The Book Trunk

20thC

  • The Cornish Coast Murder

    THE Reverend Dodd, Vicar of St. Michael’s-on-the-Cliff, and his old friend Dr Pendrill are enthusiastic afficionados of detective novels. Each week they order six books from the library, which are delivered in a wooden crate tied with string. I love… Continue reading

  • Torn Loyalties of an Evacuee

    Doreen, by Barbara Noble, tells the story of a nine-year-old girl who is evacuated from a London slum during WW2,  and cared for by a well-to-do couple in the country. In the few short months she is there, she is… Continue reading

  • Business As Usual

    As a book lover and Oxfam book shop volunteer, how could I not love Business as Usual, by Jane Oliver and Ann Stafford. Originally published in 1933, it was reissued last year as a Handheld Classic, when a lot of… Continue reading

  • The 1956 Children’s Club!

    I joined The 1956 Book Club just before it closes, so rather than reading something new (which would take time),I’m focusing on books I’ve read in the past. Today, I’m taking a quick look at three children’s stories, all published… Continue reading

  • Miss Carter and the Ifrit

    To look at Miss Georgina Carter you would never have suspected that a woman of her age and character would have allowed herself to be so wholeheartedly mixed up with an Ifrit. For Georgina Carter was nearing fifty (she was… Continue reading