The Old Bank House by Angela Thirkell
This book was first published in 1949 so we’re still in the middle of food shortages and rationing despite the fact that the war has been over for three years. Food is often a topic of conversation but...
View ArticleFamily Roundabout by Richmal Crompton
I had absolutely no idea that Richmal Crompton had written books for adults. Happily I’m familiar with her Just William series for children of all ages but apparently she always wrote a William book...
View ArticleHouse-Bound by Winifred Peck
House-Bound was first published in 1942 but it has been reprinted by Persephone. It’s that World War 2 setting again, but this one is also set in Edinburgh which Winifred Peck decided to rename...
View ArticleThe House That Is Our Own by O. Douglas
As usual this is another book about houses and homes. O. Douglas seems to have been writing her dreams. As a spinster I suppose she spent most of her life living in her parent’s homes and longing to...
View ArticleKeep the Home Guard Turning by Compton Mackenzie
This book is like Dad’s Army (I love that programme) but instead of the south of England setting we find ourselves on the Scottish islands of Great Todday and Little Todday. The islanders are fierce...
View ArticleThe Case of the Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin
I should really have enjoyed this book as it has all the elements which I usually like, 1940s setting, a railway journey and also it involves a theatre company of actors who are rehearsing for their...
View ArticleMurder Among Friends by Elizabeth Ferrars
Murder Among Friends by Elizabeth Ferrars was published in April 1946 and it’s sometimes titled Cheat the Hangman. It begins at a party which is being given by Cecily Lightwood, the setting is London...
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No Highway by Nevil Shute
No Highway by Nevil Shute was first published in 1948. Shute was of course an aeronautical engineer and pilot and he worked in that industry at the same time as he was writing his earlier books. In No...
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At Mrs Lippincote’s by Elizabeth Taylor
At Mrs Lippincote’s by Elizabeth Taylor was first published in 1945 but my copy is a Virago reprint. This was her first novel, I’ve read almost all of her other novels and I think that this one is...
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Flowers in the Grass by Monica Dickens
Flowers in the Grass by Monica Dickens was published in 1949. This book is well written but it reads more like a collection of short stories rather than a novel. It’s the story of Daniel who I found...
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