Category Archives: Biography/Autobiography

Inventor of the post box and novel-making machine: Autobiography is the self-told story of one of my favourite Victorian novelists, Anthony Trollope

Autobiography by Anthony Trollope was an easy and amusing read. It focuses on Trollope’s two careers – as post office official and author – with only brief forays into personal life, although Trollope-as-a-person comes through on every page. Part of … Continue reading

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Radio plays that were The Mark Drama of the 1940s: The Man Born to Be King by Dorothy L. Sayers

As I read The Man Born to be King I found myself thinking, this was the Mark Drama of the 1940s! A series of twelve radio plays about the life of Jesus Christ, they were written by Dorothy L. Sayers … Continue reading

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Spending time with a delightful dead guy: The Essays of Elia by Charles Lamb

I was curious about Charles Lamb after references to him in Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and I was surprised at how enjoyable The Essays of Elia and The Last Essays of Elia actually were. Published in magazines … Continue reading

Posted in 18th Century, Arts Criticism, Biography/Autobiography, Essays, General adult audience, Miscellaneous Non-Fiction, Social Commentary/Analysis, Travel and Geography Non-Fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Letters from England by Karel Čapek

Letters from England by Karel Čapek is a book I picked up for $5 in New Zealand, one of those high points of secondhand-bookshopping. As suggested by the title, it’s a collection of letters from the Czech author’s travels in … Continue reading

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