tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post3615559460888204169..comments2024-03-28T12:00:55.653-07:00Comments on FURROWED MIDDLEBROW: THE WORLD WAR II FICTION LISTFurrowed Middlebrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-34499164251008264982020-06-21T10:17:15.275-07:002020-06-21T10:17:15.275-07:00Scott, Agatha Christie's Taken at the Flood ha...Scott, Agatha Christie's Taken at the Flood has also been titled There is a Tide. That's the title of my US paperback. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-38406221966517344052020-05-10T06:06:10.401-07:002020-05-10T06:06:10.401-07:00A bit late to the party, I've been meaning to ...A bit late to the party, I've been meaning to write with a suggested title since, well, April 2nd. Anyway, here 'tis: <i>Experiment in Springtime</i> by Margaret Millar, published in 1947 by Random House. Her first novel outside the mystery genre, it concerns an unhealthy marriage and the return of the wife's ex-fiancee from the war. Millar was a Canadian, of course, but she did live most of her life in the United States, so I'm guessing she qualifies. Either way, I do recommend the novel. If interested, here's my review: <a href="http://brianbusby.blogspot.com/2019/04/millars-experiment-in-springtime-in.html" rel="nofollow"><i>Experiment in Springtime</i></a>.<br /><br />Keep up the good work! And stay safe!Brian Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04120341319506205062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-26921980731968576222020-05-02T15:27:17.289-07:002020-05-02T15:27:17.289-07:00So much richness here!!! I adore Barbara Pym. And...So much richness here!!! I adore Barbara Pym. And DE Stevenson's novels are very much on my mind these days - I think about what the Brits went thru, with food shortages, and everything else they had to endure. Trishnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-55862262288879200242020-04-19T13:13:45.422-07:002020-04-19T13:13:45.422-07:00To wet your appetite for tracing Charity's foo...To wet your appetite for tracing Charity's footsteps, you might read about a person taking a similar journey, at the Mary Queen of Plots web site:<br /><br />https://marystewartreading.wordpress.com/2017/03/28/in-avignon/<br /><br />JerriAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-57468530485535035222020-04-11T11:53:14.936-07:002020-04-11T11:53:14.936-07:00This list is such a treat! I want all of them. ...This list is such a treat! I want all of them. I echo Jerri's suggestion of Madam, Will You Talk? (alas, my mother and I were going to trace Charity's steps in May - I hope we can reschedule our trip). I know this list is for British authors but I have to mention part of Elswyth Thane's Williamsburg novels. After the first two in the series, they are primarily set in England. The Light Heart is set before and during WWI and deals with an English girl marrying a Prussian while the next book, Kissing Kin, ends in 1934. But This Was Tomorrow and Homing are both set during WWII. I love this author so much I can't help buying duplicates - I may have to send Scott my extra copies so he becomes a fan. Thane was from Iowa but never looked back once she got to NYC - changed her name and married the Jacques Cousteau of his day, William Beebe.CLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03595294217111602231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-64485561948871644092020-04-10T14:13:13.544-07:002020-04-10T14:13:13.544-07:00Thanks Jerri, I'll add it to my list of titles...Thanks Jerri, I'll add it to my list of titles to add!Furrowed Middlebrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-52510290540954682792020-04-10T14:11:39.995-07:002020-04-10T14:11:39.995-07:00Strangely, Jerri, I think I did the same as you. ...Strangely, Jerri, I think I did the same as you. I've read the first two, but not the third. It sounds intriguing despite the darkness. I wonder if it might have been the darkness of the time that influenced both authors?Furrowed Middlebrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-35644999578943959012020-04-10T11:44:36.196-07:002020-04-10T11:44:36.196-07:00What about Madam, Will You Talk? by Mary Stewart f...What about Madam, Will You Talk? by Mary Stewart for a Postwar book. Written and set in 1955, while it all takes place in France it is one of the first books to make plain to me that rationing was so extreme in England after the war. (The joke the two youngish Englishwomen on holiday in France make about being served real meat near the beginning of the book is wonderful.) Also, the plot of the mystery involves the treatment of the Jews during WWII. Her first novel, and very much a function of that time and place.<br /><br />JerriAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-65724768004568430322020-04-10T11:39:08.496-07:002020-04-10T11:39:08.496-07:00Working my way down (and up) your list, I was remi...Working my way down (and up) your list, I was reminded of Harriet Rutland. I had bought the Dean Street Press versions of her three mysteries a while back (it looks like 2015!) and read the first two, Knock Murderer, Knock and Bleeding Hooks soon thereafter, but somehow had never gotten around to her war time mystery, Blue Murder. A very cleaver mystery novel, with plenty of WWII background worked into it. However, as the introductions say, darker than the other two and without the continuing series characters. The ending is quite something, unconventional, unusual and disturbing. In some ways it reminded me of Heyer's darkest mystery, Penhallow, which was written during the war but obviously either set before the war or in an alternative England without WWII. Both were published in 1942. Both are disturbing, although with some dark humor, both focus on a dysfunctional family, both share another plot element which I can't mention due to spoilers. It would be interesting to read a comparison and contrast essay on the two.<br /><br />Thank you for this list, as I might never have remembered to go back and read Blue Murder. (And I can't figure out the meaning of the title. I wonder what I am missing.)<br /><br />JerriAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-31089417697575356922020-04-06T14:31:57.800-07:002020-04-06T14:31:57.800-07:00Thanks Jerri! I'm glad you liked Foolish Gent...Thanks Jerri! I'm glad you liked Foolish Gentlewoman. I think I particularly liked the ending because they all seemed entirely realistic and un-idealized, particularly for that immediate postwar period. Like Sharp just couldn't romanticize everything after all that had happened.Furrowed Middlebrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-12845326446459220552020-04-06T14:27:16.488-07:002020-04-06T14:27:16.488-07:00Thanks Barbara, and be sure to let me know if ther...Thanks Barbara, and be sure to let me know if there's anything I missed. I should be able to update this one more frequently than every five years!Furrowed Middlebrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-6749656300680428312020-04-06T14:25:50.677-07:002020-04-06T14:25:50.677-07:00Thank you Sue! Hope you're doing well too (an...Thank you Sue! Hope you're doing well too (and getting lots of reading done!).Furrowed Middlebrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-8089500231277705012020-04-06T14:24:28.896-07:002020-04-06T14:24:28.896-07:00Thank you Tom and Jerri (hee hee). I had no idea ...Thank you Tom and Jerri (hee hee). I had no idea about Silence in Court. I will give it a try and add it to my list when I revise!Furrowed Middlebrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-5287681247238822012020-04-04T11:46:49.130-07:002020-04-04T11:46:49.130-07:00Tom, you are right. Silence in Court is now my fa...Tom, you are right. Silence in Court is now my favorite non-Miss Silver mystery by Patricia Wentworth. Thank you for the recommendation. And a LOT of WWII influence.<br /><br />JerriAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-51346957866158231282020-04-03T07:14:59.409-07:002020-04-03T07:14:59.409-07:00What a great new list (or updated list version). ...What a great new list (or updated list version). I haven't had the time to go through it in detail, but I am confident that I will find lots of things to add to my TBR pile/list.<br /><br />Thank you Scott for all your efforts. By the way, I managed to find the time to read one book on the list, The Foolish Gentlewoman. On the whole I enjoyed it, but was a bit disappointed at the portion of the ending that applied to the young female companion. I thought the other characters had endings that were suitable for them, but I thought she was short changed. I hope that after the book ends that character finds a Happy Ending of some sort.<br /><br />JerriAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-39265722831175559632020-04-03T00:47:09.425-07:002020-04-03T00:47:09.425-07:00Amazing list. I'm surprised to find how many o...Amazing list. I'm surprised to find how many of these books I've read but a lot of titles are new to me.<br />Thank you for the hard work you must have put into this; it's a great source now.callmemadamhttps://callmemadam.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-58576782136408292482020-04-02T11:56:22.079-07:002020-04-02T11:56:22.079-07:00An Amazing new list - I hope lots more of these tu...An Amazing new list - I hope lots more of these turn into Furrowed Middlebrow reprints.<br />Well done on all that work.<br />I hope you both and your families and friends are all keeping fit and well as we get ourselves through this very strange time.Sue in Suffolkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13166036914348424622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-63181753431964539472020-04-02T10:56:13.612-07:002020-04-02T10:56:13.612-07:00WOW@! So many favorites here, and some new (to me...WOW@! So many favorites here, and some new (to me) titles by favorite authors, especially Noel Streatfeild! Many thanks. Scott, for a non-Miss Silver wartime Wentworth, try "Silence in Court."<br />Thanks again, my only sad thought here is - right now, I have no access to libraries to find most of these! DRAT! BUT - time to reread the shelves! Starting with Streatfeild's "The Winter is Past."<br />Thanksk again,<br />TomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com