Tuesday, 23 September 2025

My review of Jean Rhys: Life and Work, by Carole Angier

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Jean Rhys: Life and Work by Carole Angier My rating:  5 out of 5 stars Having read the thin earlier version and this subsequent thick-as-a-b...

My review of The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters, by Charlotte Mosley (Editor)

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The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters by Charlotte Mosley (Editor) My rating:  5 out of 5 stars 'I also think a volume of letters wi...

My review of Gypsy: Memoirs of America's Most Celebrated Stripper, by Gypsy Rose Lee

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Gypsy: Memoirs of America's Most Celebrated Stripper by Gypsy Rose Lee My rating:  5 out of 5 stars This 1957 memoir follows the early l...

My review of The Pursuit of Laughter, by Diana Mitford

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The Pursuit of Laughter by Diana Mitford My rating:  5 out of 5 stars Diana Mitford Mosley, tagged on this book's cover 'The Most Co...

My review of Quartet, by Jean Rhys

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Quartet by Jean Rhys My rating:  5 out of 5 stars   Published in 1928/9 and set in Paris's bohemian café society, this was Jean Rhys...

My review of Sybil Thorndike: A Star of Life, by Jonathan Croall

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Sybil Thorndike: A Star of Life by Jonathan Croall My rating:  5 out of 5 stars Though a name seldom heard in today's popular culture, D...

My review of Rex v. Edith Thompson: A Tale of Two Murders, by Laura Thompson

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Rex v. Edith Thompson: A Tale of Two Murders by Laura Thompson My rating:  5 out of 5 stars It was known in its day as 'the Ilford murde...

My review of Take Six Girls: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters, by Laura Thompson

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Take Six Girls: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters by Laura Thompson My rating:  5 out of 5 stars After finishing this biography, I flipped ba...

My review of Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Star, by Alexander Walker

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Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Star by Alexander Walker My rating:  4 out of 5 stars Ryan Murphy's FX TV  anthology  drama  Feud: Bette and...

My review of Bette Davis: More Than a Woman, by James Spada

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Bette Davis: More Than a Woman by James Spada My rating:  4 out of 5 stars Ryan Murphy's FX anthology TV drama  Feud: Bette and Joan  (2...

My review of Crown of Thistles: The Fatal Inheritance of Mary Queen of Scots, by Linda Porter

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Crown of Thistles: The Fatal Inheritance of Mary Queen of Scots by Linda Porter My rating:  5 out of 5 stars   If, like myself, you feel to ...

My review of Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart: On the Perils of Marriage, by Anka Muhlstein

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Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart: On the Perils of Marriage  by Anka Muhlstein My rating:  5 out of 5 stars I relished this double biography of m...

My review of Elizabeth & Leicester: Power, Passion, Politics, by Sarah Gristwood

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Elizabeth & Leicester: Power, Passion, Politics by Sarah Gristwood  My rating:  4 out of 5 stars After thoroughly enjoying Sarah Gristwo...
Saturday, 16 August 2025

My review of Sleep It Off Lady, by Jean Rhys

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Sleep It Off Lady by Jean Rhys My rating:  5 out of 5 stars The late Jean Rhys remains my favourite writer ever and this selection of her wo...

My review of Home To Roost and Other Peckings, by Deborah Mitford

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Home To Roost and Other Peckings by Deborah Mitford My rating:  4 out of 5 stars This not being the first Deborah Devonshire née Mitford boo...