#53 was one of several titles indubitably retrieved from obscurity by
bloggers, and the author of #60 may have been part of the inspiration for
Stella Gibbons's Cold Comfort Farm. Finally,
#56 sounds enticing and was an early Virago reprint, but I didn't find any
reviews by my favorite bloggers. Have any of you read it?
Here we go to the halfway mark!
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| Sheila Kaye-Smith |
60) SHEILA KAYE-SMITH, Joanna Godden (1921)
Kaye-Smith may have been one of the authors Stella Gibbons had in mind
in writing Cold Comfort Farm, but she
was steadily popular for decades. This one deals with a woman who inherits a
farm and decides to manage and farm it herself. Reading 1900-1950 reviewed it here.
Public domain in US, in print in UK in various POD editions of uncertain
quality. Second hand copies available, including a Virago edition.
59) JOSEPHINE ELDER, The Encircled Heart (1951)
Not the most polished or literary author on this list by any means, but
Elder, better known for her sensitive school stories, gives fascinating insight
into the lives of women in the medical profession (like Elder herself). Her endings
are sadly conservative for her female main characters, but the realistic
details are worth the price of admission. In print from Greyladies.
58) DORA SAINT (as Miss Read), Thrush Green (1959)
I had to choose between Village
School, which initiated Saint's Fairacre series, and this one, initiating
the Thrush Green series, set among the charming and varied residents of a
Cotswold village. Each series has its adherents, but the Thrush Green books
seem to me to have a broader canvas, not limited by the first-person narration
of the Fairacre books. In print in paperback and e-book.
57) REBECCA WEST, The Return of the Soldier (1918)
West went on to write other important books, both fiction and
non-fiction, but her short, seemingly simply first novel might still be her
most powerful. A shell-shocked soldier is sent home, and three women with
connections to him are dramatically affected. In print from Virago in the UK
and Penguin Classics in the US. Public domain in US, so free e-books are
available.
56) JANE & MARY FINDLATER, Crossriggs (1908)
According to the Oxford Companion
to Edwardian Fiction, this novel "is partly a lightly told vignette of
Scottish village life at the turn of the century, sharp in its observation of
local values and prejudices, and partly a despairing exploration of the lonely
situation of an articulate and emotional woman who lacks the conventional
romantic appeal of either femininity or wealth." Public domain in US,
available in POD and e-book editions of uncertain quality. Surprisingly hard to
find in its Virago edition.
55) BRYHER, Beowulf (1956)
Slightly better known for her historical novels (though overshadowed in
that arena by Mary Renault), Bryher based this tale of two women running a tea
shop in London during the Blitz on an actual tea shop she and her partner (the
poet H.D.) frequented. Leaves & Pages reviewed it here.
Criminally out of print but not impossible to find second hand.
54) MURIEL SPARK, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961)
If I were merely urging you to read Spark for the first time, I'd
probably suggest Memento Mori, The Girls of Slender Means, or Loitering with Intent. But for the
purposes of this list, none of Spark's works were more successful, acclaimed,
and influential than this dark little grown-up school story. Read it, then
watch the film version with Maggie Smith, who won an Oscar for it. Book Snob
reviewed the novel here.
In print in paperback & e-book.
53) EDITH OLIVIER, The Love-Child (1927)
A delightful fantasy about a lonely thirty-something spinster whose
childhood imaginary friend, lost for years, seems to return, gradually becoming
flesh and blood. Funny, charming, and melancholy at the same time, it belongs
with Lolly Willowes and Lady Into Fox among the fantasy-themed
classics of the 1920s. I reviewed it here.
In print from Bello Books, in paperback & e-book in the UK, apparently only
e-book in the US.
52) DAPHNE DU MAURIER, Rebecca (1938)
I've written about not being a fan of it myself, but I couldn't leave
out this much-beloved tale, one of the most famous Gothic romances of all time
and the inspiration for Hitchcock's equally classic film. John Crace of The Guardian wrote about it here.
In print, paperback and e-book.
51) MARY RENAULT, The Friendly Young Ladies (1943)
Renault is better known for her historical novels, but this earlier
work is a striking, realistic, and ahead-of-its-time portrayal of a somewhat
bohemian lesbian couple living on a houseboat during World War II. Leaves &
Pages reviewed it here.
In print from Virago in the UK and Open Road in the US.
I am enjoying your "list". Posts 4 and 5 have more authors with whom I am familiar, but it is very interesting indeed to see. Now I wonder what is to come in the last half (with some authors I certainly hope won't be left out!)
ReplyDeleteJerri
(second attempt at commenting)
ReplyDeleteAh yes, now we're getting into the rich and delicious middle of the middlebrow writers.
Have just ordered Crossriggs and am waffling about Beowulf. I do love the idea of the tea shop in wartime. I do so enjoy your reading lists but my TBR list is just getting longer and longer!
ReplyDeleteI think Dora Saint/Miss Read is on record as saying she regretted tying herself in to the first person narrative position with the Village School series. Of course she had no idea how long and successful the series would become.
ReplyDeleteSo I think she enjoyed the freedom from that constraint in the Thrush Green sequence ... and to me it shows. And I love the long dreamlike day that this first title portrays.
It's a rare gift, being able to write a full-length novel of a single day's events without it seeming either niggardly or overindulgent. [Ulysses counts as the latter, to me!]
Another on your list has been made into a film. The Return of the Soldier was made into a film starring Alan Bates as the eponymous soldier, Julie Christie as Kitty, Ann-Margaret as Jenny, and Glenda Jackson as Margaret. An impressive cast, I would say. The DVD is out of print, but used copies can be found online.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving these lists, Scott. So many books on my tbr shelves as well as the ones I've read & loved like Return of the Soldier, Miss Read & Rebecca. Wouldn't it be spectacular to have a bookcase with your 100 books in it?
ReplyDeleteJust finished listening to The Tiger in the Smoke, and have to admit to being underwhelmed. The reader seemed to do a good job, but somehow the characters didn't grab me. Still, interesting enough that I will try more Allingham, but read this time rather than audiobook. Sometimes audio is preferable, but sometimes really reading works better, especially for a first read.
ReplyDeleteJerri