1.) The blog post - is a lovely review of Miss Hargreaves over at Hayley's blog Desperate Reader - click here to hear how my, er, persuasions have been noted over the years - and how they proved fruitful.
2.) The book - is one I heard about over at Cornflower, who is a fellow Debo fan - Deborah Mitford, or Deborah Devonshire as we should call her (or Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, if you feel so inclined) has succumbed to public pressure and written her autobiography: Wait for Me! You might remember my love of all things Mitford from 2008, and I'm excited about this - there is so much that Debo says that I don't agree with, but she says it all so charmingly that she's the most delightful Grumpy Old Woman imaginable. To the extent that none of her opinions really sound grumpy... but instead rather adorable. The book isn't out til September, so this is very early warning - but I expect some of you will be putting pre-orders in even as I type...3.) The link - I've been very parasitical this week - thank you Cathie from my email group for this fascinating link. It's an article in The Guardian by AS Byatt about Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but also mentions all sorts of other children's classics, like the Wizard of Oz series, The Secret Garden, Winnie the Pooh... and reminds me to point out the link to a beautiful webpage of many different artists' impressions of Alice et al, that link being down in the left-hand column under 'Places of Beauty'. Enjoy!
And, finally, I thought I'd let you know that the latest Bloggers Books of the Month are available at the Big Green Bookshop and on its webpage (including my choice, which I love - see all the choices here) - and I'm sure you'll want to join me in congratulating Simon from the shop on his beautiful new baby boy...
Finally, the weekend! I have been a tiny bit obsessed by the Mitford's since I visited (totally by accident) their family home last spring. If you ever in the area (cotswolds) you should check out The Swan Inn.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theswanswinbrook.co.uk/
I think it's still part of the Devonshire estate and it's packed full of Mitford miscellany. Very interesting and the food is pretty yum too.
Have a good one x
Anything Mitford-related is for me, paricularly Debo-related. And to hear her described as "the most delightful Grumpy Old Woman imaginable" excites me even more - books written by perfectly contented people are always rather dull.
ReplyDeleteBut how dare you tell us about this book six months before it's released? So much waiting...
Ooooh can't wait for Debo's memoirs! They will be absolutely delightful and engrossing, I'm sure!
ReplyDeleteOooh I am excited about Debo's memoir and must get my mitts on that one very soon!
ReplyDeleteAnother Miss Hargreaves review this week that I think you'll enjoy reading:
ReplyDeletehttp://nonsuchbook.typepad.com/nonsuch_book/2010/03/miss-hargreaves-by-frank-baker.html
Thanks for the link, Claire!
ReplyDeleteYes, thank you Claire! And so good to find equally enthusiastic company here in love with Miss Hargreaves.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed the A.S. Byatt article. And then enjoyed the new Alice movie. And am now contemplating a Carroll re-read and other things Alice as well. As proof that there are some obsessions one never outgrows.
This book sounds really good. I know the reviews will be so much to look forward to as well
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