The Georgians, by Penelope J. Corfield

This book left me stunned. How can one person, even an Emeritus Professor like Corfield, know so much about so many topics – and have the skill to fit them together in this highly, highly readable Rubik’s cube? She admits in the introduction that the book has taken many years to complete and I can believe it. I have seldom read a book that covers so much so well.

The book comprises five parts:
I. The Georgian Debating an Age of Change
II. The Georgians Experiencing Change in Daily Life
III. The Georgians Ruling and Resisting
IV. The Georgians in Social Ferment
V. The Georgians Viewed Long

Oh, and approximately sixty pages of erudite endnotes.

 As can be deduced from that structure, Corfield shows us how things changed over the long eighteenth century, illustrating points with the stories of individuals; citing books; and at the end of each chapter, suggesting further reading; a list of places to visit in person or online; and even a Youtube performance of The Rivals. She makes the point that Georgians were aware of change, and were keen to share their views about it, for better or worse. Corfield goes back to sources and debunks several myths.

Based upon Corfield’s book, my belief is that the reason it’s so interesting to look back and study the Georgian Age was because, as she states, the numbers of both men and women who were literate and numerate overtook – for the first time in Britain’s history – the numbers of the illiterate and innumerate. That increase in people who COULD write, translated into an increase in the numbers who DID write – and hence we have so much more evidence of contemporary thoughts and beliefs than we do for previous ages.

But it is such a comprehensive book and so well argued that you might have a different view – and so might I, the next time I read it. And I shall re-read it, probably several times – and certainly keep it as my “go to” reference book for ALL aspects of life from the 1690s to the 1830s.

- Colin

Hardback, £25. Find it in the history section!

Flush, by Virginia Woolf

Anyone who's visited the store with their perfect pooch in tow can testify to the fact that I am a passionate advocate for dogs. As a cause, it is my number one! More dogs, fewer humans, that's what I always say! AND more books about dogs. 

Virginia Woolf, the icon that she is, wrote a book about a dog. A real dog! Elizabeth Bennett Browning's dog, whose name was Flush. The perfect cocker spaniel; a beautiful soul, a wonderful companion. This books lends itself both as a biography for Flush, but also for Elizabeth Bennett Browning, albeit with a lot of creative liberties taken, of course. We see her life progress, only as it comes to affect Flush: how much attention he's getting, what sort of walks he's been on. It's such a charming concept, and it was lovely read over Christmas... for the most part.

Poor Flush, as dogs usually are, was merely swept up in the lives of the humans around him. I felt sorry for Flush for a sizeable chunk of this book. It transpires that Elizabeth had what we would now recognise to be Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. And since she spent most of her time alone in her bedroom, resting, so did Flush. The poor little tyke, for years, merely sat on the sofa beside her. As a dog owner myself, I couldn't imagine condemning any dog to this docile life, let alone a spaniel! Have you ever met a spaniel? They're mental! And this is just the beginnings of the stresses and traumas that Flush endures throughout the course of his life.

During troubling times for Flush, the book became very difficult to read. The vivid description from his point of view was disarming and upsetting, to say the least. I found myself furious with the humans who left sweet Flush to his fate. It was quite grounding to see our actions through the eyes of an innocent and loyal animal, and reminded me how wholly they rely on us for their happiness and health.

This book was surprisingly well fleshed out, considering the narrator is a spaniel, and it was just nice to allow myself to be swept up in the story, and not question its accuracy too much. It was both a lovely and a haunting read for a dog-lover. Only proceed if you can keep your furry little friend close by for quick squeezes and snuggles when things get tough for Flush!

- Sian

Paperback, £2. Find it in the classics section!

The Eye of The World, by Robert Jordan

Before I start this review, let me give you a piece of advice: don't read the blurb on the back of this book. It didn't completely ruin my reading experience, but it does give a spoiler that does not actually occur until the very last page of the book. So! Here’s a blurb that does not include that spoiler....

“The Eye of The World” is the first book in the “Wheel of Time” series, which is an epic high fantasy series of 14 books – yes, fourteen books. We start in a small village in Two Rivers where Moraine meets 3 young men who are being hunted by evil agents of the Shadow. She must guide them through lands of myth and legend to Tar Valon, where they will be safe.

And that is all you really need to know - the rest is best left untold until you discover it in your reading.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. If you haven’t read fantasy before, this would not be a good one to start with. The world is very complex, and Jordan does not take the time to explain it. When the story starts, it's like you’re expected to know all the terminology and the history of this world already. Thankfully there’s a glossary at the back, which I used extensively to understand what’s being referred to. But it does get easier as the book goes on.

Something worth noting about the glossary: it doesn't tell you anything that the characters do not already know or will be explained to them. For instance, “The Eye of The World” is not in the glossary; whilst one of the characters knows what it is, the rest do not. The glossary doesn’t spoil anything: when it’s revealed, you find out with the rest of the characters.

I did find that about midway through I started to struggle. The entire book is told in the third person, mainly from Rand's perspective. Around the middle, however, there is a narrative change, and after seeing so much from Rand's perspective, I really found it difficult to adapt to that change. Eventually I did appreciate it and found it actually gave me a more rounded out experience of what was happening.

One of my biggest "complaints" about this book is its similarities to “The Lord of the Rings” series. There is a journey, there is a magical person guiding a group of seemingly hapless people, there are even species similar to Orcs and Nazgul. However - Tolkien was the father of epic fantasy series and it's inevitable that high fantasy books written after “The Lord of The Rings” will have been influenced by them.

So, the big question is: Will I continue with this series? The answer is yes. I found this to be a real page turner, and the writing very accessible. I loved the cast of characters and I want to know what will happen to them. Despite similarities with “The Lord of Rings”, this series still has enough original storyline to keep me excited and invested.

- Jenny (@budgetbooklover)

Paperback, £9.99. Find it in the Sci-fi & Fantasy section!

Widowland, by CJ Carey

It’s 1953 and Britain is on the eve of the second coronation of Edward VIII, thirteen years after a pact with Nazi Germany. Rose Ransom is in an elite class of women and works for the Ministry of Culture, bringing works of literature into line with Nazi ideals. Meanwhile, acts of vandalism involving lines of text from forbidden books are being blamed on women who are forced to live in the run-down ghetto known as Widowland. As an expert in the works the rebellious women are quoting, Rose is tasked to uncover the source before The Leader arrives in England…

I love good speculative and dystopian fiction, especially those set in a believable alternate reality. The reality portrayed here is all too believable, with well-rounded characters and a sense of the early 1950s in our reality with an Orwellian overlay of suspicion and paranoia. The result is a feminist thriller, with elements of Robert Harris' Fatherland and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.

This could be a good book club read, as there’s a lot to discuss, but it’s also written with a style that makes it enjoyable despite the dystopian setting.

- Paul

Hardback, £14.99 - paperback released April 2022. Find it in the fiction