The Other Bennet Sister - Janice Hadlow

58%

08.03.26

This was charming and well characterised, although Austen did most of the hard work. As it's basically fan fiction, it suffers where it departs from Austen's example - being bogged down in endless exposition (so much telling, not much showing) and the occasional distracting head hopping away from the protagonist's point of view. And as for the completely contrived misunderstandings near the end... if even the characters admit they should have just spoken to each other, then the plot simply isn't strong enough.

The Unknown Ajax - Georgette Heyer

53%

09.01.26

Heyer is a dependable comfort read when I'm under the weather (I've been winged but not by a pistol) and this, as usual, featured vivid characters and gentle humour, but it's also a little dull (despite the smuggling subplot). Much of it hasn't aged well since the 1950s - marrying one's cousin and bullying a queer relation lands rather differently these days.

A Glass of Blessings - Barbara Pym

72%

18.12.25

I hadn't heard of this but it was by far the best Pym novel I've read. The snobbish, judgemental narrator was, oddly, especially engaging and relatable - in fact, it's surprising how much of a 1950s, middle-class, religious housewife's life is still relatable through Pym's witty and perceptive writing. Her relationships with her mother-in-law and, later, her gay friends, were surprisingly positive. Overall: delightful.

All Passion Spent - Vita Sackville-West

59%

10.12.25

Although the style and much of the subject matter is dated, you could bump into many of the characters today. Everyone was eccentric in their own way - sometimes charmingly and sometimes obnoxiously but always vividly. And the message of women's sacrificing their individuality for men and family is still, sadly, relevant.

Queen of Fives - Alex Hay

44%

14.10.25

This story made no sense.

What You Did - Claire McGowan

45%

21.09.25

I read this because the author went to the same college as me, and a sort-of unnamed version of it did feature - but it was nothing like my experience. She seems to have hated it as much as she hated her protagonist, who has so few redeeming features that I hoped she sank under the increasingly heavy pile of increasingly ridiculous Bad Things that happened to her. It was hardly the gritty realism I suspect it was intended to be.

(I didn't realise this was by the same author - it was both similar and quite different.)

The Siren of Sussex - Mimi Matthews

52%

11.07.25

Considering the author tells us in her afterword how much research she did, you'd think she'd have attempted to make the characters sound and act period appropriately, rather than being 21st-century Americans inexplicably stranded in Victorian London. Even if this was a deliberate choice, the constant Americanisms - as well as some stereotypes about mid-19th century British society that I doubt were quite true - kept taking me out of the otherwise fairly sweet and fun story.

The Nonesuch - Georgette Heyer

55%

17.06.25

The only memorable thing about this middling Heyer was its excellent use of The Tiffany Effect (even if it is a nickname for Theophania).

Starling House - Alix E Harrow

56%

30.03.25

I've never managed to get through Harrow's celebrated 'The Ten Thousand Doors of January' so finishing this was a step up. But it was also oddly forgettable, even as I was reading it. It could have - should have - been compelling, moody, atmospheric, but instead it was foggy, uneventful and self-consciously overwritten. And the main character had so little charm that it wasn't clear why anyone was rooting for her.

A Civil Contract - Georgette Heyer

51%

18.03.25

Some reviewers enjoy the more serious approach to relationships (and class and politics) that make this a rather untypical Heyer but it bored me and lacked the light touch of the better Heyers. The male lead was totally unsympathetic, and the female lead remained as dull as she first appeared. The class clashes were handled awkwardly - although the vulgar new-money father was one of the few vivid (if overdone) characterisations.

Tipping the Velvet - Sarah Waters

67%

06.03.25

Sarah Waters hasn't published a novel for more than 10 years so I was pleased to remember there was one I hadn't read. In her anniversary afterword, she's pretty critical of this, her debut novel,  but I think she's too harsh on herself. From the start, the reader is clearly in the hands of a confident and sophisticated storyteller, a late-20th-century Dickens. Yes, it was a bit messy, and the main character is self-serving to the end - and it wasn't quite as good as The Little Stranger, for example - but it's certainly a good read.

The Rules of Fortune - Danielle Prescod

49%

06.02.25

What is it with all the telling and not showing in family dramas? This could have been a fascinating insight into an unfamiliar world, but it - the characters, the plot, the dialogue - felt cold and flat because everything was exposition. It really needed another edit - but would make a good TV show.

All Good Things - Amanda Prowse

30%

26.01.25

This was bad in almost every way a novel can be bad: characterisation, continuity, exposition, plotting, dialogue... Not quite Danielle Steel-bad but it's surprising from such an experienced and widely read writer.

The Book of Eve - Meg Clothier

71%

12.01.25

Was this fantasy? Magical realism? Speculative historical fiction? Whatever it was, it was oddly compelling, beautiful, intriguing. The characters and worldbuilding were strong, and the complex layers of meaning and plot and power dynamics were handled with confidence. I could have done with a little more humour, but at least it had a happy ending (spoiler!) and it's already better than anything I read last year.

Friday's Child - Georgette Heyer

60%

06.01.25

New year, old favourites. This was a middling-to-good Heyer. The dialogue in particular was a masterclass - every character had a distinct way of speaking that reflected their personality and the effect was reliably entertaining. Yet the novel was overlong and portrayed gender-based behaviours that are discomforting to a modern reader (the hero occasionally resorts to what we'd regard as domestic violence) - although, as usual, the hints at gay characters were sympathetic.

Charity Girl - Georgette Heyer

52%

21.12.24

A glance through my reviews shows how much I love many of Heyer's books but this wasn't one of her best. Unfocused and lacking the usual vivid characterisation and witty dialogue, it's clear that Heyer's heart and mind weren't really in the right place for this late-in-life offering.

The Trouble With Mrs Montgomery Hurst - Katie Lumsden

 58%

02.12.24

The trouble with this novel was the uneasy mix of paying homage to Austen/Gaskell and the 21st-century turns of phrase and sensibilities of the characters. It worked best when it interrogated class assumptions, using a light yet skewering humour, and not always taking the easy way out. But the main character was unlikable (and not in the 'Emma' sense) and many conversations and actions were just unconvincing.

How To Solve Your Own Murder - Kristen Perrin

 47%

21.11.24

First of all, the murdered person does not solve their own murder (because she's, yer know, dead). Other examples of the many annoying things about this book are the endless punctuation errors, the wimpy, undeserving 'heroine', a plot and structure that made no sense, and the tiny village with its own two ambulances (complete with assigned paramedics), police station (complete with assigned detective who can't even find the cannabis farm), solicitors' practice, walk-in doctors' surgery, iPhone store and Oxfam shop.

Lady of Quality - Georgette Heyer

 64%

05.11.24

I maintain that Heyer was one of the best authors of the 20th century and isn't taken seriously because she wrote romances. This is a particularly delightful example, with sparkling dialogue and the usual strongly drawn characters (except, oddly, for the love interest, who was a bit of a bore). 

A Scandalous Match - Jane Dunn

 52%

26.08.24

The problem with a book emulating Georgette Heyer is that it's not Georgette Heyer. Even if you try not to compare, you can't help thinking that Heyer wouldn't explain every thought and action, wouldn't focus so much on exposition, that her heroine wouldn't need rescuing quite so much, that her characters would sparkle and the grasp of social etiquette would be stronger. (Also it would be properly edited and proofread - this had several iffy editorial moments.) I mean, this is fun and has a strong historical basis that didn't shy away from the gritty lives of the poor but it needed a stronger basis and more differentiation from Heyer to really break free. (Note that I've also given a couple of Heyer's books 51/52%.)