Vinegar Girl (NetGalley) Anne Tyler Hogarth/Crown Publishing I’m not one for modern novels that piggy back on a great work of literature. Chances are I’ve already read the classic, so the broad strokes of the contemporary retelling seem forced. And I tend to nitpick, as well: “Well, that didn’t happen in The Great Classic” or “Famous …
Bookman’s Tale (NetGalley)Charles Lovett A dreary day–rain drenched Wales–a bookshop–a rare book collector. The opening paragraphs of Charles Lovett’s recently published The Bookman’s Tale is sure to hook any bibliophile. And so begins the story of Peter Byerly: book binder, bookseller, recently widowed, and grieving. Peter walks into that bookshop, opens a book, and absent-mindedly picks …
Elizabeth IMargaret George The imperial votaress passed on, in maiden meditation, fancy-free. ~ William Shakespreare I felt a close kinship with many of those who surrounded Elizabeth during her long reign. Like those whose lives were held in check by her capricious iron will, who waited long years for overdue titles and positions at court, …
