Find by Audience Age:
Find by Vintage
Find by Genre:
Tag Archives: British
Adventure for kids, humour for grown-ups: Dragon Boy by Dick King-Smith
Dragon Boy by Dick King-Smith is another classic dragon story from my childhood by one of my favourite children’s authors (he also wrote The Sheep-pig aka Babe). Orphaned John is found crying in the forest by a dragon, Montague Bunsen-Burner. … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Children's, 7 years and up, Children's, Fantasy
Tagged 20th Century, 7 and up, action, adventure, animals, British, coming-of-age, courage, Dick King-Smith, drama, fantasy, fiction, food and fighting, good out loud, humour, orphaned hero, parody, there be Dragons, wolves
Leave a comment
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones is a YA fantasy book. I knew it was a winner as soon as I saw that it has chapter titles like “In which Howl expresses his feelings with Green Slime”. It follows … Continue reading
Posted in 13 years and up, 20th Century YA, British, Fantasy, Young Adult
Tagged 20th Century, adventure, better than the movie, British, coming-of-age, convoluted plot, Diana Wynne Jones, fantasy, fiction, humour, John Donne, magic, mild romance, seven league boots, whimsical, Wizard Howl, YA classic, young adult
Leave a comment
A Victorian novel about decision paralysis: Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope
Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope has a name that is a bit off-putting. It suggests an obnoxious main character who will be hard to sympathise with. I didn’t find this to be the case. The main character, Alice … Continue reading
Posted in Classic, General adult audience, Novel, Novel of Manners, Romance, Social Novel, Victorian
Tagged 100/500/100, 19th Century, Anthony Trollope, authors with day jobs, British, character-driven, classic, decision making, decision paralysis, drama, exam period friendly, fiction, historical, humour, marriage, Palliser Novel, politics, relationships, society, Victorian Era
Leave a comment
Hooray! A Christian book on singleness that I can recommend without caveats: Single-Minded by Kate Wharton
Single-Minded by Kate Wharton is a biblical, readable and well-rounded book on singleness. As a general book on singleness, it is definitely my top recommendation, replacing Al Hsu’s The Single Issue, which is excellent but has become quite dated. It … Continue reading
The best book I’ve read on the church and singleness: The Plausibility Problem by Ed Shaw
The Plausibility Problem: The Church and Same-Sex Attraction by Ed Shaw answers the uncertainty and embarrassment Christians can feel about the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality. In our sex- and relationship-obsessed world it can seem unreasonable to expect Christians with same-sex … Continue reading
A book on marriage that’s helpful for singles too: Married for God by Christopher Ash
Married for God by Christopher Ash is a book on marriage from a Christian perspective that is essential to read whether you are married or single. Rather than focussing on how to improve marriage or what marriage actually is, this … Continue reading
Goodnight, Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian
Goodnight, Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian is a historical novel and modern children’s classic set in World War II Britain. Billeting arrangements bring together Mister Tom, a gruff and grieving old man, and Willie Beech, a starved and abused child … Continue reading
Posted in 10 years and up, 20th Century Children's, Children's Classics
Tagged 10 and up, 20th Century, adoption, billeting, British, character-driven, children's classic, dogs, domestic abuse, fiction, friendship, good out loud, growing up, historical, home front, London's East End, mental illness, poverty, the country, wartime, well written, widowhood, WWII
Leave a comment
The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis is the 6th Chronicle of Narnia. As a child it was my least favourite Narnia book, despite containing a favourite character and a favourite scene. The drawbacks are that the main human characters spend … Continue reading
A Country Gentleman and His Family by Margaret Oliphant
A Country Gentleman and His Family by Margaret Oliphant is surprisingly well written. Mrs Oliphant was a Victorian authoress who wrote novels to support herself and several dependents so was prolific but variable in quality. This book had skillful characterisation … Continue reading
Posted in British, Classic, Family Drama, General adult audience, Novel of Manners, Pastoral novel, Romance, Social Novel, Victorian
Tagged 100/500/100, 19th Century, British, character-driven, classic, domestic realism, drama, exam period friendly, fiction, marriage, relationships, remarriage, siblings, society, talent, widowhood, women
Leave a comment
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis was my favourite Narnia book as a child – an exciting ocean journey discovering new lands in a quest to find seven missing lords of Narnia. It again features King Caspian … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Children's, 7 years and up, Children's Classics, Fantasy
Tagged 20th Century, 7 and up, action, adventure, animals, boats, British, C.S. Lewis, children's classic, Christianity, fantasy, fiction, food and fighting, good out loud, grace, Narnia, The Inklings, there be Dragons
Leave a comment