NinieB thinks chronologically

Converses2021 Category Challenge

Afegeix-te a LibraryThing per participar.

NinieB thinks chronologically

1NinieB
Editat: feb. 7, 2021, 7:01 pm



I'm Ninie (rhymes with shiny) and I'm an avid reader in beautiful upstate New York.

When I was thinking about my theme for this year, and what I've liked when I've participated over the last two years, I kept coming back to time. I've been keeping a list of books by their year of publication. While I don't need to read a book for every year, as I did in 2019-2020, I do like to be able to see that I'm reading over a wide range of literary time.

So this year, my categories are time itself. You'll find every book I read in 2021 in one of the first eight categories. I'll also have a couple of special categories for reading projects.

January planner: https://www.librarything.com/topic/325630#7352200
February planner
BingoDOG: https://www.librarything.com/topic/325630#7312441

2NinieB
Editat: març 31, 2021, 3:39 pm



1782: Cecilia; or, Memoirs of an Heiress by Frances Burney

3NinieB
Editat: març 14, 2021, 7:21 pm



1841: Adventures of Susan Hopley; or, Circumstantial Evidence by Catherine Crowe
1861: Orley Farm by Anthony Trollope
1879: The Cloven Foot by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

4NinieB
Editat: març 21, 2021, 5:01 pm



1901: My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin

5NinieB
Editat: març 14, 2021, 7:22 pm



1930: Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield
1934: The Adventures of Ellery Queen by Ellery Queen
1935: The Spanish Cape Mystery by Ellery Queen
1936: Halfway House by Ellery Queen
1937: Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers
1938: Pomfret Towers by Angela Thirkell

6NinieB
Editat: març 23, 2021, 8:55 pm



1944: Green for Danger by Christianna Brand
1951: A Question of Upbringing by Anthony Powell
1958: Too Much of Water by Bruce Hamilton

7NinieB
Editat: gen. 10, 2021, 1:07 am



1. 1968: The House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton
2. 1978: Honeybath's Haven by Michael Innes

8NinieB
Editat: feb. 7, 2021, 6:58 pm



1. 1982: The Anglo-Saxons by James Campbell, Eric John, and Patrick Wormald; general editor, James Campbell

9NinieB
Editat: gen. 16, 2021, 12:15 am



2011: Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James

10NinieB
Editat: gen. 8, 2021, 10:13 pm

11NinieB
Editat: març 23, 2021, 8:55 pm

H.R.F. Keating's 100 Best Crime & Mystery Books

Keating published his list in Crime and Mystery: The 100 Best Books, with his commentary on each book.



1. Green for Danger by Christianna Brand

12NinieB
Editat: març 31, 2021, 3:39 pm

Literary fiction by women (Virago Modern Classics, Persephone, etc.)



1. Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield
2. Pomfret Towers by Angela Thirkell
3. My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin
4. Cecilia; or, Memoirs of an Heiress by Frances Burney

13NinieB
oct. 21, 2020, 5:14 pm

Special Project 3

14NinieB
Editat: oct. 21, 2020, 6:00 pm

The door is open . . . please stop by and say hello!

15Tess_W
oct. 21, 2020, 8:50 pm

Hello! Some great reads from those cats, I'm sure!

16rabbitprincess
oct. 21, 2020, 9:28 pm

Great idea for a theme! Have lots of fun exploring time (and space).

17NinieB
oct. 21, 2020, 10:21 pm

>15 Tess_W: Hi Tess! I am looking forward to many books from all different times!

>16 rabbitprincess: Thanks! I feel somewhat unimaginative this year so I went for categories that reflected what I anticipate reading. I'm sure I'll have fun!

18DeltaQueen50
oct. 22, 2020, 1:29 am

I like your theme and I can see that you have a spot for all possibilities. I have read quite a few of the books on H. R. F. Keating's list and I have a good number on my shelves to get to so I will definitely be following that category closely.

19MissWatson
oct. 22, 2020, 4:20 am

Love your theme! I am mulling something similar and will be very curious to see how you fill your time slots.

20Helenliz
oct. 22, 2020, 6:56 am

I'm intrigued by the list in >11 NinieB:, do you have a link? I mean, I need another list like I need a hole in the head, but I'm easily distracted by a good list...

21dudes22
oct. 22, 2020, 7:23 am

I was curious too, so I found this:
https://www.librarything.com/bookaward/H.R.F.+Keating%27s+100+Best+Crime+%2526+M...

I don't need more lists either, but still.....
Nice idea. I'll be watching your literary fiction category.

22NinieB
oct. 22, 2020, 11:15 am

>18 DeltaQueen50: My black-and-white brain had trouble figuring out where to put things this year!

>19 MissWatson: I'm hoping, among other things, that the Before 1800 category will encourage me to read a couple of 18th-century novels that have been on my TBR since 2019.

>20 Helenliz: I was a bit lazy when I put this up yesterday--"I'll add the link later!" Now I've added the link and also added a link to the book.

>21 dudes22: Thank you for sharing the link! On the literary fiction, I keep buying books because they are by Virago, Persephone, etc. authors, but I'm not keeping up on the reading end.

23LittleTaiko
oct. 22, 2020, 12:14 pm

What a lovely and orderly way to approach your reading - our brains must work similarly because I love the simplicity of it all.

24christina_reads
oct. 22, 2020, 12:41 pm

Stopping by to drop a star here! I love how you've picked fonts that go with each time period. :) I immediately googled H.R.F. Keating's top 100 crime books, and it looks like I have quite a bit of reading ahead of me!

25This-n-That
oct. 22, 2020, 12:46 pm

I'm also stopping by to drop a star. Your 'time' theme is a perfect way to categorize your reading. Well done.

26VivienneR
oct. 22, 2020, 3:57 pm

Wonderful idea! I'll be watching the Literary fiction category because, just like you I keep buying Virago, Persephone etc. but fall behind on the reading. It's nice to have a "rainy day" collection, though.

27NinieB
oct. 22, 2020, 6:05 pm

>23 LittleTaiko: Thanks! I'm looking forward to quick and easy categorizing of the books I read next year. :)

>24 christina_reads: Thank you--I had fun picking the fonts. And now I know how to use my own images on LT! I have not made much progress this year on the Keating list, but I will read at least one more this year as The Nine Tailors is on his list.

>25 This-n-That: Thanks, I'm glad you like it! As noted above I didn't want to get in the find-a-book-for-every-year weeds again, so I'm happy with this solution.

>26 VivienneR: Thank you! I really like the Viragos and so forth but there's no doubt they require more attention and time. I love my comfortable, mystery, easy reads.

28hailelib
oct. 22, 2020, 7:30 pm

The various fonts do add something. And now I need to take a look at Keating’s list. Enjoy your reading in 2021.

29NinieB
oct. 22, 2020, 8:46 pm

>28 hailelib: I hope you enjoy your reading too!

30LadyoftheLodge
oct. 23, 2020, 11:31 am

Hi there! You have some interesting categories. I have to admit that I picked comforting/comfortable categories for 2021. I just wanted to read things I like, without having to research or think too hard.

31NinieB
oct. 23, 2020, 2:02 pm

>30 LadyoftheLodge: I'm what some call a "mood" reader. I read what I'm in the mood for and it's hard to force myself to do otherwise! Thanks for stopping by!

32mnleona
oct. 24, 2020, 11:00 am

Like your idea of time.

33NinieB
oct. 24, 2020, 11:55 am

>32 mnleona: Thanks, Leona!

34pammab
oct. 27, 2020, 12:24 am

Love the fonts!! Caught my eye and made me smile first thing.

35NinieB
oct. 27, 2020, 12:12 pm

>34 pammab: My husband is fascinated by fonts; I've found his enthusiasm is contagious!

36sturlington
oct. 29, 2020, 6:26 pm

I like your approach. Very simple, but yet you'll make sure to do a wide range of reading. I like 20th century lit so I'll be interested to see what you read for those time periods.

37NinieB
oct. 29, 2020, 7:50 pm

>36 sturlington: We are both fans of the simple approach. I like your A to Z challenge!

38NinieB
Editat: març 31, 2021, 3:41 pm



3. (contains a love story) Pomfret Towers by Angela Thirkell
5. (impulse read) Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James
9. (less than 21 LT members) Adventures of Susan Hopley by Catherine Crowe
11. (set somewhere you'd like to visit) Too Much of Water by Bruce Hamilton (ocean-going ship)
14. (new author) A Question of Upbringing by Anthony Powell
17. (building type in title) The House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton
19. (two or more authors) The Spanish Cape Mystery by Ellery Queen
20. (character you'd be friends with) Cecilia; or, Memoirs of an Heiress by Frances Burney
22. (about history) The Anglo-Saxons by James Campbell et al.
23. (made me laugh) Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield
24. (Southern hemisphere) Wings above the Diamantina by Arthur W. Upfield

39pamelad
nov. 12, 2020, 3:14 pm

Looking forward to seeing what you're reading in 2021, particularly the ancient crime fiction.

40NinieB
nov. 12, 2020, 10:06 pm

>39 pamelad: There will be much of the ancient crime fiction! Thanks for stopping by.

41casvelyn
nov. 16, 2020, 9:00 am

I have two time-based categories planned for next year, so I am totally here for this! I love the fonts too!

42NinieB
nov. 16, 2020, 10:57 am

>41 casvelyn: Excellent--looking forward to seeing you here! Thanks for stopping by!

43leslie.98
nov. 17, 2020, 10:08 pm

I love your theme and the way you have organized your categories! I won't comment about the fonts since whatever I would have said has already been covered by the previous posts (lol).

I am a big fan of lists and of mysteries so I am excited to discover Keatings' list - I have already found it on Listchallenges.com and see that I have read only 43 of his top 100 so I have lots to go :)

44dudes22
nov. 18, 2020, 6:20 am

>43 leslie.98: - I love lists and that site will give me more to check out.

45NinieB
nov. 18, 2020, 5:26 pm

>43 leslie.98: 43 out of 100 is really good! (and ooh, did you see that your post is also number 43??)

>44 dudes22: I have played around on that site. It's fun!

46thornton37814
des. 4, 2020, 1:13 pm

I don't read enough older stuff to make my categories as yours are. I did, however, set up a category for books published over 50 years ago this year to encourage me to read some older stuff.

47NinieB
des. 4, 2020, 1:19 pm

>46 thornton37814: Hey Lori, I was just looking at your thread! I have a lot of 18th and 19th century that I have been planning to read, so I'm looking forward to the encouragement these categories will give me.

48thornton37814
des. 4, 2020, 1:50 pm

>47 NinieB: Thanks!

49MissBrangwen
des. 22, 2020, 11:29 am

What a wonderful setup, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you will read in 2021!

50NinieB
des. 22, 2020, 1:19 pm

>49 MissBrangwen: Thank you! Happy to have you along!

51mysterymax
des. 22, 2020, 5:36 pm

Here's to a great 2021! Lots of good reading ahead!

52NinieB
des. 22, 2020, 8:27 pm

>51 mysterymax: I think the reading will be very good!

53NinieB
Editat: des. 23, 2020, 11:24 pm

Touchstone fail.

54NinieB
Editat: gen. 31, 2021, 8:48 pm

January Planner
Each month I make notes about some possibilities!

GenreCAT (Nonfiction): The Brontës by Juliet Barker (continue in February)

HistoryCAT (Medieval): The Anglo-Saxons (continue in February), The Quest for Arthur's Britain, Magnus, The Strangled Queen

RandomCAT (LOL): Diary of a Provincial Lady Read

AlphaKIT (P-M): Diary of a Provincial Lady Read, Murder Every Monday, others

MysteryKIT (Water): The Man from the Sea, Too Much of Water Read

SFF-KIT (Leftovers)

ScaredyKIT (Graphic or YA): The House of Dies Drear Read

Lord Peter: Busman's Honeymoon Read

Bony: Wings above the Diamantina Read

A Dance to the Music of Time: A Question of Upbringing Read

Other books: Pomfret Towers Read, La Vendée, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Tender Is the Night, others

55MissBrangwen
des. 24, 2020, 7:24 am

Your HistoryCAT books sound fantastic! So interesting!

56NinieB
des. 24, 2020, 8:13 am

>55 MissBrangwen: I'm better at buying them than reading them, to be honest! We'll see what happens in January.

57MissBrangwen
des. 24, 2020, 9:07 am

Yes, me too :-) But it‘s nice to have them anyway!

58PaulCranswick
des. 26, 2020, 7:42 pm

>1 NinieB: We do think alike, Ninie!

I always like to spread out my reading either chronologically, or alphabetically (means therefore that since I shelve by author alphabetically that all my 16 sets of shelves get some attention) or in terms of ageing on my TBR piles.

Thanks for making me welcome in the group and I hope to visit regularly.

59NinieB
des. 26, 2020, 9:10 pm

>58 PaulCranswick: I'm looking forward to seeing you here, Paul!

60Crazymamie
des. 31, 2020, 3:46 pm

Such a great theme, and I love the set-up. Like most everyone else, I am interested in Keating's list, so I need to check that out.

I have Diary of a Provincial Lady in the stacks and am hoping to get to it this year.

61NinieB
des. 31, 2020, 4:41 pm

>60 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie! I'm seeing so much creativity this year from everyone! I've been moving slower than I'd like on Keating's list, so hoping I can get more done this coming year.

And I'm really looking forward to meeting the Provincial Lady.

62NinieB
des. 31, 2020, 9:53 pm



A very happy new year to everyone!

63PaulCranswick
gen. 1, 2021, 10:47 am



And keep up with my friends here, Ninie. Have a great 2021.

64NinieB
gen. 1, 2021, 10:49 am

>63 PaulCranswick: Lovely thoughts, Paul, thank you! Keeping up with friends is a delight.

65lkernagh
gen. 1, 2021, 3:01 pm

Happy New Year, Ninie! Oh, a time theme, how lovely! I am looking forward to some potential BBs for the older published works. ;-) Wishing you a wonderful year of reading.

66NinieB
gen. 1, 2021, 3:47 pm

>65 lkernagh: I love it when I find a target! Hope you'll stop by often!

67lyzard
gen. 1, 2021, 6:28 pm

Hi, Ninie! Here I am, trying to do MUCH better about thread visiting and commenting this year. :D

I love your categories of course! - best wishes for the new reading year. :)

68NinieB
gen. 1, 2021, 11:02 pm

>67 lyzard: Thank you for seeking me out, Liz! I am hoping not to spend too much time in the 1930s.

69NinieB
gen. 1, 2021, 11:06 pm

However, the 1930s were popular last year and having just finished Diary of a Provincial Lady I would happily stay there indefinitely. I gave it 5 stars because it is so perfect in its own way. I argued with myself because I tend to reserve 5 stars for things like Ethan Frome. But I also couldn't justify a lower rating.

So, my reading year has started on a very positive note.

70lyzard
gen. 2, 2021, 12:49 am

>69 NinieB:

Yeah, I've been hoping that for about the last decade. :D

That's exactly why I don't rate books, I can't make those sorts of calls.

71Tess_W
gen. 2, 2021, 9:44 am

>69 NinieB: loved Ethan Frome! Am putting A Provincial Lady on my wish list!

72Crazymamie
gen. 2, 2021, 9:48 am

"I argued with myself because I tend to reserve 5 stars for things like Ethan Frome." I use five stars as an indication that the book was the perfect read for me. I think I will try to get to Diary of a Provincial Lady this month!

73NinieB
gen. 2, 2021, 9:48 am

>70 lyzard: It's very hard for me to condemn a book to a less than 3-star rating, too. But I do like to give the ratings because it helps me remember the books.

74NinieB
gen. 2, 2021, 9:51 am

>71 Tess_W: >72 Crazymamie: It's a very, very different book from Ethan Frome--it's a comedy. And it's upper-middle class in Devon in 1930, rather than Puritan farmers in New England. But yes, both were the perfect reads for me.

75MissBrangwen
gen. 2, 2021, 9:59 am

Both are on my to read list and Ethan Frome is already on my shelf, so I am glad to read they are both Five Star Reads for you! And great that your reading year started so well.

I, too, very rarely rate a book below three stars. I think there are two reasons for that: On the one hand, I usually choose quite carefully what I read and I am quite good in predicting what I like and don't like. On the other hand, even if I don't like a book, I usually have respect for the author's work, or there were at least some things I liked, or I can see why this would appeal to someone else. And in this case it's still a three star rating to me. So a book must be really bad to get less than three stars from me.

76NinieB
gen. 2, 2021, 10:06 am

>75 MissBrangwen: Mirjam, yes, that's pretty much where I am! Just the fact that I read the book in the first place is usually a good sign. I will also note that if I don't finish a book, I just stop reading. I don't rate it, review it, or record that I stopped reading it.

77LadyoftheLodge
gen. 2, 2021, 12:31 pm

Diary of a Provincial Lady is one of my faves! You might want to read the others in the series, as they are just as humorous and enjoyable.

78NinieB
Editat: gen. 2, 2021, 12:53 pm

79lyzard
gen. 2, 2021, 6:28 pm

>73 NinieB:

I do tend to rate books in my head, if that makes sense. What I think of as a 'three-and-a-half stars book' is my baseline: this means a book gave me pretty much what I hoped for; with four stars and up meaning it went above and beyond and surprised and gripped me.

Unfortunately my reading patterns mean a fair proportion of sub-par books, in fact I've started 2021 with a real stinker---maybe one-and-a-half stars?

80NinieB
gen. 2, 2021, 8:40 pm

>79 lyzard: I saw your review of the Monte Barrett. It did sound dreadful!

81NinieB
Editat: gen. 3, 2021, 10:04 am

The House of Dies Drear, a children's book, must have been ground-breaking in 1968, because the author and all the characters are African-American. 13-year-old Thomas and his family move from North Carolina to Ohio, where his father will teach at the local college. Their new house is a mansion formerly owned by a white abolitionist who was murdered by a bounty hunter, along with two escaped slaves, before the Civil War. The house is commonly believed to be haunted by their ghosts. The mysterious Mr. Pluto has been the caretaker for many, many years.

This book has a kid-appropriate ending that, as an adult, I found a little unlikely. Overall, though, a really interesting book.

82Tess_W
Editat: gen. 3, 2021, 12:25 pm

>81 NinieB: I've always wanted to read that, but for some reason...........

83NinieB
gen. 3, 2021, 3:44 pm

>82 Tess_W: Definitely worth the read, Tess! I read it in one evening.

84NinieB
gen. 4, 2021, 5:51 pm

Too Much of Water by Bruce Hamilton is a traditional British mystery, in the Golden Age style, from 1958. Not surprisingly it was not published in the US until 1983, as part of 50 Classics of Crime Fiction, 1950-1975. I selected it from the shelf for January's MysteryKIT (water). Very enjoyable, and solid cluing and detection! The main character/amateur detective is Edgar Cantrell, a conductor, traveling on a small "cabin boat" to Barbados with about 20 other passengers. Hamilton does an excellent job of making the many characters distinguishable and memorable without any weirdly outré behavior. Completely tangential to the mystery, I enjoyed that Edgar's shipboard reading was Trollope, including Can You Forgive Her?, Is He Popenjoy?, and John Caldigate.

I would happily read more books by Bruce Hamilton.

85lyzard
gen. 4, 2021, 10:24 pm

>84 NinieB:

Obviously my kind of guy! :D

86NinieB
gen. 4, 2021, 10:39 pm

>85 lyzard: And mine! Other interesting facts: He was the brother of Patrick Hamilton and his biographer. He wrote several works of crime fiction, and also a cricket novel. And he settled in Barbados midway through his life.

87scaifea
gen. 5, 2021, 7:32 am

>84 NinieB: Oooh, this one sounds good - adding it to the list. Thanks!

88christina_reads
gen. 5, 2021, 12:24 pm

>84 NinieB: BB for me as well! I can already tell this thread is going to be dangerous for me. :)

89pamelad
gen. 5, 2021, 2:43 pm

>84 NinieB: It's been on my wishlist for a while now and I'm hoping it will be published as an ebook, because the only other way to obtain it is to order an ancient paperback from overseas. I'm giving that up!

90NinieB
gen. 5, 2021, 2:57 pm

>87 scaifea: >88 christina_reads: I hope you both enjoy it! I'm feeling fortunate because I've read three good books in five days!

>89 pamelad: I am familiar with the cost of mailing to Australia, and I don't blame you one bit! And it's not a publisher that used good quality paper, either.

91lyzard
gen. 5, 2021, 3:32 pm

>86 NinieB:

Fascinating, thank you!

>89 pamelad:

Yes, I've just about embargoed that sort of book-buying too. :(

92Tess_W
gen. 6, 2021, 9:08 am

>89 pamelad: I also gave buying the ancient paperbacks, also, Pam. Even with my glasses the font is too small and often the pages are yellowed making it still too difficult to read. The last paperback I bought was A Suitable Boy for the group read in 2019 (I think) and couldn't even finish the first chapter due to the font. Still waiting on and ebook for that one!

93NinieB
gen. 8, 2021, 10:10 pm

Pomfret Towers was the happy book that I needed yesterday and this evening.

94Crazymamie
gen. 9, 2021, 11:12 am

>93 NinieB: Hooray! I have that series in the stacks, but I have only read the first one. I'm hoping to get back to it this year.

95LadyoftheLodge
gen. 9, 2021, 2:04 pm

>93 NinieB: I have it on my shelves! I think it has been there for years and now is begging to be read.

96christina_reads
gen. 9, 2021, 6:25 pm

>93 NinieB: I just bought Pomfret Towers at a used bookstore! Is it OK that I've only read one other Thirkell, or does the series need to be read in order?

97NinieB
gen. 10, 2021, 1:03 am

>94 Crazymamie: >95 LadyoftheLodge: Time to read! It kept me from obsessively reading the news and gave me some grins and giggles.

>96 christina_reads: It is fine to read this one out of order. I have been reading them in order and there are several involving the Morland family which would make more sense in order, but Pomfret Towers involves a new cast of characters.

I hope you all enjoy as much as I did.

98NinieB
gen. 10, 2021, 1:06 am

My categories for more recent books demanded some attention, so I read Honeybath's Haven from 1978. It's hard to believe but I am slowly approaching the end of Michael Innes's books--it's only taken 10 or so years to read them.

99casvelyn
gen. 10, 2021, 11:29 am

>98 NinieB: Oh no! Michael Innes is such an interesting writer. I find his books to be hit or miss plot-wise, but they're always quite literary and well-written.

100NinieB
gen. 10, 2021, 11:52 am

>99 casvelyn: Agree 100%! I'm thinking of going on to some of his non-mystery books under his real name, J.I.M. Stewart, after I complete the mysteries.

101Tess_W
gen. 12, 2021, 11:15 pm

>98 NinieB:
>99 casvelyn:

I read Innes' Death by Water at the end of last year and it was indeed short on plot. Hoping I just got an "off" one and am going to try him again.

102casvelyn
gen. 13, 2021, 8:03 pm

>101 Tess_W: I recommend Hamlet, Revenge!, it was my first Innes and still one of the best.

103NinieB
gen. 13, 2021, 10:48 pm

>101 Tess_W: Hamlet, Revenge! is a good classic detective mystery. The Case of Sonia Wayward is a highly ironic tale about crime. The Secret Vanguard is a 39 Steps-type thriller. There Came Both Mist and Snow is detection with comedy.

104casvelyn
gen. 14, 2021, 7:57 am

>103 NinieB: Yes! The Case of Sonia Wayward is a good one too!

105NinieB
gen. 17, 2021, 2:59 pm

I'm counting as an impulse read Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James. I actually browsed on the shelves for a book (it's still so recent that that's possible) so that counts as impulse. What did I think . . . it's complicated.

P. D. James was, of course, a good writer. Pemberley was published in 2011, 49 years after her first novel, Cover Her Face, so she had had plenty of time to develop her skill. I strongly agree with the New York Times blurb on the cover to the effect that the story was told smoothly. James also showed her ability in Pemberley to write in the style of another author, in this instance Jane Austen, as Pemberley is a sequel to Pride and Prejudice. And yes, it was pleasant to see the after-life of favorite characters from a classic novel. James does not content herself with merely continuing their lives; she takes some of the threads of Pride and Prejudice and develops the plot of Pemberley from them.

But on the other hand, James has injected a murder mystery into the married life of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy.

(Side note: had I been paying attention, I would have waited until February to read this pastiche, as it would have fit nicely into MysteryKIT's February challenge of a pastiche mystery.)

James's anachronistic handling of the murder mystery gives rise to most of my reservations about the book. Perhaps most astonishing to me was the appearance of a doctor who mostly does medical consulting with the Derbyshire police . . . in 1803. I was also surprised to find magistrates and constables behaving more like Scotland Yard police in 20th-century English detective novels than characters in 18th-19th century English fiction, complete with fussing over disturbance of the crime scene. The comparison that kept coming to mind was William Godwin's novel Caleb Williams, published a mere nine years before Pemberley's 1803 setting. Caleb Williams is one of the very earliest of crime novels (no, I don't recommend it for pleasure reading, but that's another review). Suffice to say the picture of English criminal justice at the turn of the 19th century is radically different in Caleb Williams than in Pemberley.

Setting aside the police machinery James conjures, another more subtle issue bothered me. Those of you who have read the Adam Dalgliesh novels from the 1960s-1970s will understand what I'm talking about when I say that James can be a gloomy writer. This gloominess pervades Pemberley, and it would have been outstandingly suited to a sequel to Jane Eyre. Jane Austen, though, did not write gloomy novels. I would rather have renewed my acquaintance with her characters in a more cheerful, Austen-ish setting.

106rabbitprincess
gen. 17, 2021, 3:29 pm

>105 NinieB: I can't say I've been tempted to read this book, and now I am content to have read your excellent and thoughtful review :)

107pamelad
gen. 17, 2021, 3:30 pm

>105 NinieB: Like you, I was underwhelmed by Death Comes to Pemberley. In general, I avoid pastiches and continuations because either the tone is wrong, or characters undergo personality changes for the sake of the plot.

108NinieB
gen. 17, 2021, 4:41 pm

>106 rabbitprincess: Glad to have been of help! :)

>107 pamelad: I don't usually read this kind of thing either. I think I was swayed by P. D. James's name when I originally put it on the shelf.

109christina_reads
gen. 17, 2021, 6:28 pm

>105 NinieB: I didn't much like Death Comes to Pemberley. I think it failed both as a mystery (the solution came out of nowhere, if I'm remembering correctly) and as an Austen sequel. As you noted, this book is so gloomy compared with Pride and Prejudice, and there's very little interaction between Lizzy and Darcy in it! It mostly centers Darcy and Wickham...again, if I'm remembering right. It's been several years since I read the book.

110NinieB
gen. 17, 2021, 9:08 pm

>109 christina_reads: You've got it right, Christina. After she wrote at great length about the "police" stuff, James solved the mystery purely by confession.

111CDVicarage
gen. 18, 2021, 5:07 am

I, too, expected more from Death Comes to Pemberley. I was most annoyed by the info-dump masked as conversation between Jane and Lizzie introducing Mr Alveston. Most unlike Jane Austen's style.

112NinieB
gen. 18, 2021, 8:38 am

>111 CDVicarage: Yes, I agree, her content was not always in Jane Austen's style.

113NinieB
gen. 18, 2021, 8:58 am

I finished A Question of Upbringing, first in Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time. I'm planning to continue with this group read for the time being. I haven't decided what I think yet--although my copy had less than 200 pages, the book felt quite long, and I'm hoping to see more real interaction with women in the next couple of installments.

114pamelad
gen. 18, 2021, 3:37 pm

>113 NinieB: Female characters are not Powell's strong point. I thought he treated the women as inexplicable, alien beings.

115NinieB
gen. 18, 2021, 5:49 pm

>114 pamelad: That's an excellent description of the women in the first book! To be fair, if I wrote a novel that's probably how the male characters would seem.

116Crazymamie
gen. 27, 2021, 5:11 am

>105 NinieB: That was a DNF for me. I did think the limited series was fun though.

117NinieB
gen. 27, 2021, 9:42 pm

>116 Crazymamie: I'm starting to see why this book has a relatively low rating :)

118NinieB
gen. 31, 2021, 10:13 am

I had never read Busman's Honeymoon before I picked it up this month. The opening sequence of letters and diary entries is great (I keep wondering if Sayers was intentionally copying the style of Diary of a Provincial Lady in the Dowager's diary). The mystery was decent, with some cleverness, but nothing extraordinary. As a continuation of the Peter-Harriet story it's deeply satisfying (and absolutely must be read *after* Gaudy Night, IMHO). As a novelization of a play, it retains some staginess, mostly in the sitting-room of Talboys, with characters popping in and out of the room and lots of dialogue and activity in long scenes. As a novel, it doesn't rise anywhere near the heights of Gaudy Night. So, overall, a solid four stars.

119NinieB
Editat: feb. 7, 2021, 7:01 pm

February Planner

GenreCAT: Biography: The Brontes (finish from December and January)
HistoryCAT: Modern (c. 1800-): Into the Valley of Death, The Sea of Grass, Richard Neutra
RandomCAT: Fruits & Veggies: The Greengage Summer, The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes, other ideas
AlphaKIT: T K: The Battlers, The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes, other ideas
MysteryKIT: Pastiche: Moriarty
SFFKIT: Sentient things: Galactic Pot-Healer

Orley Farm
Voss
A Buyer's Market
Anglo-Saxons READ

120MissBrangwen
gen. 31, 2021, 11:59 am

Wonderful options for February! I'm particularly interested in The Anglo-Saxons and The Brontes.

121NinieB
gen. 31, 2021, 12:53 pm

>120 MissBrangwen: I have read about half of each.

The Anglo-Saxons is heavily illustrated, some color, but it has lots of text as well. It's a history, with an emphasis on the political.

The Brontës is a real doorstopper of something like 1,000 pages, an incredibly rich, detailed history of the entire family. I read du Maurier's biography of Branwell late last year and while I liked it, it really made me want more. This one is giving much more context, and it is footnoted.

122MissBrangwen
gen. 31, 2021, 12:59 pm

Thank you for the comments! I'm noting both down on my wishlist. I already read a few Bronte biographies, but there can never be enough, there's always something new to learn! And this one sounds really great and profound, providing more context than others, as you say.

123lyzard
gen. 31, 2021, 5:47 pm

Hi, Ninie! The thread is up for the group read of Orley Farm; hope to see you there! :)

Here

124NinieB
gen. 31, 2021, 8:55 pm

The third Bony book is Wings above the Diamantina, in which a girl is found in a stolen two-seat monoplane on a dry lake bed in southwestern Queensland. Strapped into the passenger seat, she is completely paralyzed, for no apparent reason. Of the pilot there is no sign, and native trackers can find no sign of footprints in the vicinity of the plane. How did it get to Emu Lake? Who is the girl, and why is she paralyzed? Who wants her dead? Can Detective-Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte solve the mystery so her life can be saved?

With each book, Upfield's ability to tell his story improved. I read this one many years ago but remembered nothing about it--glad I reread!

125NinieB
gen. 31, 2021, 8:56 pm

>123 lyzard: Thanks for letting me know, Liz! See you there!

126pamelad
gen. 31, 2021, 10:24 pm

>124 NinieB: I've found a pile of Bony books on Overdrive, including this one, so will give it a go. Good title. I have no idea which ones I've read.

127lyzard
gen. 31, 2021, 11:11 pm

>124 NinieB:

Nice! I'm hoping to collect a library copy of Mr Jelly's Business sometime this week.

>125 NinieB:

Excellent! :)

128NinieB
feb. 1, 2021, 9:36 am

>126 pamelad: I bought this book many years ago with no idea what it was about, based solely on the title! Hope you enjoy!

129NinieB
feb. 1, 2021, 9:38 am

>127 lyzard: Still undecided whether I will read Mr Jelly's Business this time around. Stay tuned :)

130NinieB
feb. 7, 2021, 6:57 pm

One of the four largish (or at least demanding) books I am reading right now finished: The Anglo-Saxons is a history of Anglo-Saxon England from the darkest of Dark Ages, the 5th-6th centuries, to the Norman Conquest in 1066. I use darkest in the sense that very little survives in the way of written history, really written anything, from the time. Thus much of what is known comes from archaeology, and largely much is unknown. Despite being a book with many large pictures, this was pretty sturdy reading. The pictures are great--since it's from the early 1980s more than I would have liked were in black-and-white, but they are well-chosen to illustrate the history.

131NinieB
feb. 14, 2021, 5:07 pm

The Spanish Cape Mystery is the last of the Ellery Queen mysteries with a locational title. Here, the location (a millionaire's house on an isolated peninsula) is called Spanish Cape. There's also a cape as in a cloak that makes its appearance garbing the dead John Marco when nothing else is. Yes, that's right, Queen has set up one of his trademark bizarre scenes: naked dead man--wearing opera hat, cloak, cane--sitting on an oceanside terrace. (The question does arise at least in my head why Marco brought such fancy clothing along for summer in the country, but not in the book. I suppose the answer is that it's the era of Puttin' on the Ritz.) We also have a ginormous kidnapper named Captain Kidd and a bunch of very uncomfortable guests visiting Spanish Cape. I felt at the end like I should have identified the murderer, but I didn't . . . I was as surprised as everyone else when Ellery revealed who done it!

132NinieB
Editat: feb. 18, 2021, 4:42 pm

Every once in a while the novel Adventures of Susan Hopley; or, Circumstantial Evidence (1841), by Catherine Crowe, will be mentioned in a discussion of early detective fiction. I read it, and yes, it's true! Susan Hopley is a housemaid in rural Kent. Her kind employer is murdered; his will has gone missing, with the result that his nephew is left penniless; and Susan's brother, a footman, is believed to be the murderer. He's disappeared, as has the beautiful dairymaid, Mabel Lightfoot. Susan ends up going to London and ultimately France; she has picaresque adventures and we get lengthy stories of the people she works for, but in the end all mysteries are resolved. While it is 180 years old--you won't think it's any newer--the writing is unpretentious and relatively easy to read. I'm looking forward to reading more fiction by Catherine Crowe.

133christina_reads
feb. 19, 2021, 9:21 am

>132 NinieB: OK FINE I will add this to my TBR list! :)

134NinieB
feb. 19, 2021, 8:37 pm

>133 christina_reads: hehehe I got you with my BB :)

135casvelyn
feb. 21, 2021, 10:14 am

>134 NinieB: I think that BB must have ricocheted, because it hit me too!

136NinieB
feb. 21, 2021, 11:00 am

>135 casvelyn: Oh, I hope you enjoy it as well!

137lyzard
Editat: feb. 21, 2021, 3:24 pm

>132 NinieB:

Nice work, Ninie! :)

I was delighted when I realised that Adventures Of Susan Hopley is on my (long-stalled) '100 Best Novels' challenge list from 1898: of course it's another of that list's idiosyncrasies but it was great to know Crowe was still being appreciated by some at the end of the 19th century. Like Frances Trollope, she fell rapidly out of favour as Victorianism took hold and her books were no longer considered "proper".

OTOH I once found her in an article of "female authors not worth rediscovering" and you can tell that the smartarse who wrote it hasn't read the books... :(

>133 christina_reads:, >135 casvelyn:

Yay, more friends of Susan!

138NinieB
Editat: feb. 21, 2021, 4:21 pm

>137 lyzard: She was included in a book written at the end of the 19th century about prominent women writers--unfortunately I can't find its name at the moment. Her ghost stories seem to be her main claim to fame now. Maybe the smartarse didn't like ghost stories?

ETA: Women Novelists of Queen Victoria’s Reign: A Book of Appreciations. By Margaret Oliphant et al. 1897

139lyzard
feb. 21, 2021, 4:23 pm

>138 NinieB:

Oh, lovely! I didn't know about that, thanks!

And you remind me I have to start thinking about how to best tackle Oliphant's Carlingford series. :)

140NinieB
feb. 26, 2021, 10:12 pm

I finished another chubby 19th-century novel this evening. The Cloven Foot by Mary Elizabeth Braddon is great fun to read for the plot, but I would have tied up the plot strings differently. It's hard to go into any detail about the book without spoiling everything; the basic set-up is that upon the death of Jasper Treverton, he leaves his large Devon estate to his cousin John Treverton, on condition that John marry Jasper's foster daughter, Laura Malcolm, a beautiful girl who claims not to have the knack of making friends. While Laura is presented with clouds of mystery surrounding her, as is John, some light relief comes in the form of Laura's friend Celia Clare, the vicar's daughter, who is determined not to marry a poor man.

141MissBrangwen
feb. 27, 2021, 8:44 am

>140 NinieB: The premise sounds fun, indeed!

142pamelad
feb. 27, 2021, 4:17 pm

>132 NinieB:, >138 NinieB: I've had a look for both of these, but downloaded a synopsis by mistake. I will keep looking for free ebook versions.

>140 NinieB: This one looks good too. I liked Lady Audley's Secret and have been meaning to give Mary Elizabeth Braddon another go.

143NinieB
Editat: feb. 27, 2021, 4:25 pm

>141 MissBrangwen: I enjoy the dark foreboding side of Miss Braddon!

I don't think either Susan Hopley or Cloven Foot has a quality free ebook available--I read the images which I downloaded from HathiTrust. I'm sure the images are also available from Internet Archive.

Gutenberg.org has the Women Novelists, so it should be a quality product.

144NinieB
feb. 27, 2021, 4:24 pm

>142 pamelad: I recommend Aurora Floyd, which is just about as sensational as Lady Audley.

145lyzard
feb. 28, 2021, 9:56 pm

>140 NinieB:, >144 NinieB:

Averting my eyes from The Cloven Foot as that's one I haven't read yet.

I adore Aurora Floyd, which should be the next-but one Virago read---once I've figured out how to approach the Carlingford Chronicles, that is.

Not that I'm getting ahead of myself, or anything. :)

146NinieB
feb. 28, 2021, 10:10 pm

>145 lyzard: But there just isn't enough time for all the good books! That's why you're getting ahead of yourself!

147NinieB
març 1, 2021, 1:16 pm

So, it's March already. Time to shake the snow out of my brain. There, that's better.

Reading-wise, I was checked out for a lot of February, so I only finished four books, and I didn't get around to the categories and so forth. I'm still hoping to catch up on my group reads--March may be different. But I'm not inclined to do a March planner quite yet.

To my friends who have been stopping by to see what I'm reading, I appreciate it more than you can know. Please keep dropping in. :)

148christina_reads
març 2, 2021, 9:07 am

>147 NinieB: I hope you enjoy what you read this month. I'm always sure to get great recommendations when I stop by your thread!

149Helenliz
març 2, 2021, 9:26 am

>147 NinieB: Hoping March has one over on February.

150NinieB
març 2, 2021, 8:45 pm

>148 christina_reads: Aww, thanks, Christina!

>149 Helenliz: Thanks, Helen! I'm hoping for more sunshine; longer days should pay off!

151NinieB
març 5, 2021, 8:04 pm

I mentioned snow in a couple of posts. It's mostly gone now--just the dirty dregs hanging about mostly--but we had a lot of snow about a month ago. Turns out my new house's back patio catches a lot of snow . . .



That's a table, the kind you can normally eat at!

152rabbitprincess
març 6, 2021, 8:26 am

Wow, it looks like a cake storage unit! That's a lot of snow.

153Helenliz
març 6, 2021, 10:10 am

That's a mind boggling amount of snow to someone whose country grinds to a halt in a heavy frost!

154LadyoftheLodge
març 6, 2021, 1:37 pm

I have a similar table on my back deck, but it did not acquire that much snow this season. It looked more like a cupcake though!

155NinieB
març 6, 2021, 4:01 pm

>152 rabbitprincess: >154 LadyoftheLodge: It's funny how the cake analogy keeps coming up!

>153 Helenliz: It's mind-boggling to me too! I'm a Californian; one of my New York friends said I was like a little kid my first winter here.

156thornton37814
març 7, 2021, 6:48 pm

157DeltaQueen50
març 8, 2021, 12:57 pm

>151 NinieB: It's very beautiful but I am glad that I only have to look at it in a picture, not deal with it in real life. Here on the west coast of Canada, we aren't very good with snow.

158NinieB
març 8, 2021, 4:09 pm

>156 thornton37814: Yes indeedy, that's what I said too!

>157 DeltaQueen50: Well, to be honest I didn't have to deal with it either, since I've been working from home for the duration. And my husband let me work rather than shovel snow!

159DeltaQueen50
març 9, 2021, 2:05 pm

>158 NinieB: Hooray for not having to shovel snow!

160NinieB
març 14, 2021, 7:12 pm

Halfway House finds Ellery in Trenton, New Jersey, where he runs into a college friend, attorney Bill Angell. Bill is about to meet his sister's husband at a lonely shack on the Delaware River, summoned for some mysterious business. But when Bill arrives, he finds brother-in-law Joseph Wilson dying from a stab wound. Joe manages to refer to a woman before expiring. It turns out that Joe has been living a double life, though, with another wife besides Bill's sister Lucy. Suspicion falls on Lucy--but what about second wife Jessica? or perhaps Jessica's daughter Andrea? and there's a persistent female reporter as well. Worth reading as part of the series.

161NinieB
Editat: març 14, 2021, 7:17 pm

Two weeks late, I have finished one of my February group reads, Orley Farm by Anthony Trollope. In this amazingly long Victorian novel, we have a multitude of characters, ranging from a landed baronet to a sweet young lady to a whole cadre of lawyers to a hotel chambermaid.

It's notable that Trollope set the book at his fictionalized boyhood home, because the women of the story all did what Trollope's mother did--what they need to do to get what they need, no matter how disreputable, or how pure, their actions are. I read this novel a few years ago but I'm glad I re-read it. But it's too lengthy to read again for a very long time!

162NinieB
març 21, 2021, 4:59 pm

My second March book was My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin. This quintessentially Australian novel from 1901, written when Stella Miles Franklin was a mere teenager, broke my heart. The protagonist, Sybylla Melvyn, is 15 to 19 over the course of the story. She is a fish out of water in her bush community. A sample of her musings when she is most bitter about her own unusual character and her fate of living in Possum Gully: "Love, I said, was not a lasting thing; but knowledge told me that it was for those of beauty and winsome ways, and not for me. I was ever to be a lonely-hearted waif from end to end of the world of love—an alien among my own kin." And on her brother's leaving home: "He was gone. Such is life. I sat down and buried my face in my apron, too miserable even for tears. Here was another article I ill could spare wrenched from my poorly and sparsely furnished existence."

Despite the desperation quoted here, it's good reading with much happiness as well (when Sybylla is living with her grandmother).

163Tess_W
març 21, 2021, 7:54 pm

>162 NinieB: A BB for me!

164pamelad
març 21, 2021, 8:28 pm

>162 NinieB: It's a very long time since I read this book. Have you seen the 1979 film with Judy Davis?

165NinieB
març 21, 2021, 8:51 pm

>163 Tess_W: Hope you enjoy it, Tess!

>164 pamelad: No, I haven't. I expect she would be very good in this story. Must add to the watchlist--thanks!

166lyzard
març 22, 2021, 12:16 am

>161 NinieB:

Fair point(s)! Thanks for joining in. :)

>162 NinieB:, >164 pamelad:

I watched the movie the other week but shame on me, I've never read it: just a little too late to fall to me "naturally"! But one of these days...

167NinieB
març 22, 2021, 4:02 pm

>166 lyzard: No shame allowed! It's well worth your time, if you're ever so inclined.

168Tess_W
març 22, 2021, 7:25 pm

>166 lyzard: Sometimes books, sometimes movies, sometimes both! All are acceptable!

169NinieB
març 23, 2021, 9:02 pm

I picked up Green for Danger by Christianna Brand off my shelf because a good Golden Age mystery was what I needed. It's set at a military hospital in Kent during World War II. Joseph Higgins is brought in one night when he's injured in an air raid. The next morning during surgery he dies unexpectedly. Inspector Cockrill comes to investigate; he's inclined to believe nothing untoward has happened. But while still at the hospital, he's called to the scene of an undoubted murder: Sister Bates has been stabbed twice in the operating theatre.

Not the outright comedy of the movie, but Christianna Brand uses humor and romance very effectively in a classic. It's one of the Keating 100 Best, and for good reason.

170christina_reads
març 24, 2021, 9:10 am

>169 NinieB: Technically not a BB, since I've been meaning to read this one for ages, but you've definitely convinced me to move it up the list!

171pamelad
març 24, 2021, 4:36 pm

>169 NinieB: Green for Danger is one of my favourites. Before ebooks, a lot of Christianna Brand's crime novels were out of print, so there are some tatty old paperbacks on my shelves that I can't move on because they were so hard to find.

172NinieB
març 24, 2021, 4:51 pm

>170 christina_reads: Yay, looking forward to your review!

>171 pamelad: Although I've read them all, I've been acquiring my own copies (like this one) of Brand when I come across them. So worth it!

173DeltaQueen50
març 25, 2021, 2:36 pm

I also have planned to read Green for Danger at some point this year. I am looking forward to it.

174NinieB
març 25, 2021, 5:22 pm

>173 DeltaQueen50: Another great reviewer! I hope you enjoy it!

175Helenliz
març 25, 2021, 5:30 pm

>169 NinieB: That's not an author I'm familiar with, but your review and the Keating list sounds like a pair of good recommendations.

176NinieB
març 25, 2021, 8:55 pm

>175 Helenliz: She wrote a number of clever, witty mysteries in the 1940s and 1950s. But she's been forgotten compared to perennials like Christie and Marsh.

177NinieB
març 25, 2021, 8:58 pm

Emily Brontë alert. I watched the 1939 movie Wuthering Heights tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's one of the movies included right now with Prime.

178Tess_W
març 26, 2021, 5:46 am

>177 NinieB: Wuthering Heights, one of my favorite books and movies of all time. However, I prefer the version starring Ralph Fiennes as Heathcliff. (1992)

179NinieB
Editat: març 31, 2021, 7:07 am

"'. . . But when first I opened a book, after so long an abstinence from all mental nourishment,--Oh it was rapture! no half-famished beggar regaled suddenly with food, ever seized on his repast with more hungry avidity.'"

--Fanny Burney, Cecilia; or, Memoirs of an Heiress

180MissBrangwen
març 31, 2021, 7:17 am

>179 NinieB: What a wonderful quote! I've yet to read anything by Fanny Burney.

181NinieB
març 31, 2021, 9:11 am

>180 MissBrangwen: I thought someone here would like it, just like I do!

My copy of Cecilia is about 1,000 pages, and her writing style is a bit challenging. But she tells a great story that is still enthralling!

182Tess_W
març 31, 2021, 3:32 pm

>179 NinieB: I have that on my shelf, don't know why I'm afraid to tackle it!

183NinieB
març 31, 2021, 3:36 pm

Cecilia; or, Memoirs of an Heiress was the second novel of Frances "Fanny" Burney. A bestseller in its day (1782), the book provided a name for Pride and Prejudice.

Cecilia Beverley is 20 years old and an heiress. In addition to £10,000 in stocks inherited from her father, her uncle has left her real estate that will provide an income of £3,000 per year. The value today of the stocks would be well over one million pounds and the income something like £380,000. But she has no family, and under the terms of her uncle's will she must live with one of her three guardians until she turns 21. Oh, and if she marries, her husband must take her last name.

It turns out that for her three guardians, uncle has chosen Mr Harrel--a compulsive gambler; Mr Delvile--a haughty and proud man unwilling to do anything for anyone; and Mr Briggs--a successful businessman without any desire other than to pinch pennies. Plenty of suitors are soon swarming around Cecilia and her money, but Cecilia is only attracted to one of them.

Cecilia; or, Memoirs of an Heiress is extremely lengthy, around 1,000 pages. Miss Burney's writing style is a bit challenging, but you will want to keep reading to find out what happens--at least I did.

184pamelad
març 31, 2021, 3:44 pm

>179 NinieB: Love the quote. It's many years since I've read anything by Fanny Burney, so I'm adding this to my wish list for the time a long, leisurely read appeals.

185MissBrangwen
març 31, 2021, 3:52 pm

>181 NinieB: Yes, I expect a long and difficult but also rewarding read! But I think the time must be right for something like that or I will give up too easily... Your words and review are very motivating, though!

186NinieB
Editat: març 31, 2021, 4:22 pm

>182 Tess_W: >184 pamelad: >185 MissBrangwen: I'm really glad I read this. I read Evelina a couple of years ago and had meant to move on to this one for a while, but the length was discouraging. Now, of course, I want to go on to her third, Camilla, but I have some other reading to do first!

187NinieB
març 31, 2021, 4:41 pm

I've opened up thread 2 (the Second Sequence). See you there!