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A Curious Friendship: The Story of a Bluestocking and a Bright Young Thing by Anna Tomasson |
A well researched book by a a new author who knows her subjects intimately. It is a moving, thoughtful and entertaining account of a friendship between a bohemian art student - Rex Whistler - and a sharp-witted, snobbish and comical spinster during the twenties and thirties amid the shadows of the looming war. The convention-defying friendship is enthralling.
(bwl 91 Winter 2019) |
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A Dangerous Inheritance by Alison Weir |
A fascinating tale concerning two women of high birth, separated by time but linked by the most famous murder mystery in history: the Princes in the Tower. Lady Katherine Grey lived in Queen Elizabeth's time whereas Kate Plantagenet was the bastard daughter of Richard 111. The author very cleverly alternates between the two periods of history and the fates of the two ladies. A mixture of tragedy and love, showing how both periods were hard on anyone not conforming.
(bwl 75 Winter 2015) |
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A Journey to Station X: The Story of Bletchley Park by Michael A Kushner |
Before 1980 very few people knew of Bletchley Park's existence and the important part it played during WWII. The Government's ultra top secret code breaking establishment, known as Station X, was hidden here employing some of Britain's top brains to develop the equipment that would break the German secret codes. This account takes us from events regarding signals intelligence, up to, and throughout the war.
(bwl 92 Spring 2019) |
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A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy |
Binchy's final novel has all her familiar trademarks including warmth and humour. It's an easy but intriguing read which tells a very interesting story of people and their lives, with first-rate descriptions of all the characters and the wild Irish countryside. It also shows the resilience of women when they are determined to succeed in a totally different working world to that from which they came.
(bwl 73 Summer 2014) |
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Alice Davenport by Audrey Reiman |
A good bedtime read - a mix of romance, hardship and history - set in NW England in the 1890s onwards. A family loses the mother and as the father is an army doctor, the eldest daughter, with some help from a spinster aunt, has to take over. Reiman describes her life and how hard it was for women. When Papa goes off to the Boer War, Alice must sacrifice her own dreams - but when he returns everything changes for her . . .
(bwl 82 Autumn 2016) |
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An Englishman in Madrid by Eduardo Mendoza |
This book took a while to enjoy, but is very different to the usual ones; it is the hunt for a lost Velazquez. A stereotypical chaotic English Art Historian travels to Madrid on the brink of the Civil War, determined to find the missing masterpiece. He manages to get himself embroiled in every foreign plot occurring at that time in Spain. A gripping and very amusing tale.
(bwl 75 Winter 2015) |
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An Improbable Life by Trevor McDonald |
This is a very personal autobiography of an extraordinary man born in 1939 in Trinidad, who knew what he wanted to do from a very early age and where he was going to do it. He would not reach Britain until 1969, when he joined the BBC World Service. From then onwards, he witnessed world events, became a journalist and broadcaster, interviewing all the globally famous and notorious people of those years, often in very dangerous circumstances.
(bwl 95 Winter 2020) |
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Blue Eyed Son: The Story of an Adoption by Nicky Campbell |
Because for me this is a subject close to home, I found this book very difficult to put down. Although lucky enough to have a wonderful Mummy, Daddy and sister (his words), TV Presenter Nicky Campbell - with the support of his wife throughout the long process - determined to trace his biological parents. Writing with love and compassion for both families, he does not avoid traumatic events or his personal feelings as he unravels an uncomfortable history.
(bwl 63 Winter 2011) |
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Bluebirds by Margaret Mayhew |
An amazing book about the exploits of four completely different women in the WAAFs starting in 1939; it is fiction but written in appreciation of those women who were an untried and unknown quantity at the beginning of the war. Many of the RAF were doubtful of their value. But they proved themselves. The author researched the subject very carefully. It combines love, tragedy, loyalty, heroism and strength of character. Very difficult to stop reading.
(bwl 85 Summer 2017) |
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Bright Morning by Nikcola Thorne |
Although I had not read the previous books in the Askham Chronicles which traces the family through several decades, it did not spoil my enjoyment of their experiences in England and France during WW II, of how war can tear people apart and how the matriarch feels pride in her family's heroism but sorrow at the price that war exacts. It encourages me to read the earlier books so that I can know the individuals better.
(bwl 67 Winter 2013) |
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Call the Midwife: A True Story Of The East End In The 1950s by Jennifer Worth |
Absolutely riveting for me, as it is set in the time when I first started nursing, proving how tough it was then for nurses. Worth paints a superb picture of the Docklands area of London, showing how our lives have changed since then, both generally and in the nursing world, and describing how the various people, living in often impossible conditions, survived. Particularly pointing out how strong the women of that age were. Difficult to put down.
(bwl 62 Autumn 2011) |
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Cartes Postales from Greece by Victoria Hislop |
Another fascinating novel by Hislop with delightful photographs which really bring the country alive. At first difficult to place the characters in the here and now and work out who was who but not for long. Here is mystery, intrigue and a gentle love story set in the Greece she knows so well. All inspired by postcards plus a notebook which were meant for someone else. How I wish I'd had the courage to just "take off"!
(bwl 87 Winter 2018) |
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Catherine Carsell: A Biography by Jan Pilditch |
I had never heard of this novelist, biographer and critic. Born in Glasgow in the late 19th century, she was well travelled and a major figure in the Scottish Renaissance. Her life tells us much about the women and their writing in the early years of the 20th century. She was rebellious, determined, intellectual and no stranger to conflict. Hard to read at first, but it grew on me.
(bwl 83 Winter 2017) |
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Conner Street's War & The Glory and the Shame by Harry Bowling |
Bowling was born in London and left school at fourteen. In these two best selling novels available in one paperback, he wrote about the lives of ordinary folk in WW II. These are tales of life in the East End, how individual people reacted to horrific situations, they are tales of courage, shame and love. Conner Street's War tells the story of the families who lived in that street and how they coped and how they lost everything. The Glory and the Shame is again about families and reveals some of their shameful past, as well as their heroic deeds.
(bwl 55 Winter 2010) |
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Dangerous Crossing by Rachel Rhys |
Inspired by a true life account of a 1930's ocean voyage, a story of love, murder, adventure and dark secrets. All taking place on a 4-5 week sea journey to Australia. The accounts of the different classes of people are excellent, mixed with the forthcoming war prospects lying ahead and how this will affect the classes and races aboard the ship. The times brought back many memories.
(bwl 90 Autumn 2018) |
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Daughters of Britannia: The Lives and Times of Diplomatic Wives by Kate Hickman |
In some ways a fascinating, interesting book, a story of diplomatic life about the wives, daughters, sisters, children and sometimes the other way round when the Wife is the Diplomat. All seen through their own eyes. It is an incredible story of the many hardships these families endured reaching the far corners of the globe. Highly amusing at times and sometimes very sad. A picture of eccentricity mixed with pomp and glamour in far-off places.
(bwl 89 Summer 2018) |
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Death in the Latin Quarter by Raphael Cardetti |
An unusual crime, suspense novel which keeps you guessing throughout, but it's probably not the best read late at night alone in bed. Its opening gives no impression of this at all. It begins in the tranquillity of the Sorbonne university with the sudden death, at first thought to be suicide, of the Chair of Medieval Philosophy but as the action enters the murky streets of Paris's Latin Quarter, this assumption seems increasingly unlikely . . .
(bwl 65 Summer 2012) |
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Edward VII's Children by John Van der Kiste |
A delightful bedtime read. Of five children who reached maturity only one has received much attention, King George V. Unfortunately the only other male died young, leaving thre daughters of which not much has been written and who were never well known to the British Public during their lifetime. However new light has revealed how their lives supported the Family during the change from Victorian to the uncertain 20th century.
(bwl 83 Winter 2017) |
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For us it was Heaven by Angela Jackson |
This is a biography of an Englishwoman who worked as a nurse during the Spanish Civil War and who was probably the only Englishwoman to serve in the International Brigade, her name was Patience Darton. The story is both passionate and sad and shows what great fortitude she possessed. It is a part of history I did not really know about and at times it is quite frightening. Worth reading.
(bwl 76 Spring 2015) |
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Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris |
A strange tale - quite difficult to 'work out' at first but with its amusing moments - set in a Northern long-established boys' grammar. It tells of one pupil's intense grudge against the Establishment and how he spends his whole life planning revenge on the school and the teachers, becoming completely obsessed with engineering their ultimate downfall. Harris explains the petty rivalries that exist in schools, which help him to achieve his aim.
(bwl 55 Winter 2010) |
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Home Front Girls by Rosie Goodwin |
A very interesting book about the different relationships, hardships, ties of family during WW II in Coventry; also the joys of love and friendships that were formed between so many different classes of people and changed so many lives for ever. It was a reminder of how lucky I was as an evacuee in safety in Oxford. Most enjoyable despite the awful destruction of many parts of the city. Well researched. I shall definitely try another of her books.
(bwl 81 Summer 2016) |
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King of the Boyne by Nicola Pierce |
An intriguing book, a part of History I did not really know. 1690 in Derry, the battle draws close, one battle to end all battles. After years of conflict, it will hopefully decide who rules England, Scotland and Ireland. Told through the eyes of two Kings, William III and James II and three young soldiers, it is doomed from the start and the war touches the lives of everyone not just the soldiers and their Kings but family, friends, countrymen and women.
(bwl 95 Winter 2020) |
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Lest we Forget by Alfred Max Simon |
A most intriguing book discovered by chance in my house; signed by the author - whose family history it records - it is basically the story of the alliance of the Simon family with the House of Moet & Chandon.The Simons were in the ship-broking business in the 1930s and would receive small consignments of Moet & Chandon for delivery to private consumers in the country and from there it grew into a thriving business relationship, which perhaps shows that being in the right place at the right time is correct.
Ed's Note: not to be confused with the recent book with the same title by Max Arthur
(bwl 91 Winter 2019) |
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Liberty - The Lives and Times of Six Women in Revolutionary France by Lucy Moore |
This is a book not to read in bed, when you are tired. It follows the lives of six extraordinary French women from the beginning of the French revolution in 1789, to its end in 1811. All very different with in many ways separate ideals. She paints a picture of those terrifying years seen through their eyes, leaving you to judge whether women's lives improved as a result of their fight for a better existence.
(bwl 45 April 2008) |
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Meet Me Under the Clock by Anne Murray |
A very well written book about two sisters, as different as 'chalk and cheese', brought up in WW II in Birmingham. Very descriptive of how hard life was for families. The girls are both ready to help in the war effort, but both in different ways. It also shows how their view on life changes during this time. An easy to read book but for those brought up in those times, it brings back memories.
(bwl 74 Autumn 2014) |
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Murder at Deviation Junction by Andrew Martin |
This author was new to me. If you like the days of steam railways, this is the book. It involves Murder, Mystery and Steam with a Dickensian flavour. The year is December 1909 and a young police Detective is struggling to prove that he has the capabilities to become a Sergeant, and the solving of a strange murder makes his career hang in the balance and himself fighting for his life.
(bwl 48 November 2008) |
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Narrow Dog to Carcassonne by Terry Darlington |
A book to keep you wanting more. As Terry says, on their retirement he and Monica could bore themselves to death, drink themselves to death or have a bit of an adventure! They chose the latter, but hardly a bit of adventure! After crossing the Channel on their narrowboat, they visited parts of France that nobody knows, meeting a varied selection of the French population - people that many French never meet. All with Jim their whippet dog. Exciting, terrifying and humorous.
(bwl 85 Spring 2017) |
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Night of the Fox by Jack Higgins |
Based on one of the most daring escapes of WW II, although fiction the historical facts are true. I knew very little about the occupation of the Channel Islands but what initially attracted me was the mention of Devonshire' s Slapton Sands which I had often visited and was the training place for the D-Day Landings. The story has many exciting twists and turns and the ending is not easy to foretell. Lighthearted and enjoyable.
(bwl 72 Spring 2014) |
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Old Baggage by Lissa Evans |
This book has everything. It is funny, uplifting, warm, and an inspiring model of womanhood. It gives a fresh outlook on a well documented period of women in History. The characters are wonderfully recorded, particularly 'Old Baggage' herself. It reminds us of how much women 'gave up' to get us the vote.
(bwl 95 Winter 2020) |
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Part of the Furniture by Mary Wesley |
A believable, easy to read book, lighthearted but sad in many ways: relating how a 17-year old sees off two young men she has loved all her life and explaining the confusion of everyone at the beginning of WW II. It also shows how some young people were lucky enough to find respite from the turmoil of a broken family. Very difficult to 'put down' or predict whether the final twist would be happy or disastrous.
(bwl 72 Spring 2014) |
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Sisters, Secrets and Sacrifice: The True Story of WWII Special Agents by Susan Ottaway |
A true story about two sisters, the sacrifices they made and the courage they showed during WW II; a book which I was unable to put down. I had not realised how many young women gave their lives as special agents, and how those who survived never really recovered from their experiences.Their story, which only came to light after the death of a recluse, became headlines worldwide. I wonder whether, should this sacrifice be needed now, the response would be same? A must-read.
(bwl 71 Winter 2014) |
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The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff |
At first I found this novel difficult to understand as it keeps switching from historical facts to modern day storytelling. It is about a subject (Mormon fundamentalism and polygamy) that I knew very little about, so in some ways it was educational. It is vastly entertaining with unforgettable characters, combining love, family, murder and faith.
(bwl 62 Autumn 2011) |
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The Boat Girls by Margaret Mayhew |
As the saying goes "we learn something new every day". What women did during WW II amazes me. It is 1943 and three girls from completely different backgrounds all want to do their 'bit' for the war effort; against all advice they join the 'band of women working on the canals', delivering heavy goods, while the men are at war. A tough, unglamorous task but one that brings them all unexpected reward and long-term friendship. Well researched but also mixed with romance.
(bwl 86 Autumn 2017) |
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The Diary of a Provincial Lady by E M Delafield |
Four books in one, absolutely fascinating, written in diary form in the 1930s and taking us to America and up to WWII. It gives a true feeling of what life was all about: all is nice, do not grumble and do not think of yourself. The later life quite reminiscent of my time as an evacuee in Oxford with 3 elderly ladies. Dry, caustic and very funny, it left me wanting to know more at the end.
(bwl 90 Autumn 2018) |
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The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry |
An historical novel with a 'twist'. London and Essex in 1893 an age of exhilarating and alarming change. When Cora Seaborne's husband dies, she changes her life dramatically. She escapes to the Essex countryside to discover the 'Essex Serpent' a creature of folklore. She believes it can be solved scientifically, and comes up against the local Vicar, who thinks the answer is through Faith. All the while keeping up with her completely different past London friends.
(bwl 86 Autumn 2017) |
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The Excursion Train by Edward Marston |
This is another story from the Railway Detective series. It takes you back to the old fashioned ways of solving crime, but specialising in ones that involve the railway. It is an easy to read book, but keeps you in suspense until the very end and captivates you with its twists and turns. The historical detail of Victorian England has been well researched and brought to life.
(bwl 50 March 2009) |
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The Hated Wife: Carrie Kipling 1862-1939 by Adam Nicolson |
Carrie Kipling was the most hated woman of her generation . . . what a heading! A small book for bedtime - fascinating, intriguing - a complicated and sad woman so long despised but Adam Nicolson gives her back her humanity with clarity and grace. She was the backbone that Rudyard lacked and the public did not see.
(bwl 84 Spring 2017) |
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The Indian Empire at War: From Jihad to Victory, the Untold Story of the Indian Army in the First World War by George Morton-Jack |
British India's great contribution to WW I has been neglected. Theirs was a global war from the mud of Flanders, the steaming jungles of Africa to the baking deserts of the Islamic World. Brilliant and thought provoking with unpublished Veteran interviews. At times quite horrifying at the way they were treated, but also how they hoped for new independence for India.
(bwl 92 Spring 2019) |
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The Island by Victoria Hislop |
One of the most fascinating books I have read for sometime. A romantic story combined with a part of history, medicine and an area I knew very little about. Very sad in some parts and you do not know until the end whether there will be a happy ending of some kind. Very difficult to 'put down', but what joy to realise that in some parts of medicine we have well and truly 'made a difference'.
(bwl 61 Summer 2011) |
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The Langhorne Sisters by James Fox |
Absolutely enthralling. What a family! I have learnt so much about American history intertwined with our own. Tracing the autor's family history, which has stretched over a period of 80 years of a constant changing world, and a family often at war with each other, clannish, but all so different, tragic and beautifully written. However I came away very disillusioned by our first female M.P - Nancy Astor.
(bwl 88 Spring 2018) |
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The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier |
In the 1850s a young Quaker woman emigrates to America to marry an older Quaker settler. At the last minute, on impulse, her sister joins her. The one due to marry dies en route leaving the other to continue the journey. Her principles are tested to the limit when she encounters the situation regarding runaway slaves. A story of her survival.
(bwl 73 Summer 2014) |
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The Missing Wife by Sheila O'Flanagan |
A good bedtime read, mixing romance, mystery, charm and excitement, filled with interesting characters from the past and present of a woman who engineers something many of us may have contemplated at some stage. O'Flanaghan keeps you guessing until the end proving no-one knows what happens behind closed doors and that with determination we can surprise ourselves with our own resourcefulness. A journey of a woman trying to find the woman she once was. But can she?
(bwl 86 Autumn 2017) |
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The Other Hand by Chris Cleave |
A story very relevant to our times, shocking, exciting and deeply affecting. One fateful day, two women meet under terrible circumstance and two years later meet again also under terrible circumstances. Unfolding slowly, frequently referring back to that first meeting, the story of what happened is gradually revealed. At first you want to romp through it, that would be a mistake.You cannot help but become immersed in their situation. It is both funny and sad.
(bwl 93 Summer 2019) |
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The Pain and the Privilege: The Women in Lloyd George's Life by Ffion Hague |
550 pages of fascinating reading, completely changing my opinion of one of our great Welshmen, unfortunately for the worse. I had no idea of the history of the three women in his life, and what one of them especially achieved against all odds. In many ways they overshadowed him. That said, I believe that I too would have fallen for his charm. Ffion Hague knows how to 'dig deep' for tales of our past. Enjoy.
(bwl 56 Spring 2010) |
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The Passion by Jeanette Winterson |
It is a fantasy, a dream, a story of history and hero worship, the plight of women, pains of soldiering, the violence of youth and the sadness of unfulfilled humanity. It has roots in Virginia Woolf and is as moving and funny as it is skilful. Gore Vidal once said she was the most interesting young writer he had read in 20 Years. I would disagree, it was hard going.
(bwl 83 Winter 2016) |
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The Quest for Queen Mary by James Pope-Hennessy |
What a funny, astute and delightful book, giving a hilarious portrait of the Aristocracy. It is the official biography of Queen Mary, the Queen's Grandmother, which led to the opening of the door to meetings with Royality, courtiers and retainers around Europe.The candid secrets and observations had to be kept secret for 50 years. Now fully published and brilliantly edited by Hugo Vickers, it is a delight to read, a study of a bygone age, one which will never return.
(bwl 94 Autumn 2019) |
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The Reluctant Empress: A Biography of Empress Elisabeth of Austria by Brigitte Hamann |
This is about a part of History which I did not know, a time of great change in Europe, but also a tale of an extraordinary woman, an idol of her age, beautiful and mysterious. She became a legend but a very sad lady with a modern personality and a refusal to conform, who escaped to a life of her own but died tragically.
(bwl 80 Spring 2016) |
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The Secret Life of Bletchley Park: The History of the Wartime Codebreaking Centre by the Men and Women who were there by Sinclair McKay |
Absolutely fascinating, and for me very personal; I now know what my sister got up to during her secret life at the WW II codebreaking centre. This is the story of the many debs, factory workers, students and Wrens who were thrown together with Britain's most brilliant brains to decrypt enemy messages. There was far more to their long days and nights of intense work that certainly my sister had never mentioned! A book to be read.
(bwl 65 Summer 2012) |
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The Waxman Murders by Paul Doherty |
This Medieval mystery features Hugh Corbett - Edward I's Keeper of the Secret Seal - sent to discover an ancient manuscript alleged to give the whereabouts of a legendary treasure. Set in 1300 in and around Canterbury, except for the Prologue which introduces the manuscript on board a ship which is attacked and sunk. Easy to read, well written and suspenseful until the end with many twists and turns and a trail of dead bodies.
(bwl 43 December 2007) |
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The Widow's Confession by Sophia Tobin |
Broadstairs Kent, once a sleepy fishing village, now a bathing resort is changed in 1851by a darkly suggestive and intriguing seaside murder mystery. This happens when a sophisticated group of disparate people are thrown together, all with different reasons for escaping their normal life. Eventually the dark past of the village is involved after the first young girl is washed up on the beach. This has been a book which was difficult to put down, as the result is not apparent.
(bwl 94 Autumn 2019) |
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The Wind off the Sea by Charlotte Bingham |
Interesting, particularly as I remember the winter of 1947 and how severe it was. This is a romantic mystery, recalling the lives of a small community and how a kindly stranger, who seems to know the history of the place, can completely throw them off balance and make them review their present day situations. Again you do not know whether there will be a happy ending or whether people will ever recover from the stranger's arrival.
(bwl 61 Summer 2011) |
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Three Sisters: Three Queens by Philippa Gregory |
Finished this enthralling book wanting to read it again! It is about Katherine of Aragon, Margaret and Mary Tudor who became Queens of England, Scotland and France. Very little is known about Margaret Tudor and her life story was captivating. United by family loyalties and affections, they find they are set against each other. They all experience betrayal, loss and passion, the only constant in their lives is a special bond more powerful than even Henry VIII.
(bwl 82 Spring 2016) |
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War Doctor by David Nott |
Surgery on the front line: Nott - a consultant general and vascular surgeon - decided, after qualifying, to volunteer to work in disaster and war zones, taking unpaid leave from the NHS, as and when needed. It is very technical and graphic in its detail of the circumstances and dangerous situations in which he must operate. A driven man, often neglecting his private family, who considers his fellow workers as family. I have mixed feelings on his reasons for writing it.
(bwl 93 Spring 2019) |
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Winston Churchill: His Life as a Painter by Mary Soames |
He didn't begin to paint until he was 40 and from then on it became his passion. One can understand how it provided a relief from the stress and strain of his political life. The 60 paintings reproduced are beautifully presented by his daughter with many an anecdote. Whether one likes his style or not, the book shows the wonderful affection his daughter had for him, in spite of him being a somewhat difficult man!
(bwl 89 Summer 2018) |
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