Inspired by Dickens - not just 'David Copperfield' but also with hints of the adamantly innocent Oliver Twist - this is a highly original and absorbing novel. By using the first person, the author gets us on Demon's side and draws us into his predicaments, enabling us to understand something of the reality and tragedy of the opioid crisis in a way that avoids preaching. So absorbing was this novel that I not only didn't want it to end but I also found the next few books I read both tame and lacking in verve.
Demon's story begins with his traumatic birth to a single mother in a single-wide trailer, looking 'like a little blue prizefighter.' For the life ahead of him he would need all of that fighting spirit, along with buckets of charm, a quick wit, and some unexpected talents, legal and otherwise.
In the southern Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, poverty isn't an idea, it's as natural as the grass grows. For a generation growing up in this world, at the heart of the modern opioid crisis, addiction isn't an abstraction, it's neighbours, parents, and friends. 'Family' could mean love, or reluctant foster…
First published in 1951 and now available in a modern edition with an excellent Introduction, this is Du Maurier at her best. It's a terrific, compelling story, cleverly unfolded by its male narrator. It keeps Dear Reader on her/his toes with the enigmatic, elusive Rachel and its exploration of the corrosive power of jealousy and suspicion.
NOW A MAJOR FILM STARRING RACHEL WEISZ AND SAM CLAFIN
'Du Maurier is a storyteller whose sole aim is to bewitch and beguile' NEW YORK TIMES
'Du Maurier has no equal' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
' One of her best novels, ingeniously contrived as to plot, successfully realized as to characters' KIRKUS REVIEWS
'I threw the piece of paper on the fire. She saw it burn . . . '
Orphaned at an early age, Philip Ashley is raised by his benevolent cousin, Ambrose. Resolutely single, Ambrose delights in making Philip his heir, knowing he will treasure his beautiful Cornish estate. But…
The Third Persephone Book of Short Stories (2024) is a collection of 30 stories written by women between 1911 and 1996. I was initially attracted to it as it includes Evelyn Sharp's wonderfully witty short story 'The Cheap Holiday' and I had written her biography. The quality of the stories varies but they are a rich source for understanding, for example, the ways in which World War 11 upended their lives.
Published to mark the 25th anniversary of Persephone Books in Bath, England. Follows the successful reception of The Persephone Book of Short Stories, published in 2012 to celebrate Persephone's 100th book, and The Second Persephone Book of Short Stories, published in 2019 to celebrate twenty years of Persephone Books.
The collection offers readers a chance to discover some great, often overlooked writers. And there are stories by Persephone favourites such as Dorothy Whipple, Mollie Panter-Downes, and Siân James and (as yet) non-Persephone authors such as Evelyn Sharp, Carol Shields and Rosamunde Pilcher.
The stories are variously funny, tragic, and perceptive;…
My biography unfolds the extraordinary story of the stage-struck Philip Burton (1904-95). Education was his passport from an impoverished Welsh childhood. He became a schoolmaster, encouraging pupils to value drama, especially Shakespeare. One of the many he inspired was Richard Jenkins, whom he trained and transformed into the legendary actor Richard Burton. Time and again, he would seek advice from his mentor and erstwhile guardian.
Philip Burton was also an actor, playwright, and scriptwriter. In 1945, with radio at its height, he became a pioneering BBC producer, responsible for almost 200 programs, including Dylan Thomas’s Return Journey. He emigrated to the States in 1954, became a theatre director, ran a New York drama school, wrote books, and spent his final decades in Key West.
