Antonia White’s Frost in May
The advance publicity for this review of Antonia White’s 1933 novel Frost In May warns that I am enraged. I’d be amazed if anyone reading this novel is not similarly … Continue reading
Don’t Panic, I’m Islamic. Words and Pictures on How to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Alien Next Door
I’d heard good things about this anthology before Vulpes Libris was offered a copy, so I grabbed it. It’s a miscellany from Saqi Books, consisting of dialogues, short stories, art … Continue reading
Penelope Lively’s Passing On
For most of my life the name Penelope Lively has meant The Whispering Knights, The Wild Hunt of Hagworthy, Astercote and The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, books I reread for … Continue reading
Spider-Woman kicks it all over the street
Some time ago I wrote about Spider-Woman. After a healthy reminder of how good female superheroes can be from Wonder Woman, I went and bought two more Spider-Woman collections, Civil … Continue reading
Five “Claudine” novels by Colette
When I was fifteen, I was Claudine. Why not? I was rebellious and had chestnut curls. I read and reread my literary auntie’s lovely copy of Colette’s Claudine at School … Continue reading
Nine St Andrew’s Night Novels
St Andrew’s Night is the lesser-known Scottish cultural festival. The big one is, of course, Burns’ Night, on 25 January, and is usually a feast, with poetry and music. St … Continue reading
Coming Up This Week
As I write this, the temperature is dropping outside and our first snow of the season is forecast for my area. Just in time for all the people traveling to … Continue reading
My Brilliant Friend – Elena Ferrante (translated by Ann Goldstein)
I have finally got around to reading My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. Unless you have been living under the proverbial rock, you will already know that this is the first of … Continue reading
A Beginner’s Guide to Manga
Guest reviewer Lucy talks us through Japanese manga comics, how to choose, and where to buy them. Manga is, put quite simply, any comic created in Japan. The term has … Continue reading
Nicola Griffith’s writing space
Nicola Griffith is the author of Hild, and five other novels, plus short stories, essays and polemics. She’s working on the sequel to Hild, and talks about her Seattle working … Continue reading
Vulpes Random: Everything you need to know about Georgette Heyer’s novels
My younger daughter, aged 18 and a half, has just fallen headlong into Georgette Heyer, and is spending her summer browsing my collection. Occasionally she reports back to me, in … Continue reading
Barbara Pym’s Jane and Prudence
I’ve read Barbara Pym’s Jane and Prudence several times. I got rid of my copy four years ago by making a present of it to a friend, because I thought … Continue reading
Why I’m reading all 13 volumes of Dorothy Richardson’s Pilgrimage
This began as a replacement Christmas present. The Fitbit-type gadget I got for Christmas failed to sync with my phone, contra its advertising. After much struggle we got the money back and … Continue reading
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