tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post3398857645594166495..comments2024-03-28T12:00:55.653-07:00Comments on FURROWED MIDDLEBROW: A MIDDLEBROW SYLLABUS part 8 (30-21)Furrowed Middlebrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-81080377366117010662019-06-23T14:08:21.101-07:002019-06-23T14:08:21.101-07:00So glad you enjoyed The Hollow, Sarah. Five Little...So glad you enjoyed The Hollow, Sarah. Five Little Pigs is not a favorite of mine either. Have you read Sleeping Murder? For atmosphere, Christie doesn't get much better, I don't think--I re-read it regularly for the wonderful eeriness of a woman moving into a new house and finding it all too familiar... Cat Among the Pigeons is a bit sillier, but much more focused on character than her norm and I find it great fun, and if you haven't read Murder at the Vicarage, which introduced Miss Marple, I've always though that was more a very good proper novel than a typical mystery too. The Mirror Crack'd has, I think, one of her most profound motives for murder, and fun characterization. And of course there are the six Mary Westmacott novels, which you might enjoy--they tend to be more character-focused, if also a bit more melodrama-oriented. I like Absent in the Spring and also the autobiographical Unfinished Portrait. Well, you did ask! :-)Furrowed Middlebrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12065110409019861653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-21788440379679795782019-06-22T18:41:48.142-07:002019-06-22T18:41:48.142-07:00I read The Hollow after seeing it on this list; I ...I read The Hollow after seeing it on this list; I like Josephine Tey and Margery Allingham but have always found Christie too plot-driven and lacking in atmosphere. The Hollow is definitely an exception. After I finished it I immediately started Five Little Pigs (not bad but not really my thing) and am now on The Sittaford Mystery, which is going very slowly. Any other more novel-like Christies you'd recommend?Sarahhttp://uillend.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-70993392996608341702017-04-26T05:06:39.626-07:002017-04-26T05:06:39.626-07:00Another great list. Lots of favourites. I've r...Another great list. Lots of favourites. I've read most of them (thanks for the links to my reviews). Good to see that most of them are in print or readily available second hand. Plenty of hope for middlebrow readers everywhere! Must read The Hollow again, it's been years since I last read it. Must also read more Thirkell. I've been collecting the Virago editions but not reading them.lynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04509400868331534237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-45440751599756072222017-04-25T20:14:38.455-07:002017-04-25T20:14:38.455-07:00Loving these lists! Thank you for all the time an...Loving these lists! Thank you for all the time and effort that goes into putting them together.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06876964074516530853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-40328713778461840122017-04-25T10:33:18.030-07:002017-04-25T10:33:18.030-07:00Well, you KNOW I have to comment on the Thirkell i...Well, you KNOW I have to comment on the Thirkell inclusion! Perhpas not my own personal favorite, which I think is Northbridge Rectory, but I admit, I do think her WWII novels are her richest and most enjoyable. Especially when one considers these are being written at the time - we have decades and decades of hindsight with the war over - but it was going on then! I love the way this novel starts with Rose's wedding, and ends with Dunkirk.......I do not think there is another of her novels with such a dramatic ending. And, of course, she had no idea if she would ever write another......................Good choice, Scott! And many thanks.<br />TomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-39590349795063063742017-04-25T09:55:29.065-07:002017-04-25T09:55:29.065-07:00Another enjoyable update Scott. I've enjoyed a...Another enjoyable update Scott. I've enjoyed all the books here that I have read (South Riding, Cold Comfort Farm, Mrs Miniver, and The Proper Place), so will look out for the others. The Hallow particularly intrigues me, as it is an Agatha Christie I have never heard of.Michelle Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07499490029910905577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-43446782914374234692017-04-25T08:45:42.174-07:002017-04-25T08:45:42.174-07:00Really getting into the heavy hitters now, eh? Se...Really getting into the heavy hitters now, eh? Several I've read, some I own (including those very editions of South Riding & The Proper Place) and still some completely unfamiliar to me.<br /><br />I'm getting exciting to think about who the top ten (or 3, or 1) will be. <br /><br />Love that picture of Evadne Price, by the way. Very writerly. Staring at the typewriter (or screen) looking for inspiration. Susan Dhttps://dalyght.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595702824833504762.post-86249665510081667392017-04-25T08:37:10.674-07:002017-04-25T08:37:10.674-07:00Sometimes, Scott, I just have to run and order a b...Sometimes, Scott, I just have to run and order a book, even before I get to the end of the post. So Not So Quiet is now on its way to my mailbox. Susan Dhttps://dalyght.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com