Hamnet... About the Book: On a summer’s day in 1596, a young girl in Stratford-upon-Avon takes to her bed with a fever. Her twin brother, Hamnet, searches everywhere for help. Why is nobody at home? Their mother, Agnes, is over a mile away, in the garden where she grows medicinal herbs. Their father is working … Continue reading Book Review: Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
Literary Fiction
#TheClassicsEight: Revisiting Jane Austen’s Emma
‘Vanity working on a weak head, produces every sort of mischief.’ I first read Emma in my early 20s (I'm now in my early 40s) about the time that the Gwenyth Paltrow adaptation came out. That period in the late 1990s saw quite a few classic adaptations, in particular the novels of Austen, Dickens, and … Continue reading #TheClassicsEight: Revisiting Jane Austen’s Emma
Book Review: The Silk House by Kayte Nunn
The Silk House... About the Book: Weaving. Healing. Haunting. The spellbinding story of a mysterious boarding school sheltering a centuries-old secret by the bestselling author of THE BOTANIST'S DAUGHTER Australian history teacher Thea Rust arrives at an exclusive boarding school in the British countryside only to find that she is to look after the first … Continue reading Book Review: The Silk House by Kayte Nunn
Book Review: Mammoth by Chris Flynn
Mammoth... About the Book: The original, unforgettable and thought-provoking new novel by award-winning author Chris Flynn that will change how readers understand the world. Narrated by a 13,000-year-old extinct mammoth, this is the (mostly) true story of how a collection of prehistoric creatures came to be on sale at a natural history auction in New … Continue reading Book Review: Mammoth by Chris Flynn
Book Review: Jane in Love by Rachel Givney
Jane in Love... About the Book: At age twenty-eight, Jane Austen should be seeking a suitable husband, but all she wants to do is write. She is forced to take extreme measures in her quest to find true love – which lands her in the most extraordinary of circumstances. Magically, she finds herself in modern-day … Continue reading Book Review: Jane in Love by Rachel Givney
Book Review: The River Home by Hannah Richell
The River Home... About the Book: The river can take you home. But the river can also drag you under... Margot Sorrell didn't want to go home. She had spent all her adult life trying not to look behind. But a text from her sister Lucy brought her back to Somerset. 'I need you.' As … Continue reading Book Review: The River Home by Hannah Richell
Book Review: Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler
Redhead by the Side of the Road... About the Book: From the bestselling author of A Spool of Blue Thread: an offbeat love story about mis-steps, second chances and the elusive art of human connection. Micah Mortimer isn’t the most polished person you’ll ever meet. His numerous sisters and in-laws regard him oddly but very … Continue reading Book Review: Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler
Book Review: The Yellow Bird Sings by Jennifer Rosner
The Yellow Bird Sings... About the Book: Poland, 1941. After the Jews in their town are rounded up, Róza and her five-year-old daughter, Shira, spend day and night hidden in a farmer's barn. Forbidden from making a sound, only the yellow bird from her mother's stories can sing the melodies Shira composes in her head. … Continue reading Book Review: The Yellow Bird Sings by Jennifer Rosner
Book Review: Gulliver’s Wife by Lauren Chater
Gulliver’s Wife... Book Review: Birth. Death. Wonder … One woman’s journey to the edge of love and loyalty from the bestselling author of The Lace Weaver London, 1702. When her husband is lost at sea, Mary Burton Gulliver, midwife and herbalist, is forced to rebuild her life without him. But three years later when Lemuel … Continue reading Book Review: Gulliver’s Wife by Lauren Chater
Book Review: Stone Sky Gold Mountain by Mirandi Riwoe
Stone Sky Gold Mountain... About the Book: Set during the gold-rush era in Australia, this remarkable novel is full of unforgettable characters and deals with timeless questions of identity and belonging. Family circumstances force siblings Ying and Lai Yue to flee their home in China to seek their fortunes in Australia. Life on the gold … Continue reading Book Review: Stone Sky Gold Mountain by Mirandi Riwoe
