No Boats on Bannermere by Geoffrey Trease, for the 1949 Club

The Melburys – Bill, Susan, and their mother – have been living in a crowded London flat until Mrs. Melbury’s Cousin Fay dies and unexpectedly leaves her a cottage in Cumberland, in the Lake District. There’s a catch: they must live there for five years running or it will be sold and Fay’s son would get the proceeds. Bill has just made his school’s second team (Rugby? Cricket?) but swallows his disappointment, and he and Susan encourage their mother to make the move, which happens quickly. 

A Wreath for Rivera by Ngaio Marsh, for the 1949 Club

This is the 15th entry in Marsh’s mystery series featuring detective Roderick Alleyn and his sidekick, Mr. Fox. It starts when Carlisle Wayne, who has been working on Famine Relief in Greece and just returned to England, receives an invitation from her aunt by marriage, Lady Pastern, for a weekend at Eaton Place (wasn’t that where Upstairs Downstairs took place?) in London to be a good influence on her step-cousin, Félicité.

Another cousin, old friend Ned Manx, writes to Carlisle, offering her a ride to London and updates her on the Pasterns’ current estrangement and Félicité’s interest in a very unsuitable musician, Carlos Rivera, from a boogie-woogie band called Breezy Bellairs’ Boys.

Arabella by Georgette Heyer - the peril of a small lie

It’s time for the #1949Club, hosted by StuckinaBook and Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings, in which bloggers are invited to read and review books that were published in a chosen year. When I first started reading Georgette Heyer’s books I was about 13 and most identified with her younger heroines and now that I am older, I usually recommend Frederica, Venetia, The Masqueraders or Devil’s Cub to first time readers. However, Arabella, and its ingenue heroine, continues to be one of my favorites.

The 1949 Club Is Coming!

Twice a year, Simon at Stuck in a Book and Karen at Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings, lead a celebration of books published in a certain year they select way in advance. This is fun to participate in and especially to see what other bloggers have chosen to read.

I have reviewed several that I think would be good options for others, although you’d better get cracking because it starts on Monday:

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews

Most people would think Maggie is just another 26-year-old who hasn’t found herself yet. Post-pandemic she has drifted from job to job, and is currently delivering groceries.  And, like many of us, she has escaped from a bad day at work by immersing herself in her favorite series - in her case, two fantasy novels set in the city of Kair Toren, focusing on the power struggles of eight royal families. Maggie has read them so many times she knows them as well as their reclusive author does. 

Six Degrees of Separation – from Life of M to The Night of Fear

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start with the same book, add six more, and see where it ends up. This month, Kate suggested Life of M by Rachel Cusk, which sounds like a fictionalized character assassination of actress Natalie Portman, although it does not mention her name. I have not read it but feel I should stick up for my fellow alumna. I suspect my father would have used one of his favorite words, “Gratuitous!”

WWW Wednesday – September 30

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books of Autumn

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Fall so here are ten corresponding books I have read:

The Autumn People by Ruth M. Arthur (1973). This is a time-slip set mostly in Scotland, which Romilly visits with her grandmother. She gets caught up in a family tragedy from many years ago and falls in love with a ghost.  This always reminded me of Time at the Top by Mabel Esther Allan, another favorite.