The Swan Thieves is an intriguing story of art and obsession. Its starting point is the attack on a 19th century painting hanging in the National Gallery of Art in Washington. The attacker, Robert Oliver, is a brilliant painter suffering from a psychosis. He is hospitalized under the care of psychiatrist Andrew Marlow who is … Continue reading Book Review – The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
My Reading – May 2017
The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova Mothering Sunday : A Romance by Graham Swift Typewriter Music by David Malouf The Muse by Jessie Burton The Marriage Certificate by Stephen Molyneux A Glimpse of Happiness by Jean Fullerton
Book Review – The Marriage Certificate by Stephen Molyneux
The Marriage Certificate by Stephen Molyneux is definitely one for the genealogists. It opens with the discovery of a marriage certificate in an antiques centre by Peter Sefton, an amateur genealogist. Thinking that there is something vaguely inappropriate for such a personal memento to be on display, he buys it in the hope of perhaps … Continue reading Book Review – The Marriage Certificate by Stephen Molyneux
One Minute Book Review – Mothering Sunday – A Romance by Graham Swift
Traditionally Mothering Sunday is the fourth Sunday of Lent, a day when domestic servants were given the day off to visit their families. Jane Fairchild, the Niven family’s maid, is a foundling so has no mother to visit. This Mothering Sunday, the 30th of March 1924, is a light filled day that feels like summer … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – Mothering Sunday – A Romance by Graham Swift
Book Review: The Spy by Paul Coelho
This short novel by Paul Coelho begins with British reporter Henry Wales’ eyewitness account of the execution by firing squad on 15 October 1917 of Margaretha Zelle otherwise known as Mata Hari. Of a middle-class Dutch family, Margaretha was brought up by an uncle after her parents died. At school she was raped by her … Continue reading Book Review: The Spy by Paul Coelho
Book Review – La Princesse de Clèves by Madame de Lafayette
This edition of La Princesse de Clèves also includes two earlier works written by Madame de Lafayette – La Princesse de Montpensier published in 1662, and La Comtesse de Tende published posthumously in 1718 although this is probably the earliest of Madame de Lafayette’s works. Both are short, no more than thirty pages and deal … Continue reading Book Review – La Princesse de Clèves by Madame de Lafayette
My Reading – April 2017
Grief is the thing with feathers by Max Porter. The first stone : some questions about sex and power by Helen Garner La Princesse de Clèves by Madame de Lafayette Deadly intent by Anna Sweeney Save
Book Review – One Woman’s War and Peace by Wing Commander Sharon Bown (Ret’d)
When I think of Australian women’s military service, particularly in relation to World War 1, I think of the women of Australian Army Nursing Service. 2,139 AANS nurses served overseas during World War I attending wounded Australian soldiers in all major campaigns. They worked behind the lines in field hospitals and on hospital ships that … Continue reading Book Review – One Woman’s War and Peace by Wing Commander Sharon Bown (Ret’d)
One Minute Book Review – Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole
Letters from Skye is a gentle story of love, longing and war told through a series of letters. Poet Elspeth Dunn’s story begins in 1912 when she receives her first fan letter from an American student, David Graham. This is the beginning of an extended correspondence between the two which continues through the war years, … Continue reading One Minute Book Review – Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole
Early Modern Women – Elizabeth Paston (1429-1488)
I have been fascinated by the 15th and 16th centuries since I studied Early Modern British history in my first year at university. In my reading over the ensuing years I have caught sight of people who had no influence on the grand scheme of things yet they brought history to life, reminding me vividly that … Continue reading Early Modern Women – Elizabeth Paston (1429-1488)
Catherine Meyrick 