At first glance, Mr. Morel might seem a perfect mate for a bookish woman. “Now I’m cleaned up for thee: tha’s no ‘casions ter stir a peg all day, but sit and read thy books.” But, to begin with, he's quite a drinker, though perhaps working in the mines all day
I first read Joan Bodger's How the Heather Looks: A Joyous Journey to the British Sources of Children's Books (1959) about twenty years ago, and I recall liking it well enough, but wishing that there was a little more about their bookishness and a little less about England. Now I think it's a perfect blend.
Rose Tremain's Sacred Country (1992) London: Sceptre – Hodder and Stoughton, 1993. I was thrilled with this book. So thrilled that, although I had read almost half of it before I lost track of it in a chaotic part of the year, I re-read that half willingly on a second
Tishani Doshi’s The Pleasure Seekers Bloomsbury, 2010 (Looking for a swallow rather than a full glass? ORANGE Squirt below.) Tishani Doshi’s debut opens with Prem Kumar Patel, 47 years old, and his wife, Trishala, sending off their oldest son, Babo, to England, with three younger children remaining at home. The
