It was nice to see Barbara Pym mentioned. She is such a comfort read. And a friend in a local book group told me that her group's recent read was The Enchanted April and they all loved it. I need to revisit that one!
Thanks Nava - I was so pleased to rediscover Pym's early novels when Virago reissued them. The Enchanted April never seems to go out of fashion, shows what a good writer Von Arnim was (and how underrated she was by so-called serious novelists of her time!)
You had a significant influence on my reading life in 2024! I finally read Excellent Women after reading your post on Barbara Pym, and your post on novels set in Cambridge prompted me to read another book that's long been on my TBR, Kate Atkinson's first Jackson Brodie novel, Case Histories. I enjoyed the read along of The Rector's Daughter, and had just completed reading Gaudy Night when you announced that read along! I had never heard of David Lodge, but seeing you and others on Substack write about him led me to pick up has Campus Trilogy for Kindle yesterday. It was only 5.99. Thank you for all of the wonderful inspiration! I look forward to more of your beautiful work in 2025!
Gosh, that's amazing Katy - I am so pleased & v. honoured to hear that! I hope you enjoy the David Lodge, it's always possible that his humour has dated, but I have a great fondness for his novels (& what a bargain price!). Wondering whether to suggest something else before Gaudy Night... but that's definitely on its way in 2025. Thanks so much for your fantastic support.
Such a pleasure to be reminded of these, and of how much I enjoyed reading them! The one about Susannah Wedgewood Darwin and her son Charles was I think my favorite of all of them — in any event, it was the one that made me smile the most to see here.
Happy new year, Ann, and all best wishes for 2025!
Oh thank you Maria, hope I didn't bore people too much with rounding them up again! But as you know with your own work, sometimes our personal favourites dip beneath the radar. I just loved writing about Susannah Darwin so I wanted to shine a light on her again - she does tend to be overlooked - and Nancy Ramage's research on her is just brilliant.
Thank you, thank you. There just aren't enough hours in a day to learn all the things I want to learn. Literature Cambridge is such an extraordinary resource! Appreciate the introduction. Have a great year.
Cheers, Marjorie and I am a big fan of Literature Cambridge, not just because I have given talks for their summer course, but because of the consistent quality of their material and their excellent lecturers. I'm very much looking forward to their 2025 courses! Happy New Year to you too.
It was nice to see Barbara Pym mentioned. She is such a comfort read. And a friend in a local book group told me that her group's recent read was The Enchanted April and they all loved it. I need to revisit that one!
Thanks Nava - I was so pleased to rediscover Pym's early novels when Virago reissued them. The Enchanted April never seems to go out of fashion, shows what a good writer Von Arnim was (and how underrated she was by so-called serious novelists of her time!)
A great overview, but the news of David Lodge's death was sad to read.
Many thanks Jill - and sorry to bring the sad news. He seemed eternally youthful, as writers we loved when we were young tend to do...
to be young and see the absurd human condition so clearly!
Absolutely! And I am so impressed that he was a university teacher as well as a fine novelist.
You had a significant influence on my reading life in 2024! I finally read Excellent Women after reading your post on Barbara Pym, and your post on novels set in Cambridge prompted me to read another book that's long been on my TBR, Kate Atkinson's first Jackson Brodie novel, Case Histories. I enjoyed the read along of The Rector's Daughter, and had just completed reading Gaudy Night when you announced that read along! I had never heard of David Lodge, but seeing you and others on Substack write about him led me to pick up has Campus Trilogy for Kindle yesterday. It was only 5.99. Thank you for all of the wonderful inspiration! I look forward to more of your beautiful work in 2025!
Gosh, that's amazing Katy - I am so pleased & v. honoured to hear that! I hope you enjoy the David Lodge, it's always possible that his humour has dated, but I have a great fondness for his novels (& what a bargain price!). Wondering whether to suggest something else before Gaudy Night... but that's definitely on its way in 2025. Thanks so much for your fantastic support.
The quick snapshot of Lucy Worsley's office delighted me!
It's fun isn't it? I think she's going to be a great addition to Substack!
Such a pleasure to be reminded of these, and of how much I enjoyed reading them! The one about Susannah Wedgewood Darwin and her son Charles was I think my favorite of all of them — in any event, it was the one that made me smile the most to see here.
Happy new year, Ann, and all best wishes for 2025!
Oh thank you Maria, hope I didn't bore people too much with rounding them up again! But as you know with your own work, sometimes our personal favourites dip beneath the radar. I just loved writing about Susannah Darwin so I wanted to shine a light on her again - she does tend to be overlooked - and Nancy Ramage's research on her is just brilliant.
Heavens, no! Just happy-making. And nice to hear that was one of your favorites among your own too. It's really stuck with me.
So pleased - thank you.
Thank you, thank you. There just aren't enough hours in a day to learn all the things I want to learn. Literature Cambridge is such an extraordinary resource! Appreciate the introduction. Have a great year.
Cheers, Marjorie and I am a big fan of Literature Cambridge, not just because I have given talks for their summer course, but because of the consistent quality of their material and their excellent lecturers. I'm very much looking forward to their 2025 courses! Happy New Year to you too.