feather_ghyll

The Four Graces: D.E. Stevenson. Collins, 1946

It’s over two decades since I first read this book, and I’d honestly forgotten that I owned it and had read it. It introduces us to the Grace family, but is connected to the Miss Buncle/Mrs Abbot books, which I’ve read subsequently.

I was going to say that ( Read more... )

The Thursday Murder Club (2025) Rated: 12A
Directed by: Chris Columbus
Screenplay by: Katy Brand and Suzanne Heathcote, based on the nove by: Richard Osman
Starring: Helen Mirren, Piers Brosnan, Celia Imrie, Ben Kingsley

This is well made and entertaining, it features lots of big names in the British acting firmament, some things have been dropped or tweaked for the running time, and maybe some of the characters flattened, but that’s what you expect with adaptations. I saw it in the cinema – as I don’t have Netflix, I was glad to catch it in my local arthouse cinema. I believe it’s on a short, limited run in British cinemas, at least. It is worth it for the communal chuckles, because it’s a film that sets out to entertain, and then it remembers that it is about real murders, ( Read more... )

The Secret Country: Pamela Dean, Firebird (Penguin), 2003

This is Volume One of the Secret Country trilogy, first published in the 80s, and as it ends at a satisfying resting point, but with much left unresolved, I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next. Dean is the author of ‘Tam Lin’, which adapted and updated the ballad, setting the story at an American college in the 1970s, and which I rated very highly. (I’ve also read ‘The Dubious Hills’ by her, but not posted about it.)

Readers of children’s fantasy books will be familiar with the concept ( Read more... )

Seven Sisters at Queen Anne’s: Evelyn Smith. Blackie, my copy is inscribed 1933

Seven sisters? Yes, the scenario set out in the book’s title is a lot, ( Read more... )

The Guides in Hanover Lane: Anne Bradley. Lutterworth Press, 1958. My copy is inscribed 1967.

Once lockdown started, I decided to try to buy books, especially girls own books, online by authors that I’d thought highly of. One of those was Anne Bradley, author of Katherine at Feather Ghyll, the book that gave me the name of this blog.

It feels as though it’s been a while since I’ve read a Guide book. In truth, I always think of books about Guides as Guiding propaganda, in that the authors are trying to promote the movement as A Good Thing for their readers, either Guides themselves or prospective Guides. But when the story is well written and the characters are engaging, that doesn’t matter.

( Read more... )

I see I'm getting round to this a day earlier than last year. Perhaps 'summary' is a better description than 'highlights.'

I read 49 books in 2023, a decent increase on last year, thanks in part to the Good Thing that happened at the end of April. The vast majority were by women and new to me, and had mainly been bought (mostly online) in 2020. But I returned properly to charity shops and bookshops, so I bought more random books, which have gone on my 'to be read' pile.

Most of the children’s books I read were Girls Own books, although a lot were mediocre and some subpar, and I didn’t bother posting about them (be grateful I didn’t review ‘A Girl Governess’ by A.E. Ward.) ( Read more... )

Here's hoping the best for 2024.

The Star of Kazan: Eva Ibbotson, Macmillan, 2004.

I didn’t remember much about this book (only the fate of Rocco the horse, really) so rereading this almost felt like reading a new book, except it had that sense of things proceeding as they ought as so much of Ibbotson’s writing does, and some of that came from dim memories of first reading it. (This was the my post about it at the time, which also discusses ‘Blue of the Sea’ by L.T. Meade.)

This is the story of ( Read more... ) [Edited somewhat: 28/8/25.]

Happy new year! Here's my 2022 in books, tennis and some other things.

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Waistcoats and Weaponry: Gail Carriger
Finishing School Book the Third, Atom, 2004

As I’ve said before, I enjoy this series, following Miss Sophronia Temminnick of Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing School in a streampunk Britain with supernatural elements. I have to admit that ( Read more... )

It's about time I posted this, as I’m now in the process of taking down the Christmas decorations.

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