Henry James is a genius of social dynamics, which is evident in this classic, yet lesser-appreciated, novel that looks at politics, social class, and the ever-evolving “Woman Question”. First coming…
The Bostonians by Henry James (1886)
A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller (Review)
As a big fan of The Crucible and Death of a Salesman, I had high hopes for A View from the Bridge, and it didn’t disappoint. The play is short,…
Spirits of the Season: Christmas Hauntings, edited by Tanya Kirk
This was my final read of 2025, and it was a really enjoyable one. This collection brings together a superb selection of classic ghost stories from writers such as E….
The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins
This is a fun and engaging read. It feels very Victorian, very Collins, very seasonal sensation somehow! This is a fireside fright told by the flickering fire with a hot…
Liza of Lambeth by W. Somerset Maugham
Continuing the grand tradition of a Victorian doctor writing books: this book was written by Maugham right after finishing his medical studies. It’s his first book published in 1897. This…
The Turn of the Screw and Other Stories by Henry James
This collection is a masterclass in psychological ghost stories: elegant, unbeatable in premise, and full of that Jamesian ambiguity. 🔩The Turn of the Screw (1898) A young governess takes a job…
Daisy Miller And Other Stories by Henry James
These stories are the perfect examples of why James is known as the master of the short story. Touching on art, innocence, and creativity, they work well as a collection!…
The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen
Felt like an obvious September pick, but this wasn’t the effortless read I expected. I’ve enjoyed Bowen before, yet I found myself wading through a slightly disjointed narrative, with many…
Howards End by E.M. Forster
This work cements Forster’s ability to capture emotional truths within their wider social context. Love, jealousy, friendship, and suspicion are never free-floating, but shaped and refracted through history, class, and…
Beast in View by Margaret Millar
From 1955, this Hollywood psychological thriller won the 1956 Edgar Allan Poe award, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a horror thriller with a creepy and oppressive feel. Helen…
Someone from the Past: A London Mystery by Margot Bennett
I looked into this book’s background and its Scottish author, Margot Bennett. This 1958 novel won the annual Crime Writers’ Association’s award (Golden Dagger). After winning, Bennet never returned to…
The Happy Prince and Other Stories by Oscar Wilde
I am still going through my April reads backlog, but this was one that I wanted to share. I was reading this when I was feeling quite vulnerable in the…
A Lost Lady by Willa Cather
This is my third Cather novel, and it stands out from the others in that it follows a more traditionally structured narrative. However, the praise of the American West/pioneering spirit…
The Invisible Man by H.G Wells
My final February read to review, this short novel by H.G Wells was an interesting look at that famous childhood wish: to be invisible. It’s published in 1897. The narrator’s…
Dracula by Bram Stoker
What a joy to read! I think the legend built around this book sometimes obscure what a great read it really is… Some beautiful plotting in this 1897 bestseller. I…
The Professor’s House by Willa Cather
Cather is a great writer. I recently started her Plains trilogy and was pleased to find another “city” novel by her. I liked the idea of a closely followed narrative…
First Love by Ivan Turgenev
A really satisfying read, this novella tracks the infatuation and disillusionment, yet also the endurance, of youthful first love. In a comic yet sincere way, Turgenev explores how a young…
A Jealous Ghost by A.N Wilson
This was a fun seasonal horror remake! Massive fan of books inspired by literary classics, just can’t help myself. Retelling/ engaging with The Turn of the Screw by Henry James,…
The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
Written in 1927, this felt like it could be written significantly later as well. Somehow it was reminiscent of other books in the “life philosophy“/spiritual genre! The premise is simple:…
The Immoralist by André Gide
A random pick from the library, this short French novel is about the sexual awakening of a young man on his honeymoon to Tunisia. For its time it was a…
A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen
First of all, I need to see this in performance! I can really see how the text would come alive with dialogue and physical drama. This play is a very…
O’Pioneers by Willa Cather
My family book club read! This is technically part of her plains novel trilogy, but I think most people read her much more famous work My Antonia. (I’m not sure…
Night Walks by Charles Dickens
A wonderful premise, this is a collection of stories, essays, and observations written under the guise of Dickens’s insomniac walking around London. Not so much an article of psychological self-exploration,…