Category: UK author

A Severed Head – Iris Murdoch

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Jo A Severed Head is a 1961 satirical novel about marriage, adultery and deception within a group of civilised and educated people. The six characters are unpleasant, their morals questionable and their actions immoral especially the main character, 41-year-old… Continue Reading “A Severed Head – Iris Murdoch”

Bring Up The Bodies – Hilary Mantel

READ FOR BOOKERTHON The sequel to Wolf Hall, charting the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, a minister in the court of King Henry VIII. © “Bring Up The Bodies is the sequel to Wolf Hall, about the life of Thomas Cromwell who was influential… Continue Reading “Bring Up The Bodies – Hilary Mantel”

The Bell – Iris Murdoch

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Jo A lay community of mixed-up people is encamped outside Imber Abbey, a home of sequestered nuns. An old bell is rediscovered, causing change in everyone. © “A former teacher establishes a sanctuary for those looking for a “refuge from… Continue Reading “The Bell – Iris Murdoch”

Under The Net – Iris Murdoch

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Jo A 1954 book about struggling writer Jake Donaghue sponging off his friends and hunting for a missing manuscript. The Hospital was deserted, yet strangely alive. I could hear it purring and murmuring like a sleeping beast, and even… Continue Reading “Under The Net – Iris Murdoch”

The Pregnant Widow – Martin Amis

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Rachel The setting for The Pregnant Widow is a pastoral Italian castle in a hot dry summer. Here, beautiful young people are draped around the pool, smoking cigarettes, drinking wine, discussing literature, sex and freedoms. It is 1970, the start of… Continue Reading “The Pregnant Widow – Martin Amis”

The Sea, The Sea – Iris Murdoch

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Suzy Charles Arrowby retires to the seaside to write his memoirs but is constantly under visitation by ex-lovers and friends ☁ “Published in 1978, The Sea, The Sea is the story of an eventful summer late in the life… Continue Reading “The Sea, The Sea – Iris Murdoch”

Wolf Hall – Hilary Mantel

READ FOR BOOKERTHON A fictionalised biography documenting the rapid rise to power of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII. ❚ “Wolf Hall is primarily about Thomas Cromwell who in real life was a disliked man who worked for King Henry. He orchestrated… Continue Reading “Wolf Hall – Hilary Mantel”

The Quickening Maze – Adam Foulds

READ FOR BOOKERTHON The true story of poet John Clare’s incarceration in London’s Epping Forest, a mental asylum run on the reformist principles of occupational therapy. Lord Alfred Tennyson had his brother treated there and the book bases its storyline on the speculation of… Continue Reading “The Quickening Maze – Adam Foulds”

The Children’s Book – A S Byatt

READ FOR BOOKERTHON Loosely based on the life of E Nesbit, The Children’s Book follows the lives of several inter-related families from 1895 through WWI. ❚ “The Wellwood family consists of Olive, Humphrey, Olive’s sister Violet, and many children. They are Fabians, living in… Continue Reading “The Children’s Book – A S Byatt”

Great Expectations – Charles Dickens

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Suzy A coming of age novel where a young man, Pip, has an anonymous benefactor who sponsors him in to becoming a gentleman ❚ “ Great Expectations is a story of a young man who wants more than what… Continue Reading “Great Expectations – Charles Dickens”