The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes The twelve short stories collected together as ‘The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ were first published in The Strand Magazine, beginning with ‘A Scandal in Bohemia’. Arthur Conan Doyle’s first two novels featuring the consulting detective (‘A Study in Scarlet’ and ‘The Sign of Four’) hadn’t made much of an impression…
Category: Novels
‘Cold Comfort Farm’ by Stella Gibbons
Cold Comfort Farm I’ve wanted to read this novel since seeing the movie version back in the late 90’s (starring Kate Beckinsale, Eileen Atkins and Ian McKellen), but it’s taken me til now to actually get around to it. Stella Gibbons was working at the Evening Standard in 1928 when the paper decided to serialise…
‘The Good Son’ by Paul McVeigh
The Good Son Ten-year-old Michael Donnelly has a dog called Killer, an almost-telepathic relationship with his sister Wee Maggie, and a bit of a crush on the girl down the street. He’s also got a father who breaks promises and a bullish older brother who calls him ‘gay’. When Michael finds a gun in the…
Blackwater Lake by Maggie James
Blackwater Lake Back from his idyllic life in Crete, Matthew is somewhat disinclined to spend time at his family home – with a house chock-full of junk and rubbish, his mother’s hoarding habit holds only negative memories. Inevitably, he can’t avoid it forever, but discovering his mother is dying, turns out to be only the…
The Mangle Street Murders by MRC Kasasian
The Mangle Street Murders When March Middleton goes to live with her guardian, the ‘personal’ detective Sidney Grice, she is faced with two problems: firstly, how is she ever going to live in the same house with a man so annoying, so irritatingly contrary and so stuffed with self-importance that she can barely get a…
‘A Clergyman’s Daughter’ by George Orwell
A Clergyman’s Daughter George Orwell’s second novel sat on my bookshelves for several years before I eventually got around to reading it. I feel a little guilty that it took so long, since in many ways, it’s a damn fine book. Living with an ungrateful and demanding father, Dorothy sees little to look forward to…
‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ by George Orwell
Nineteen-Eighty Four George Orwell’s fusion of political and creative writing reached its climax with the dystopian future world of his final novel. Many of the ideas and concepts he created in ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ are now a part of our language – Big Brother, Room 101, Newspeak and others are classic references to the authoritarian state…
‘Burmese Days’ by George Orwell
Burmese Days Based on Orwell’s time in India, the hero of this tale is John Flory – a rather melancholy figure whose work involves overseeing timber excavation. Set in the fictional district of Kyauktada, the plot revolves around the humdrum existence of British ex-pat regulars at the British club. When the dreary regularity of their…
‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Hound of the Baskervilles When a visitor leaves a walking stick behind, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson ponder on who their unseen caller might be. As usual, Holmes is able to describe the visitor in great detail, remarking on the man’s profession, his pet dog, his age, poor memory and even where he might…
Colin Garrow 