The Correspondent - Virginia Evans

51%

20.03.26

Epistolary stories might be the original novel format (see the amazing Clarissa, 1748) but that doesn't mean they successfully build emotional engagement or a gripping plot. This, to me, did neither. What was it actually about, other than an unrealistic woman writing letters? Yeah, I know it's all in what is not said but it was so introspective - and yet also so performative - that it ultimately didn't reach its destination.

Spencer's List - Lissa Evans

 66%

02.01.21

She's now known for her wartime epics (see here and here) but Evans' first novel is really just a collection of set pieces about likeable, linked characters. But it is brimming with her characteristic panache, painful pinpoint humour and the sudden powerful pathos that comes out of nowhere. 

Crooked Heart - Lissa Evans

69%
15.06.19

Now, this is more like it. A sequel (prequel?) to the equally entertaining Old Baggage, juggling the same mix of humour, strong characters, social history and unusual take on a well-worn trope. And the unexpectedly sentimental last page floored me because I'm an old softy.

Old Baggage - Lissa Evans

69%
14.02.19

Who cares if there's not much plot when there are so many strongly drawn characters, and such a vivid sense of place? It is indeed the 'delight' that the cover promises, at least when it's not bogged down in pathos and foreshadowing.