Review of ‘Miss Austen’ by Gill Hornby

I found this book review fascinating, as I discovered it the morning after I viewed the 1st episode of the BBC mini series of ‘Miss Austen’. In this book review by the creator of the blog site, The Home Place Web, I learned more about the original novel ‘Miss Austen’ by Gill Hornby, and howContinue reading “Review of ‘Miss Austen’ by Gill Hornby”

Book Reviews: ‘A Great Deal of Ingenuity’ by Ruth Leigh, published by Resolute Books 16 July 2023

Today I am pleased to share with you my review of the new book by Ruth Leigh, A Great Deal of Ingenuity. I first wrote about Ruth’s book in my blog post here. BLURB The pages of Pride and Prejudice sparkle with household names. Proud Darcyand prejudiced Elizabeth, book-loving Mr Bennet, the snobbish Bingley sisters,predatoryContinue reading “Book Reviews: ‘A Great Deal of Ingenuity’ by Ruth Leigh, published by Resolute Books 16 July 2023”

Book Review: Jane Austen the Secret Radical by Helena Kelly, and introducing a new upcoming series of Jane Austen Short Stories by Ruth Leigh

Today I offer my review of a provocative book for Jane Austen fans. Jane Austen the Secret Radical by Helena Kelly is published by Vintage. I also introduce you to a new book of Jane Austen short stories, coming soon. As a keen reader of Jane Austen’s novels I was intrigued to read Helena Kelly’sContinue reading “Book Review: Jane Austen the Secret Radical by Helena Kelly, and introducing a new upcoming series of Jane Austen Short Stories by Ruth Leigh”

Paranormal Warwickshire Extracts Part 5: Stoneleigh Abbey, Kenilworth

This is the fifth in a series of ten posts which will take us up to the date of publication of my new book Paranormal Warwickshire, out from Amberley Publishing on 15th November. This richly illustrated compilation of strange tales from Shakespeare’s county can be pre-ordered now from all online bookstores, and from Warwick BooksContinue reading “Paranormal Warwickshire Extracts Part 5: Stoneleigh Abbey, Kenilworth”

Glimpses of Paranormal Warwickshire Part 10: Stoneleigh Abbey

This is the tenth in a series of glimpses into my new book Paranormal Warwickshire which will be published by Amberley Publishing on 15th November 2020. Stoneleigh Abbey occupies land granted to a group of Cistercian monks by Henry II in 1154 , but twenty five years after the dissolution of the monasteries, now aContinue reading “Glimpses of Paranormal Warwickshire Part 10: Stoneleigh Abbey”

Stoneleigh Abbey – a Glorious Restoration and a Fascinating Historical Tour

We recently made another visit to Stoneleigh Abbey, very near where we live in Warwick: a stately home that has been beautifully restored since it was devastated by fire in 1960. Originally home to an order of Cistercian monks granted land by Henry II in 1145, this later evolved into a gracious seventeenth century residence,Continue reading “Stoneleigh Abbey – a Glorious Restoration and a Fascinating Historical Tour”

Stoneleigh Abbey: A Setting to Inspire Jane Austen for Her Novels

If this be error and upon me proved I never writ nor no man ever loved. Shakespeare:  Sonnet 116 Certainly, among novelists living and working in the centuries following Shakespeare’s outpourings of genius, it can most truly be said of Jane Austen that if anything she wrote be error and upon her proved, then sheContinue reading “Stoneleigh Abbey: A Setting to Inspire Jane Austen for Her Novels”

A Passionate Spirit in Lancaster Alumni Magazine

A Passionate Spirit is featured in the latest edition of “STEPS” the Lancaster University alumni magazine online. The picture below was taken on Box Hill, in Surrey, on a recent visit. I have happy memories of Box Hill from my childhood, as I was born and brought up in Kent. This is a landscape whichContinue reading “A Passionate Spirit in Lancaster Alumni Magazine”

The Therapeutic Journey of the Fictional Hero or Heroine

Recently I came upon an article in The Psychotherapist magazine which highlights the close parallels between the novel and the process of psychotherapy. In her article Psychotherapy and the Novel, in issue 56 Spring 2014 edition, the author (therapeutic counsellor Rosamond Williams) makes the point that only the novel (of all the narrative art forms) offers a parallelContinue reading “The Therapeutic Journey of the Fictional Hero or Heroine”

Totally Devoted to Jane Austen

One of my favourite Christmas gifts was one I bought for myself for 10p in the late stock-clearance at my son’s school Christmas Fair – an audio book of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. I’ve been listening to it in the car over and over again. And despite Death Comes to Pemberley  on TV afterContinue reading “Totally Devoted to Jane Austen”