The Gatekeeper by Charles Todd Ian Rutledge drove through the night, his mind only partly on the road unwinding before him. A Divided Loyalty by Charles Todd Ian Rutledge was walking down the stairs at Scotland Yard when he met Chief Inspector Leslie coming up them two at a time. Loxley: The Chronicles of Robin … Continue reading My Reading – April 2020
A Few of My Favourite Things
We all have bits and pieces in our homes that make us happy. They may not be particularly valuable or even elegant but because they call to mind special people or happy times they are special to us. Some of them connect us to our family's past, others simply 'spark joy'. This is the chest … Continue reading A Few of My Favourite Things
My Reading – March 2020
The Good Turn by Dervla McTiernanThe waiting room was ugly and neglected. A Slanting of the Sun by Donal RyanShe cries sometimes, without noise. Ten Doors Down: the story of an extraordinary adoption reunion by Robert TicknerI have a date with destiny this Sydney summer day in late January 1993. The Black Ascot by Charles … Continue reading My Reading – March 2020
Book Review – A Slanting of the Sun by Donal Ryan
A Slanting of the Sun is Donal Ryan's first collection of short stories. It is written in the same beautifully crafted poetic and uniquely Irish prose as his novels. All but one of the twenty stories are told in the first person, each with a distinctive voice. The characters cover a range of ages, sex … Continue reading Book Review – A Slanting of the Sun by Donal Ryan
Witchcraft Trials in Early Modern England
A far more succinct version of this post was published by The Coffee Pot Book Club on 9 March 2020. ‘The early-modern European witch-hunts were neither orchestrated massacres nor spontaneous pogroms. Alleged witches were not rounded up at night and summarily killed extra-judicially or lynched as the victims of mob justice. They were executed after trial and … Continue reading Witchcraft Trials in Early Modern England
My Reading – February 2020
The First Blast of the Trumpet by Marie Macpherson 'There's no rhyme nor reason to it. Your destiny is already laid doon.' The Blood Miracles by Lisa McInerney This, like so many of Ryan Cusack's fuck-ups, begins with ecstasy. All We Shall Know by Donal Ryan Martin Toppy is the son of a famous Traveller … Continue reading My Reading – February 2020
Meandering through Cyberspace in February 2020
The internet has dramatically enlarged our access to a wealth of information. Most days I spend some time online looking for items related to those things the interest me most - reading, writing and history. Without fail, every time, I find something new and interesting. So, here, I'd like to share a few of the … Continue reading Meandering through Cyberspace in February 2020
In My Garden – Pansies
Beautiful pansies Sometime you don’t know that you don’t know. I have always loved what I believe to be violas, to my mind miniature pansies. It is not so simple. Whatever they are, they belong the genus Viola of the plant family Violaceae. It seems that in the world of everyday English the names pansy, … Continue reading In My Garden – Pansies
My Reading – January 2020
There was Still Love by Favel ParrettThere are suitcases everywhere. A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo IshiguroNiki, the name we finally gave my younger daughter, is not an abbreviation; it was a compromise I reached with her father. Springtime : A Ghost Story by Michelle de KretserThat spring, Frances walked along the river every … Continue reading My Reading – January 2020
The Bridled Tongue – My new novel
Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Last Saturday I released my second novel, The Bridled Tongue. This is a story that, once again, takes place in the 1580s with fictional characters set against what I hope is a reasonably accurate historical background. While the developing relationship of the two main characters, … Continue reading The Bridled Tongue – My new novel
Catherine Meyrick 