“No seaside town in the south of England is, I think, as attractive as St. Loo.”
Detective: Hercule Poirot
Published: 1932
Length: 270 pages
Setting: St. Loo(e), Cornwall
Peril at End House by Agatha Christie
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Category Archives: English Lit
The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie
“Major Burnaby drew on his gum boots, buttoned his overcoat collar around his neck, took from the shelf near the door a hurricane lantern, and cautiously opened the front door of his little bungalow and peered out.”
Originally Published as: The Murder at Hazelmoor
Detective: Emily Trefusis with Inspector Narracott
Published: 1931
Length: 228 pages
Setting: Sittaford & Exhampton, Dartmoor
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
“When a day that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding like Sunday, there is something seriously wrong somewhere.”
It seems like eons ago that I read a book by John Wyndham …… The Chrysalids, I believe it was …. and I should have remembered that it was weird. Just like The Day of the Triffids. Meat-eating plants with poison stingers and an odd way of transportation, not to mention a world-wide calamity that leaves most of the population blind. What could be stranger?
The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
Murder At The Vicarage: “It is difficult to know quite where to begin this story, but I have fixed my choice on a certain Wednesday at luncheon in the Vicarage.”
Detective: Miss Marple (first appearance)
Published: 1930
Length: 285 pages
Setting: St. Mary Mead, Downshire (fictional)
Mapp and Lucia by E. F. Benson
“Though it was nearly a year since her husband’s death, Emmeline Lucas (universally known to her friends as Lucia) still wore the deepest and most uncompromising mourning. “
Why is it that the British seem overstocked with authors who can write humorous tales that make readers want to read more, immediately after they finish the first book? I can think of a number of books and authors that fit into this category: P.G. Wodehouse, Jerome K. Jerome, I Capture the Castle, The Diary of a Nobody, Henrietta’s War, Stella Gibbons, and now E.F. Benson comes to the forefront.
I first was introduced to the Mapp and Lucia BBC production and wondered if the books could be just as entertaining. I was wrong. This one was even better!
Giant’s Bread by Mary Westmacott (Agatha Christie)
Giant’s Bread: “It was New Year’s Eve.”
Main Character: Vernon Deyre
Published: April 1930 (14th published book)
Length: 437 pages
Setting: various: Abbots Puisannts, London, Germany, Holland, Moscow, New York, etc.
My chronological Agatha Christie read continues with Giant’s Bread, her first novel published under the pseudonym, Mary Westmacott. There is no detective work in this story, as Christie/Westmacott treats her readers to a very modern novel. In any case, it must have been a much needed break from the detective novels Christie was expected to write.
Covering a vast number of characters and spanning a few decades of years, this first contemporary novel written under a pseudonym, proves Christie wanted this genre of her writing judged on its own merits instead of being buoyed up by her previous successes.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by G.K. Chesterton
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1897) Giovanni Boldini
~ source Wikiart
“The greatest of Shakespeare’s comedies is also, from a certain point of view, the greatest of his plays.”
Or so G.K. Chesterton says with regard to Shakespeare’s well-known comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It appears Chesterton and I differ radically. Even with three readings and two performances, A Midsummer Night’s Dream has left me somewhat unimpressed. I’m not sure if it’s the silliness that puts me off, but the comedic aspect of it fails in my opinion and I’ve never been able to find much meaning in it at all. Can Chesterton change my mind and reveal to me the appeal of this play that I’ve perhaps been missing? Let’s find out!
The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe
The Mysteries of Udolpho: “On the pleasant banks of the Garrone, in the province of Gascony, stood, in the year 1584, the chateau of Monsieur St. Aubert.”
Finally, I have finished The Mysteries of Udolpho, the turtle coming in over the finish line of her own read-along. It was actually more like a last-minute buddy read but still everyone finished before me and I think a good number of you enjoyed the read.
I must say, Radcliffe surprised me. I had expected a novel infused with the overly dramatic, filled with unbelievable occurrences, overdrawn characters, and sentimentality galore. While there was a little of each within the novel, it was much less than I expected. Emily, the heroine, while she did faint on occasion, was actually quite strong and steadfast given her age and circumstances. I’m a little puzzled as to why she’s mocked so heavily in other reviews I’ve read.
Christmas at Thompson Hall by Anthony Trollope
Christmas at Thompson Hall
Those of you who have read Anthony Trollope’s novels know that he is a master of the art of character creation. Each of the people who populate his novels have distinct personalities that bring them alive to the reader and draw them into his world. With a short story, however, I wondered if Trollope’s fine skills would hold up using a smaller palette. And so I began to read Christmas at Thompson Hall with a somewhat apprehensive curiosity.
The Phoenix and the Turtle by William Shakespeare
I drew The Phoenix and the Turtle, a poem by William Shakespeare, for my Deal Me In Challenge, and after reading it, I’m so confused. Fortunately, I pulled up an article on it which said it is one of the more confusing poems in English literature, so I feel a little better. But only a little. Let’s see what I can discover about it ……