The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

August 25, 2013

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is set in post-war England. Having fought in the war and mysteriously …

Excellent Women by Barbara Pym

August 14, 2013

Excellent Women is, indeed, excellent: one of the most satisfying novels I’ve read in a while. Written in 1952 and …

July 27, 2013

Glancing through The Pigeon Pie Mystery’s introductory cast of characters, I braced for that unique brand of peculiarity found only …

July 17, 2013

Leaving Everything Most Loved is the tenth book in Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs series set in 1930s England. Maisie has …

July 9, 2013

I hadn’t planned to read Sweet Tooth, Ian McEwan’s latest, despite a flurry of media attention (well, NPR-type media). But …

May 25, 2013

Time to pull out Rebecca Fraser’s The Story of Britain once again. I wanted to be sure I had my …

May 4, 2013

I’ve loved some of A.S. Byatt‘s other works—Possession and The Children’s Book (both novels) and The Matisse Stories (a collection …

April 22, 2013

No wizards. No magic. No hero in sight. Nevertheless, a satisfying novel: one I looked forward to reading each night, …