Miss Benson’s Beetle
Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce (NCN Book Club Selection June 2026) Spinster Margery Benson is barely getting by on her salary as a school teacher in post-war London. One […]
Miss Buncle’s Book
Miss Buncle’s Book by D.E. Stevenson ©1934 (Recently, I ordered several books from my favorite British bookseller and publisher, Persephone Books, founded in 1999 to reprint neglected, mainly mid-twentieth century, […]
A Perfect Hand
A Perfect Hand by Ayelet Waldman Unlike most historical romances, the heroine of A Perfect Hand is not a member of the aristocracy but a lady’s maid, Miss Alice Lockey. […]
Villa Coco
Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer Geoffrey is a clueless young American who accepts a post as an archivist in Italy. As he is patently unqualified and doesn’t speak Italian, […]
The Un-Retirement
The Un-Retirement by Penny Mirren Recent widow and retiree Maggie Lawford is thrilled with her principal role as doting grandmother to precious Alice, but she occasionally considers finding a proper […]
How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder
How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigley How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder is another COA novel, if defined somewhat loosely. The fish out of water protagonists are […]
O Caledonia
O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker (NCN Book Club Selection May) As you know, I dislike coming of age (COA) novels, and here’s why–they are uniformly grim. In British COA stories, […]
Yankee Doodle Dixie
Yankee Doodle Dixie by Lisa Patton Yankee Doodle Dixie chronicles the adventures of divorcee and professional Southerner, Leelee Satterfield. I was disappointed in this sequel to Patton’s bestselling novel Whistlin’ […]
The Light in the Ruins
The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian In the summer of 1955, Serafina Bettini, the only female detective in the Florence (Italy!)Police Department’s Homicide unit, is assigned the grisly […]
The Exiles Return
The Exiles Return by Elisabeth de Waal If the name Elisabeth de Waal sounds familiar, then you probably read her grandson Edmund de Waal’s book The Hare with Amber Eyes, […]
Armchair Traveler-India
Over the holidays I caught up with my friend Patricia who recently returned from two weeks in India. Listening to her colorful stories, I was reminded of my own trips […]
Prayers for the Stolen
Prayers for the Stolen by Jennifer Clement I admit that I was reluctant to read a book about women who live/hide in a bleak Mexican outback dominated by drug cartels […]
I Still Dream About You
I Still Dream About You by Fannie Flagg I enjoyed Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, both the novel and the movie, but I find most of Fannie […]
The English Understand Wool
The English Understand Wool by Helen DeWitt Despite its brevity (about the length of a New Yorker article), The English Understand Wool provoked plenty of conversation at book club. Marguerite […]
The Go-Between
The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley You may not know the British author L.P. Hartley, but you are probably familiar with the opening line of his 1953 novel The Go-Between. “The […]