An Adventure by C.A.E. Moberly and E.F. Jourdain
Imagine yourself back in 1911. You keep an eye on the goings on of society. And that means that you’ll be transfixed by the tale going around of C.A.E. Moberly and … Continue reading
Discovering Beverley
I decided that I loved Beverley Nichols before I read a word by him. I think I first came across the name in a small shop in Pershore, Worcestershire (no, … Continue reading
Coming Up on Vulpes Libris
Better late than never, isn’t it? I kept forgetting to do this ‘coming up’ post, because I was busy avoiding writing a conference paper – and then I remembered and … Continue reading
The Sleeper Awakes by H.G. Wells
I always seem to join in the Vulpes Libris Theme Weeks with the caveat that I don’t usually get on with the theme in question – c.f. our weeks on … Continue reading
Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer by C. S. Lewis
I worked for the Bodleian, in Reader Services, for seven or eight years (part-time), and one thing I noticed was that C. S. Lewis was very popular among visiting American … Continue reading
The House on the Strand (or: my struggle with historical fiction)
Oh dear. It seems that I always volunteer myself as the contrary voice for Vulpes theme weeks – or, at least, that’s what I did back when I was just a … Continue reading
The gentle joy of R.C. Sherriff
I recently read two novels by R.C. Sherriff in fairly quick succession – The Fortnight in September (1931) and Greengates (1936) – having never read anything by him before; they were the … Continue reading
Coming Up this week on Vulpes Libris
Winter just keeps wintering, doesn’t it? (Unless you’re in the southern hemisphere, in which case I can only assume that summer keeps summering.) At Fox HQ – spread rather thinly … Continue reading
Closely Observed Trains by Bohumil Hrabal
What a curious little book. I got Closely Observed Trains by Bohumil Hrabal a couple of Christmases ago, from my parents, after I added to my Amazon wishlist. And I added … Continue reading
The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski
I recently re-read The Victorian Chaise-Longue for a podcast I recorded on the topic (shameless plug for it – check out ‘Tea or Books?’ if you want to hear it compared … Continue reading
The Eyre Affair (or: dealing with disappointment)
I suspect many of us have those guilt-inducing books on our shelves – you know the ones; those that we’ve had for years and years, intending to read. It’s worse … Continue reading
Strange Gardens / Effroyables Jardins by Michel Quint
I’ll be honest – when I was going through my tbr shelves to decide what I’d read for this theme week, it was entirely length that dictated my decision. Michel … Continue reading
Panther by Brecht Evens
I’m not sure I’ve ever felt more hipster than when I preordered a copy of a Belgian graphic novel in translation. Yep, that’s the kind of life I live now. … Continue reading
Grand Canyon by Vita Sackville-West
If you’ve read any Vita Sackville-West, you might (like me) think of her as a novelist about high society, whether Edwardians in their deviant splendour or old ladies in furs, … Continue reading
Vulpes Libris 
Recent Comments