lawn) and Nancy Mitford (anything). I've read Hens Dancing by the wonderful Raffaella Barker more times than I can remember. Also Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller and the Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber which I'm rereading at the moment - a feminist Dickensian masterpiece that I wish was longer
Two of my favourites from the twentieth century (and both lovely light short journeys into other worlds). They were both reissued recently, so not hard to find:
The Women in Black by Madeleine St John. Published in 1993 but set in the 1950s in the dress department of a Sydney department store.
Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day by Winifred Watson, published in 1938.
Follows the adventures of a governess and a nightclub singer over 24 hours. Really fun and guaranteed to cheer you up.
I absolutely loved The Women in Black - I had read Madeleine St John's other books at the time of their publication, but must have missed this one. It was my favourite book in Lockdown. Also enjoyed Miss Pettigrew.
I couldn’t manage Kate Atkinson then tried listening to it . Borrow box is an app which connects to your local library - if u have a card - and saved my life in lockdown . Love maeve binchy and Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier x
Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard has remained a favourite for years
Excellent Women - or probably anything else by Barbara Pym - is beautifully subtle but will make you laugh out loud too
Totally agree on Restoration; one of my favourites by Rose Tremain, along with Music and Silence. Also I absolutely loved A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
“Fugitive Pieces” by Anne Michaels from 1997 is super-wonderful. I couldn’t get enough of A.S. Byatt at one point. Probably about time to revisit her work.
In other news just tried to buy a second hand copy of O Calendonia on amazon and its £252! what have you all done!?!?!
I'm pretty sure this is because it was out of print for a bit and has been re-issued. So old copies will be scarce but new copies will be a regular book-shop price. This is all just a guess though
If Barbara pym is your thing, do try Angela Thirkell's Barsetshire novels. Theyre gentle and funny and soothing to your brain. However also witty and bright and characters from previous ones pop up obligingly in later ones (but it doesn't matter if you havent read their ones). Theyre also being republished by Virago Modern Classics so have gorgeous covers.
The Cazalets always get a vote from me.
Anything by Eva Ibbotsen.
I read The Interestings by Meg Worlitzer and couldn't put it down. Not that 'old' but fantastic.
Looking forward to reading some of all of these.
Yes, EJH's Cazelet novels really wonderful, and I loved Eva Ibbotensen's novels too. I met her, and she was delightful.
Marjorie Morningstar (Herman Wouk), all of the Jane Gardam so-called children's books, Elizabeth Jane Howard, now re-reading Dorothy L Sayers after listening to an excellent Backlisted podcast. Also Mary Wesley (The Camomile Lawn etc) - not very highbrow but so so sweet.
Love love LOVE DLS. So very good. Oh to be Harriet Vane! Try Michael Innes’s Inspector Appleby series for similar-but-different.
I’ve found myself really struggling to get stuck into a lot of literature published recently, and for the first time ever have abandoned a few books halfway through, as they were either not as entertaining as promised or just seemed a bit…soulless? My mum has been in a book club for 30 years and over the years some of my favourite books have been pilfered from her shelves. I read The Poisonwood Bible a couple of years ago and I still think about it a lot. I’ve also loved the Barbara Pyms I’ve read, and Elizabeth Jane Howard always a winner especially for some glorious escapism. Have ordered a second-hand Rose Tremain and looking forward to it!
I've just read two of Barbara Pym's books (after reading an article on her writing, in an old Guardian Review of Books) and found myself really absorbed in the the parochial worlds she so cleverly creates (and observes).
I’ve also just ordered a secondhand Rose Tremain - Restoration, based on the positive comments here. I have never read any of her work before, but am always excited by good recommendations
Restoration is my book of 2021, I adored it. My literary but non-literary guilty pleasure is historical fiction in general, I love getting lost in a few books in a row by CJ Sansom, Sharon Penman, Ken Follett… I always learn a lot about eg. medieval cathedral building, too, which is obviously a bonus.
More highbrow and also wonderful are the Cazalet Chronicles, Wide Sargasso Sea and, the most modern of my choices, Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny.
I loved it too and subsequently read everything she's written - all first class stories and beautifully written. My own recommendation for historical fiction (which I love too) is 'Hild' by Nicola Griffith. Set in 7th Century Britain with a strong female lead and a powerful sense of time and place. Also great narrative pace.
Lesley, I’m not sure if you’ll get a notification about this but I just wanted to say I’m about halfway through Hild and it is fantastic! Thank you thank you and hope you have a lovely long weekend planned.
Oh wow that's brilliant, thanks so much for the feedback and I'm glad you're loving it too. And if you haven't read Matrix, you may well like that also.
Oh thank you for mentioning Hild! I really wanted to like it because I love that period of history... I had mixed feelings, but several years later a lot of scenes are still quite vivid, so it's definitely effective. I'll read the sequel Menewood when it comes out.
Have you read Matrix? I loved that too, there are similarities. Very satisfying read I thought and I love to hear female voices from the past
Oh thank you, I will give that a go!
So pleased to see you recommending Restoration - it's one of my favourite books. It's such a superbly written book and I loved the wonderfully flawed Merivel. Did you know there is a sequel? Merivel- A Man of His Time. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Restoration but it did mean I could lose myself in Merivel's world again for another few days, which was absolute bliss.
I'm very on board with this theme and am taking note of the suggestions! By the end of last year I realised that a) 80% of the books I'd read that year featured some type of sexual abuse of young girls, and b) of the books I'd read, my favourite by far was Fortnight In September by RC Sheriff. It was written in the 30s I think, and I may even have heard about from On The Spike or its lovely commenters?
Oh I love Fortnight in September - always genuinely happy to hear of someone reading and enjoying it.
Yes! I've been recommending it to people like I'm doing them a massive favour.
Forgot in my comment below what with the excitement of O Caledonia and Laurie Colwin and past books for ever reviving by world of mouth, to say that my newsletter this month, like The Spike, is in praise of independent bookshops and publishers. The real book shop is a vanishing pleasure. https://mailchi.mp/2a13858eb669/newsletter-in-praise-of-independent-bookshops-and-publishers
Not a recommendation exactly but I have found a few good books recently by listening to a Good Read on R.4. I like being able to hear why other people have enjoyed the book and having a rough idea of what to expect.