Summer is over; Autumn begins

 

The winner of this year's Women's Prize has just been announced as Maggie O'Farrell's 'Hamnet', the historical novel about Hamlet's young son who died aged 10 and brother to the remaining twin, Judith.  It is a good year for the historical novel! The shortlist for the Man Booker Prize will be released next week so it will be interesting to see who makes the cut - a few historical novels were on the long list so it will be interesting to see who makes it through. The historical novels are: 'The Mirror and the Light' by Hilary Mantel; 'The Shadow King' by Maaza Mengiste; 'Shuggie Bain' by Douglas Stewart and 'How Much of These Hills is Gold' by C Pam Zang. As I may have mentioned before I am a member of, and review books for, the Historical Novels Society but I am not reading for them at the moment  as I am half way through 'The Parisian' by Isabella Hammad which was on the Walter Scott shortlist. This book is a challenging one: partly because of its length and partly through unfamiliarity with the names, language and history of the Middle East, but hopefully I will be better informed when I finish. During the First World War, which is partly when the novel is set, my grandfather was a ward orderly in the 31st Stationary Hospital in Baghdad as his role in the Royal Army Medical Corps. I don't know exactly what his war experience was like but I am sure that it was more than challenging.

 

 

I am looking forward to the Netflix filmed version of Daphne du Maurier's 'Rebecca' which should hit our screens next month - it has been a while since the last film version, which was that directed by Alfred Hitchcock - though there have been numerous TV adaptations (I particularly remember Anna Massey as Mrs Danvers). I have also started watching (at last) the Amazon Prime series 'Little Fires Everywhere' which has been adapted from the novel of the same name by Celeste Ng and which is, so far quite gripping. Having read the book, I know who set the fires (as the reader is told at the beginning) but for my husband, watching the filmed version, it is not so obvious though we are directed to the usual suspect.

 For one of my book clubs, I have just finished 'A Single Thread' by Tracy Chevalier who also wrote the better known book, 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' (a paperback review copy of this title is available for sale in RedRococoGarden shop). I enjoyed it very much and found the descriptions  of life some years after the First World War with its army of surplus women and descriptions of embroidery  and Winchester Cathedral fascinating. 

We have been lucky to have a sunnier and warmer week this week so there has been time to spend in the garden, reading and pottering about. I am expecting a delivery of bulbs from the Netherlands, courtesy of Farmer Gracy, which will need to be planted this month. Also arriving on the doormat yesterday was 'Painting the Warmth of the Sun' by Tom Cross, which I ordered from a Cheletenham bookshop, having finished the book by Michael Bird, 'The St Ives artists: a biography of place and time' last week. Although we do live in a lovely rural part of the world, the sound of the ocean is something that I miss.

 As mentioned I have finished adding all the Folio Society books which I currently have, some are still in draft form and have to be 'published' on Etsy, but I do have a few more that are not FS books to add. I have added some more postcards and still have a large pile of cards to add along with the bookmarks. Below are some of the books and postcards that I have been listing this last week, and will be adding over the next couple of weeks. Possibly the most intriguing volume is 'Oscar Wilde' by Arthur Ransome with his signature on the flyleaf, but you will have to check that out in RedRococoGarden on Etsy to learn more about it. It should appear there in the next week or so.

 

Recently, I also bought from a mail order bookshop (David Flint) the companion volumes of 'Dream Days' and 'The Golden Age' by Kenneth Grahame, author of 'The Wind in the Willows' which I look forward to reading at some point. They were illustrated by Maxfield Parrish and come from the collection of one person who has inscribed the title page. I love the fact that I will be keeping them together! 

Postscript: As I started this post last week I can now reveal that only one of the historical novels listed at the beginning has got through: 'The Shadow King' by Maaze Mengiste, with Hilary Mantel's 'The Mirror and the Light' just missing out. I finished 'The Parisian' a few days ago and have decided that I liked it in the end and it would probably repay a second read - it is interesting to read about how the British soldiers were regarded at the time. The bulbs have arrived and I have started planting them out - a mix of alliums, tulips and hyacinths - fortunately yesterday and today we have lovely weather before the colder snap arrives. 

Keep reading!

Julie