Some books that I had on pre-order & standing order have arrived over the last week or so & a few impulse buys as well.
At the top & bottom of this pile are the latest books from Slightly Foxed. The latest SF edition is
I Was A Stranger by John Haskett, the WWII memoir of a soldier hiding from the Germans in Holland after the Battle of Arnhem in 1944. I'm also collecting the SF Cubs, Ronald Welch's series of historical novels for children. The latest is
Captain of Foot, set during the Napoleonic Wars.
These lovely Crime Classics from the British Library seduced me with their covers taken from railway posters of the 1930s. I'd never heard of John Bude but I love English mysteries set between the wars & these have Introductions by Martin Edwards, one of my favourite writers of mystery fiction.
Death goes Dancing by Mabel Esther Allan is the latest from Greyladies, a mystery set in the world of ballet.
I must have seen a mention of Willa Cather's
One of Ours on the blog of someone taking up the LibraryThing Virago WWI challenge but I'd forgotten that when I ordered it. I only remembered when I read
Heavenali's review of it this week. The Virago edition is no longer in print, unfortunately, but I love Vintage UK & US editions. This isn't the cover I thought I would receive but I love it even more.
Two Penguins next. I read
this review of Charlotte Brontë's juvenilia,
Tales of Angria, by Kate at Vulpes Libres.
Even though I already had this 1980s Penguin edition of the juvenilia of Charlotte & Jane Austen, I had to have this new edition. There are a couple of stories in this edition that aren't in the older one & the Introduction is extensive. It's been too long since I read about Angria.
The
New Penguin Book of English Folk Songs edited by Steve Roud & Julia Bishop was another impulse based on the beautiful woodcut on the cover. I am interested in folk songs, especially the lovely arrangements of many of them that were composed in the early 20th century by Ralph Vaughan Williams & Gerald Finzi, among others. Especially when they're sung by Bryn Terfel.
Finally, some history. I heard a podcast with Helen Castor recently & was reminded that I'd enjoyed her TV series about the She-Wolves of English history (Empress Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France & Margaret of Anjou) but hadn't read the book.
The Third Plantagenet is John Ashdown-Hill's latest book about George, Duke of Clarence, brother of Edward IV & Richard III. Was he really drowned in a butt of malmsey in the Tower? Was he really as unpleasant as I've always thought him? I'm afraid I always think of him as "
the ineffable George" as Josephine Tey describes him in
The Daughter of Time. Alan Grant also says, "
George could obviously be talked into anything. He was the born missionee." I'll be interested to discover if there was more to him.
Ooooh, The Lake District Murder and the Cornish Coast Murder look like just my thing, Lyn. LOVE those covers. Where did you order them from? I never heard of the author either, but those lovely covers make me drool!
ReplyDeleteI WAS A STRANGER sounds interesting too. In fact all these books sound interesting. Don't you love it when books arrive in the mail. I get all swoony. Ha. This week I received the second and third books in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Though one of the books has type so small I may have to read through a magnifying glass. One of the problems when ordering online. Oh well, I'll make do.
I definitely love getting books in the mail. I've been pretty restrained so far this year but I knew I'd break out sooner or later. There are more BL Crime Classics to come. I've also preordered two books by Mavis Doriel Hay - Death on the Cherwell & Murder Underground. Both have lovely period covers. I bought them from the Book Depository. BL & Martin Edwards' recommendation was enough for me to order them without knowing the authors. Bad luck about the LOTR small type. That's when an ereader is wonderful!
DeleteOh, The Book Depository, of course. I'll check them out, thanks. I must think seriously about buying an e-reader one of these days. :)
DeleteWhat a lovely stack of books!
ReplyDeleteYes. Of course, I'm not reading anything from that pile at the moment!
DeleteI just purchased Lake District Murder and Cornish Coast Murder from Amazon (live in states). Love those covers.The page showed other books I might like and the author, Clara Benson came up. She has written 4 books and I bought them all for my Kindle at only $3.99 US each. A bargain I think. They all have very good reviews. Do you know anything about her? I love your blog!! Jacquie in Rhode Island.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jacquie. Clara Benson has been recommended to me on Amazon but I haven't read her yet. According to her website, she was born in 1890 & her family discovered the MSS after she died. That sounds a bit odd to me! Let me know if you think they're authentic. I like 20s mysteries but not as much if they're just masquerading as Golden Age.
Delete