“That she had so completely recovered her sanity was a source of sadness to her. One should never be cured of one's passion.” ~ Marguerite Duras Died on this day, in 1996 thanks to gplewis

Happy birthday to Rumer Godden! It’s been an honour to republish her epic family drama China Court, which was written and set in Cornwall. This “handsome” new edition was introduced by Linda Grant and illustrated by Emily Maude - and was reviewed last week in @thetls!

„The rest of my room is bookshelves. I collect books. They are people who don't leave." Anne Sexton

Happy birthday to Rosemary Sutcliff - one of my favourite childhood authors. I’m so honoured to have republished one of her early children’s novels and can’t wait for the second next year. Her books bring history to life for kids, young and old! Thank you Rosemary Sutcliff (1920-92)!

“Jeg har skrevet hele mit liv og nærer en romantisk drøm om at dø midt i en sætning.” ― Tove Ditlevsen "I have written all my life and have a romantic dream of dying in the middle of a sentence." Tove Irma Margit Ditlevsen (14 December 1917 – 7 March 1976)

“When she had finished she sat back on her heels and looked at her parcels. They really did look nice! White-paper-wrapped and gold-paper-wrapped and tied up with strands of scarlet silk.” - The Armourer’s House by Rosemary Sutcliff (intro Lara Maiklem FSA - The London Mudlark) tinyurl.com/sp6ebfww

Riders of Hope * Above the tempestuous sea of human sorrow, pain, and solitude, someone carries a flame of Hope.

Timothy West remembered by Samuel West theguardian.com/culture/2024/d…

‘Kindness, kindness, kindness. I want to make a New Year’s prayer, not a resolution. I’m praying for courage.’ ~ Susan Sontag Happy New Year 🫶

She’s here, and she’s gorgeous! Mary Shelley in Bath - introduced by Fiona Sampson and illustrated by Eleanor Macnair. A brand new collection of Mary’s letters, journals and writing (including Frankenstein) - all written in Bath. Exclusively at manderleypress.com

With February's #ReadIndies event just a few days away, I’ve written about ten favourite books from independent publishers. Featuring titles by Olivia Manning, Brigid Brophy, Penelope Mortimer and more! jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025/01/30/sma…

Today on my blog, a new post on lonely women in literature highlighting thirteen favourite books. readersretreat2017.wordpress.com/2025/02/18/lon…

On #InternationalWomensDay I wanted to once again pay tribute to Tirzah Garwood, Eric Ravilious’ wife. They met when she was a student at Eastbourne College, married Eric in 1930 & a dozen years later was a war widow. Her work continued, and she deserves to be much better known.

“We walked at night toward a café blooming with Japanese lanterns, white shoes gleaming like radium in the damp darkness. It was like the good gone times when we still believed in summer hotels and the philosophies of popular songs.” ~Zelda Fitzgerald 💗(7/24/1900-3/10/1948)

Thomas Cantrell Dugdale's portrait (c1935) is of Dame Wendy Hillier in her role as Sally Hardcastle, the mill girl ready to face a fate worse than death rather than have her family go hungry in Walter Greenwood's novel 'Love On The Dole.'

Harriet Baker, Rural Hours: granta.com/rural-hours/

On Helen Garner’s Diaries theparisreview.org/blog/2025/03/0…

I wrote an article about reading the diaries of Edna O'Brien for The Guardian ahead of our release in UK cinemas on April 18th. theguardian.com/books/2025/apr…

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” - William Morris

Delicious! #MappandLucia #WorldCocktailDay