Category Archives: Non-Fiction

Jane Austen’s Book Shelf – Rebecca Romney

Jane Austen’s Bookshelf – Rebecca Romney

I am not sure where I first heard about this? Maybe a JASNA newsletter?

My random number generator selected it. There has been a bit of a Jane Austen theme for me this year.

Here’s the blurb …

Long before she was a rare book dealer, Rebecca Romney was a devoted reader of Jane Austen. She loved that Austen’s books took the lives of women seriously, explored relationships with wit and confidence, and always, allowed for the possibility of a happy ending. She read and reread them, often wishing Austen wrote just one more.

But Austen wasn’t a lone genius. She wrote at a time of great experimentation for women writers—and clues about those women, and the exceptional books they wrote, are sprinkled like breadcrumbs throughout Austen’s work. Every character in Northanger Abbey who isn’t a boor sings the praises of Ann Radcliffe. The play that causes such a stir in Mansfield Park is a real one by the playwright Elizabeth Inchbald. In fact, the phrase “pride and prejudice” came from Frances Burney’s second novel Cecilia. The women that populated Jane Austen’s bookshelf profoundly influenced her work; Austen looked up to them, passionately discussed their books with her friends, and used an appreciation of their books as a litmus test for whether someone had good taste. So where had these women gone? Why hadn’t Romney—despite her training—ever read them? Or, in some cases, even heard of them? And why were they no longer embraced as part of the wider literary canon?

Jane Austen’s Bookshelf investigates the disappearance of Austen’s heroes—women writers who were erased from the Western canon—to reveal who they were, what they meant to Austen, and how they were forgotten. Each chapter profiles a different writer including Frances Burney, Ann Radcliffe, Charlotte Lennox, Charlotte Smith, Hannah More, Elizabeth Inchbald, Hester Lynch Thrale Piozzi, and Maria Edgeworth—and recounts Romney’s experience reading them, finding rare copies of their works, and drawing on connections between their words and Austen’s. Romney collects the once-famed works of these forgotten writers, physically recreating Austen’s bookshelf and making a convincing case for why these books should be placed back on the to-be-read pile of all book lovers today. Jane Austen’s Bookshelf will encourage you to look beyond assigned reading lists, question who decides what belongs there, and build your very own collection of favorite novels.

I really enjoyed this – I promptly downloaded Evelina by Frances Burney, and I already have a copy of The Mysteries of Udolpho, and I will be sourcing the other authors as well.

Ms Romney has a lovely conversational style of writing. I always like a mixture of personal information and literary information, and her search for particular editions of novels was fascinating. How women authors have disappeared from the canon will make your blood boil.

A review.

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Filed under 5, Digital, Memoir, Non-Fiction, Recommended

A Short History of the World According to Sheep – Sally Coulthard

A Short History of the World According to Sheep – Sally Coulthard

Using a random number generator to select my books is going well. I wanted to read this, but I suspect it would have languished in the pile.

Here’s the blurb …

‘This book deserves a place in your bookcase next to Harari’s Sapiens. It’s every bit as fascinating and is surely destined to be just as successful’ Julian Norton From the plains of ancient Mesopotamia to the vast sheep farms of modern-day Australia, sheep have been central to the human story. Since our our Neolithic ancestors’ first forays into sheep-rearing nearly 11,000 years ago, these remarkable animals have fed us, clothed us, changed our diet and language and financed the conquest of large swathes of the earth.Sally Coulthard weaves this fascinating story into a vivid and colourful tapestry of engaging anecdotes and extraordinary ovine facts, whose multiple strands celebrate just how pivotal these woolly animals are to almost every aspect of human society and culture.This title was published also in the United States under the title Follow the Flock.‘A snappy, stimulating book, and certainly not just for shepherds’ Mail on Sunday‘Full of fascinating social history’ Independent‘You won’t look at a sheep in the same way again’ Country Living.

I am a knitter and I am fascinated by sheep. I would like to know the source of my yarn (although that seems impossible in Australia), what type of sheep it came from, etc.

This book has 14 chapters with different aspects of sheep history and evolution (breeding), the way humans have used sheep, and the way sheep have been fundamental to human development. Also, what should happen now? In this world of climate change? Wool is a wonder material, which must have a part to play in the future.

I found this a bit icky

The only way to do this [domesticate a sheep] would be to take a lamb from its mother as soon as it was born and breastfeed it. And so, astonishingly, the history of sheep may indeed have started with a woman nursing a newborn lamb.

And I guess this is the lot of archaeologists

At the end of the 1990s, archaeologists had the rather unusual privilege of being allowed to sift through the remains of a seventeenth-century toilet at Dudley Castle in the West Midlands.

They found sheep’s gut condoms.

A review.

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Filed under 4, History, Non-Fiction, Paper

What Jane Austen’s Characters Read (and Why) – Susan Allen Ford

What Jane Austen’s Characters Read (and Why) – Susan Allen Ford

I must have read about this, or heard it on a podcast. I was very interested.

Here’s the blurb …

The first detailed account of Austen’s characters’ reading experience to date, this book explores both what her characters read and what their literary choices would have meant to Austen’s own readership, both at the time and today.

Jane Austen was a voracious and extensive reader, so it’s perhaps no surprise that many of her characters display a similar appetite for the written word, from Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice to Fanny Price in Mansfield Park. Beginning by looking at Austen’s own reading as well as her interest in readers’ responses to her work, the book then focuses on each of her novels, looking at the particular works that her characters read and unpacking the multiple (and often surprising) ways in which these inform the reading of Austen’s works. In doing so, it uses Austen’s own love of reading to invite us to rethink the way in which she thought about her characters and their lives beyond the novels.

This was fascinating. There is a chapter on each Austen novel (Mansfield Park gets two!). And the author describes how Austen is using contemporary literature in her novels. Ideas that the readers of the time would appreciate, and which add nuance to the novels. For example, in the chapter on Pride and Prejudice, Allen Ford discusses Conduct Literature – Fordyce’s Sermons, among others.

It is extraordinary and if I could only bring myself to read these books, I would have a greater insight into Austen’s novels.

It was very easy to read, no academic jargon, and Allen Ford has a conversational style.

A review.

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Filed under 5, Non-Fiction, Paper, Recommended

The Loom of Time – Robert D Kaplan

The Loom of Time – Robert D. Kaplan

One of the women in my book club mentioned this book and as I thought I should be better informed about the Middle East, I decided to read it.

Here’s the blurb …

A stunning exploration of the Greater Middle East, where lasting stability has often seemed just out of reach but may hold the key to the shifting world order of the twenty-first century

The Greater Middle East, which Robert D. Kaplan defines as the vast region between the Mediterranean and China, encompassing much of the Arab world, parts of northern Africa, and Asia, existed for millennia as the crossroads of empire: Macedonian, Roman, Persian, Mongol, Ottoman, British, Soviet, American. But with the dissolution of empires in the twentieth century, postcolonial states have endeavored to maintain stability in the face of power struggles between factions, leadership vacuums, and the arbitrary borders drawn by exiting imperial rulers with little regard for geography or political groups on the ground. In the Loom of Time, Kaplan explores this broad, fraught space through reporting and travel writing to reveal deeper truths about the impacts of history on the present and how the requirements of stability over anarchy are often in conflict with the ideals of democratic governance.

In The Loom of Time, Kaplan makes the case for realism as an approach to the Greater Middle East. Just as Western attempts at democracy promotion across the Middle East have failed, a new form of economic imperialism is emerging today as China’s ambitions fall squarely within the region as the key link between Europe and East Asia. As in the past, the Greater Middle East will be a register of future great power struggles across the globe. And like in the past, thousands of years of imperial rule will continue to cast a long shadow on politics as it is practiced today.

To piece together the history of this remarkable place and what it suggests for the future, Kaplan weaves together classic texts, immersive travel writing, and a great variety of voices from every country that all compel the reader to look closely at the realities on the ground and to prioritize these facts over ideals on paper. The Loom of Time is a challenging, clear-eyed book that promises to reframe our vision of the global twenty-first century.

It is clear that Kaplan has spent a lot of time travelling in the Middle East (over a number of years), thinking about it and researching it. Although it was recently published, it was before Trump’s second presidency, which I think will have a profound impact on world politics.

I thought about anarchy and autocracy and how the latter might be preferred. There is information about the history – country by country – the revolutions, the ethnic groups, and the religions.

A review

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Filed under 4, Digital, History, Memoir, Non-Fiction, Recommended, Serious

Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter & Me – Lorilee Craker

Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter & Me – Lorilee Craker

I am a super-fan of L. M. Montgomery. I have read all of the books (by her and about her), seen the various adaptations, completed a cross stitch, and visited Green Gables (and given that I live in Australia that is quite the journey). I also like a book memoir – for example this one, or this one, or this one. This book was perfect for me.

Here’s the blurb …

A charming and heartwarming true story for anyone who has ever longed for a place to belong.“Anne of Green Gables,” My Daughter, and Me is a witty romp through the classic novel; a visit to the magical shores of Prince Edward Island; and a poignant personal tale of love, faith, and loss.

And it all started with a simple question: “What’s an orphan?” The words from her adopted daughter, Phoebe, during a bedtime reading of Anne of Green Gables stopped Lorilee Craker in her tracks. How could Lorilee, who grew up not knowing her own birth parents, answer Phoebe’s question when she had wrestled all her life with feeling orphaned—and learned too well that not every story has a happy ending?

So Lorilee set off on a quest to find answers in the pages of the very book that started it all, determined to discover—and teach her daughter—what home, family, and belonging really mean. If you loved the poignancy of Orphan Train and the humor of Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, you will be captivated by “Anne of Green Gables,” My Daughter, and Me. It’s a beautiful memoir that deftly braids three lost girls’ stories together, speaks straight to the heart of the orphan in us all, and shows us the way home at last.

This was beautifully written – very heartfelt. I enjoyed how the personal bits interleaved with the Anne of Green Gables bits. It’s about finding family (biological and chosen), and making peace with life’s difficulties.

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Filed under 4, Biography, Memoir, Non-Fiction, Paper

A Short History of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson

A Short History of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson

I was looking for something to listen to in my husband’s audible library and came across this. I missed the bit about it being a rough guide to science. Which is not a problem – I have a science degree, so I still found it fascinating.

Here’s the blurb …

Bill Bryson describes himself as a reluctant traveller, but even when he stays safely at home he can’t contain his curiosity about the world around him. “A Short History of Nearly Everything” is his quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilisation – how we got from there, being nothing at all, to here, being us. The ultimate eye-opening journey through time and space, revealing the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.

This is very entertaining and informative – I enjoyed Bryson’s writing style. And I feel more informed on geology, chemistry, biology, anthropology, etc. Although, it seems the more we know the less we understand. I found the narrator to be annoying (and his Australian accent was terrible) not to mention the way her pronounces Himalayas.

It is probably a little bit dated after Covid and the current state of climate change.

A review.

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Filed under 3, Audio, Non-Fiction, Serious

The Bright Book of Life – Harold Bloom

The Bright Book of Life – Harold Bloom

I always like books about books. I did cheat with this one, I just read the chapters on books that I have read.

Here’s the blurb …

In his first book devoted exclusively to narrative fiction, America’s most original and controversial literary critic and legendary Yale professor writes trenchantly about fifty-two masterworks spanning the Western tradition.

Perhaps no other literary critic but Harold Bloom could–or would–undertake a project of this immensity. And certainly no other critic could bring to it the extraordinary knowledge, understanding, and insight that are the hallmark of Bloom’s every book. Ranging across centuries and continents, this final book of his career, gives us the inimitable critic on Don Quixote and Book of Numbers; Wuthering Heights and Absalom, Absalom; Les Miserables and Blood Meridian; Vanity Fair and Invisible Man; The Captain’s Daughter and The Reef. He writes about works byAusten, Balzac, Dickens, Tolstoy, James, Conrad, Lawrence, Wolff, Le Guin, Sebald, and many more. Whether you have already read these books, or intend to, or simply care about the importance and power of fiction, Harold Bloom serves as an unparalleled guide through the pages of these 52 masterpieces of the genre.

I think Harold Bloom is of his time and I don’t necessarily agree with all of his critiques. But what I did enjoy was his personal approach to the novels. I liked to read about when he first read the novels, what his friends thought of the novel, etc.

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Filed under 3, Digital, Non-Fiction

Daughters of Chivalry – Kasey Wilson-Lee

Daughters of Chivalry – Kasey Wilson-Lee

I am a sucker for a women’s history book. I bought this one from the Subiaco Bookshop (it has a great selection of books). However, in the end I read it on my Kobo (so I have two versions – print and digital).

Here’s the blurb …

Virginal, chaste, humble, patiently waiting for rescue by brave knights and handsome princes: this idealised – and largely mythical – notion of the medieval noblewoman still lingers. Yet the reality was very different, as Kelcey Wilson-Lee shows in this vibrant account of the five daughters of the great English king, Edward I. The lives of these sisters – Eleanora, Joanna, Margaret, Mary and Elizabeth – ran the full gamut of experiences open to royal women in the Middle Ages. Living as they did in a courtly culture founded on romantic longing and brilliant pageantry, they knew that a princess was to be chaste yet a mother to many children, preferably sons, meek yet able to influence a recalcitrant husband or even command a host of men-at-arms.

These women’s lives were fascinating. The royal family was constantly on the move – visiting various palaces, manors, nobles, etc. The children had their own households from a young age and roamed the country. Mary was sent to a nunnery when she was 6! The other girls were married off to various European nobility. What I found interesting was the care and interest Edward took in his children (obviously he ordered them about when required), but he clearly loved them as well. Within the constraints of the time, these women wielded power and influence, and had great wealth they used to further causes important to them.

A review.

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Filed under 4, Digital, History, Non-Fiction, Paper

The Dictionary People – Sarah Ogilvie

The Dictionary People – Sarah Olgilvie

I bought this book because it was on the long list for the non-fiction prize of the Women’s Prize. And then, of course, I didn’t get around to reading it. For this month the theme of my book club is ‘Letters’, so I thought this would be perfect.

Here’s the blurb …

A history and celebration of the many far-flung volunteers who helped define the English language, word by word

The Oxford English Dictionary is one of mankind’s greatest achievements, and yet, curiously, its creators are almost never considered. Who were the people behind this unprecedented book? As Sarah Ogilvie reveals, they include three murderers, a collector of pornography, the daughter of Karl Marx, a president of Yale, a radical suffragette, a vicar who was later found dead in the cupboard of his chapel, an inventor of the first American subway, a female anti-slavery activist in Philadelphia . . . and thousands of others. 

Of deep transgenerational and broad appeal, a thrilling literary detective story that, for the first time, unravels the mystery of the endlessly fascinating contributors the world over who, for over seventy years, helped to codify the way we read and write and speak. It was the greatest crowdsourcing endeavor in human history, the Wikipedia of its time.  

The Dictionary People is a celebration of words, language, and people, whose eccentricities and obsessions, triumphs, and failures enriched the English language.

This was really enjoyable and I appreciate how much work would have gone in to researching all of these people.

A review.

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Filed under 4, Non-Fiction, Paper

Women Food and God – Geneen Roth

Women Food and God – Geneen Roth

As someone who has issues with food and weight, I was interested in reading this one. I read Conquering Fat Logic by Nadja Hermann last year and I found it very liberating. I realised I was in charge of my weight – no excuses.

Here’s the blurb…

Roth began exploring emotional eating in her bestseller When Food Is Love. Now, two decades later, here is her masterwork: WOMEN FOOD AND GOD.

The way you eat is inseparable from your core beliefs about being alive. No matter how sophisticated or wise or enlightened you believe you are, how you eat tells all. The world is on your plate. When you begin to understand what prompts you to use food as a way to numb or distract yourself, the process takes you deeper into realms of spirit and to the bright center of your own life. Rather than getting rid of or instantly changing your conflicted relationship with food, Women Food and God is about welcoming what is already here, and contacting the part of yourself that is already whole—divinity itself.

This book covers emotional eating (my big downfall), why we do it and how we can stop it. I found it confronting and enlightening.

A review.

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Filed under 4, Non-Fiction