Year of wonders

The five jars by

Available free from Gutenberg This novel takes the form of a letter from our nameless narrator to Jane, he wants to explain how it is that he was talking to owls,...

The Magician’s Nephew by

The Chronicles of Narnia : book one (or six, depending on whether you go by Narnian history or publication date) In the summer of 1900 Digory and Polly meet. Digory has...

Locke dir. by

Ivan Locke (Hardy) is supposed to be heading home after a long day at work. He is supposed to be watching the game with his wife and sons. But instead he...

The Night Watch by

Starting in 1947 The Night Watch tells the story, in reverse chronology, of various people in and around London during the Blitz. Their stories progress by going backwards in time, so...

The Far Country by

In Australia Jane and Jack Dorman own a prosperous sheep farm, or station. For the past few years most of the money they earned has gone to pay off loans and...

The Ghost by

Adam Lang, ex-Prime Minister, is writing his memoirs. Or to be more honest, he needs a ghostwriter. Someone to do some research, to rewrite Lang’s memories into a story. Enter our...

Do butlers burgle banks? by

Read originally 19/07/2010. Reread June 2014 On my reread I enjoyed it just as much as the first time round, if not more. Wodehouse has that wonderful way of poking fun...

A girl called Fred by

Roger Willgoose isn’t really a dog person. It is his wife really who decides to bring a dog into their home. But gradually this little Yorkshire Terrier, renamed Fred, worms her...

Triptych by

When the aliens came it was nothing like the way science fiction and popular culture had predicted it. There was no invasion, instead they were refugees. Their own planet had collapsed,...

Some kind of fairy tale by

Twenty years ago Tara Martin went missing. She simply went out one day and never came home. Her boyfriend at the time was an obvious suspect. They had rowed before she...

The Hundred and One Dalmatians by

Life for Mr and Mrs Dearly and their dogs, Pongo and Misses, is going well. They live near Regent’s Park in London and are very comfortably well off, Mr Dearly having...

Year of wonders by

The year is 1665 and Anna Frith is a widow at only 18 years of age. She has two young sons to support and she works hard. Life in a small...