lunababymoonchild

On the list

Absolutely adore it! It will be a re-read and I might even be moved to buy a paper copy (which, of course, I’ll have to read 😉)

The Celibates Trilogy, Honoré de Balzac

I’m not surprised and it was ingenious. A variation on the locked room mystery and absolutely brilliant.

I’ve seen the film too many times to count. So much so that a friend bought me the DVD and told me it was my favourite film! I always promise myself that I’m not going to cry and I always do. I like Melanie well enough and I’m sure she doesn’t deserve the treatment that Scarlett hands out but I have to confess that Scarlett is my favourite character.

And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie I read this in the one day/evening, which I don't normally do, but like The Woman in White, I was captivated and anxious to find out what happened next. There was a note in it at the beginning, supposedly from Agatha Christie, saying that she wanted to write something like this and how pleased she was when she completed it. And so she should. Ten people are invited to an island from which they cannot escape and they start to die, one by one (I think the title gives this away somewhat). How this is accomplished is in a chapter at the end. It's so well plotted and written as to be totally believable and yet at the same time utterly impossible in real life. Highly recommended.

I was utterly captured and anxious to find out what happened next.

I loved GWTW when I read it

Oh good. I have that on e-book and am wondering if I’ve already read it but based on your description, I haven’t. Will look forward to it. TWIW was excellent!

And then there were non, Agatha Christie. For a change of pace.

The Woman in White, Wilkie Collins I came to this book knowing nothing about it other than it was Victorian, Gothic and spooky. Having been on my bookshelf for years I decided that this year's Victober was a good opportunity to read it. I'm glad that I did. What a book! It's in the Epistolary form with the narrator changing from time to time, giving a different perspective but not detracting from the story. The plot is gratifyingly long and satisfyingly convoluted. It's well-paced and very well written. The story and characters are believable and it was a joy from start to finish. I was gripped from the moment I started reading and sad when it inevitably came to an end. I don't want to summarise the story because it's long and would contain spoilers. I also think that it's a well enough known story that I don't need to. Highly recommended

Also reading some Victorian poetry from The Penguin Book of Victorian Verse. I doubt I'll read every single poem but I'll give it a good try.

Thought it would be a good idea to keep the completed reads in a separate thread. Wilkie Collins, The Lady in White

The Woman in White, Wilkie Collins, completed. It was excellent!

I loved Orlando when I read it too

I don’t keep up with the prize and inevitably haven’t heard of the recipient. Not only have I heard of Krasznahorkai, I’ve read him and so was moved to post.

Prize giving in general is dodgy, in my opinion which was formed at school when I pointed out that it was always the same kids who won a prize at the end of the year because they were more intelligent than the rest of us. The teacher told me I was wrong and it was a reward for hard work but couldn’t give me an answer when I asked her to prove that the female prize winner had worked harder than me. Hux is right though, you could see that one coming. More on him here : László Krasznahorkai

Welcome! I was nearly late for an appointment this afternoon because I was reading The Woman in White. That’ll teach me !

Doesn’t she just!

I found these. They look current.

No, her pictures don’t do her justice. She is stunning

I thought so and that’s the one I had chosen. I had never heard of her before

She appeared on Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 this week and struck me as very beautiful.

Jolly civilised

Thank you