Covering the period 1830 to 1901, this is a treasure chest. It not only contains a huge sampling of both prose and poetry, but places them into an historical context.
The introduction to the book gives the reader a broad sweep of what was going on in those seventy odd years (such as the decline of Victorian values, industrialisation, suffrage), and several mini essays throughout provide introductions to the writers and their concerns.
The samples work well: a section from Hard Times convinced me to read the full novel, and I discovered a wonderful essay by George Eliot. Highly recommended.
I am currently experimenting with writing articles of exactly 100 words in length. This is one of them.
A book on temporal adventures may seem like an odd inclusion here, but it can actually be used in many ways.
David Crystal has triumphed again. This is a fascinating book containing hundreds of concise entries on quirky occasions, literary facts and significant events.
At a time when even Noddy books have been declared ‘problematic’ due to their use of archaic terms such as ‘swot’ (since changed to ‘bookworm’), some of us might may feel the temptation to unleash our inner ‘Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells’ in response.
In Handwritten we get to see handwritten manuscripts by monarchs, poets, novelists, scientists and many others.
I’m familiar with a few of the stories in this volume, which features some well-known names such as Raymond Carver, George Saunders, Grace Paley, Ursula Le Guin and Susan Sontag.
I love the subtitle: A history of thinking on paper (my emphasis). I do think there’s much to be said for writing on paper, and there is no paucity of research showing the benefits of analogue over the digital approach.
A few months ago I wrote about Barnabees Books, in Westleton, Suffolk. It’s a lovely warm place, not only heat-wise but atmospherically, not least because of its delightful owner, Ty.
Since I read Northanger Abbey when I was in my twenties, I have to say that in the interim it has much improved. Clearly, Jane must have taken a creative writing course or two because it is now much funnier, more cutting and more modern, what with her stepping outside the story to comment on her characters and the novel form itself.
If your interest in the Oulipo goes beyond simply trying out their techniques, and you wish to learn about the context in which it was conceived and the developments in went through, you will find this book very useful.