LETTERS FROM ANTEDILUVIAN EUROPE In Tearing Haste: Letters Between Deborah Devonshire and Patrick Leigh Fermor Edited by Charlotte Mosley, London: John Murray, 2009, 416pp. In times of texting and sexting, Twittering and wittering, there is something antediluvian about epistolary collections – a whiff of fountain pens and headed notepaper, morocco-topped escritoires in long-windowed drawing rooms… Continue reading
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My New Welsh Review appraisal of George Borrow’s Second Tour of Wales in 1857
My New Welsh Review review of George Borrow’s Second Tour of Wales in 1857 (edited by Ann Ridler) is now available here – https://www.newwelshreview.com/review-19.php (N.W.R. subscribers only, regrettably)
Outré Europe – review of Basile’s Tale of Tales
OUTRÉ EUROPE The Tale of Tales, Giambattista Basile, trans. Nancy L. Canepa, London: Penguin Classics, 2016, pb., $20 Like most Western children, I was reared partly on fairy-tales. Presented in beautifully illustrated Ladybird books, these were as much a part of my early childhood as the house decor, encouraging me to read, and arousing inchoate ideas… Continue reading
Margaret Thatcher – Everything She Wants by Charles Moore
METTLE OF THE IRON LADY Margaret Thatcher: The Official Biography – Everything She Wants Charles Moore, London: Allen Lane, 2015, 821pp, £30 At the end of the first volume of Charles Moore’s lapidary trilogy, we left Mrs. Thatcher standing in St. Paul’s Cathedral in 1982, surrounded by the shades of past national leaders, bathing in… Continue reading
A watch in the Middle Marches
A WATCH IN THE MIDDLE MARCHES “O, the wild hills of Wales, the land of old renown, and of wonder” George Borrow, Wild Wales I step silent across the flagged floor below weathered slates and beams, sleep-held family breathing behind, the only other sounds the scratching of terriers’ claws as they push past into rain-remembering… Continue reading
“Pity poor Bradford”
“PITY POOR BRADFORD” Bolling Hall has squatted on its plot since the fourteenth century, hunched against the wind and rain of the West Riding – a North Country architectural essay in dark yellow sandstone looking warily down a steep hillside onto Bradford’s vale. Old though the building is, the estate’s foundations go deeper than Domesday,… Continue reading
Rise of the Dominatrix – review of Margaret Thatcher: Not for Turning by Charles Moore
Rise of the Dominatrix Margaret Thatcher: Not for Turning Charles Moore, London: Allen Lane, 2013, 859pp When Margaret Thatcher died last April, the obsequies were at times almost drowned by vitriolic voices celebrating her demise. There were howls of joy from old enemies, street parties, and a puerile campaign to make the Wizard of Oz… Continue reading
Michael Wilding’s Spiked review of Displacement
MICHAEL WILDING’S SPIKED REVIEW OF DISPLACEMENT Very pleased to say that the renowned Australian writer Michael Wilding has reviewed Displacement handsomely for Spiked. Here’s the link – http://www.spiked-online.com/spiked-review/article/the-loneliness-of-the-high-rise-free-runner/20005#.WVmAJjOZNok And here’s the text. Thanks, Michael. The loneliness of the long distance free-runner Through all the formal variations of the English novel, one theme recurs: the two nations. The huge… Continue reading
Connor Post review of A Modern Journey
James Connor on A Modern Journey James Connor’s kind and thoughtful review of A Modern Journey now available for edification at his unique Connor Post news aggregation site – “an outstanding wordsmith” etc. Blushes – but thanks! http://connorpost.com/exclusive/james-connor-2016-06-12-ambrosial-lucabrations.html
Growing Wild by Michael Wilding
Class-Observation Growing Wild, Michael Wilding, 2016, Melbourne: Arcadia, pb., 302pp., Aus$39.95 A hoicked-up small boy sits astride a yoked-up heavy horse, while three sun-stained men smile at posterity. Hairy hooves press good grass, lush trees shade old ridges, and though the cover is black-and-white we feel the burden of that 1940s sun, the texture of… Continue reading