Archive for the ‘United Kingdom’ Category

22 BRITANNIA ROAD by Amanda Hodgkinson

In Hodgkinson’s first novel a young Polish couple and their 7-year-old son Aurek, separated for six years during WWII, reunite in England at war’s end in 1946.

If only it were that simple.

June 3, 2011 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: , ,  Â· Posted in: 2011 Favorites, Debut Novel, Facing History, Reading Guide, United Kingdom

OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY by Justin Cartwright

This is Julian Trevelyan-Tubal, CEO of Tubals’, the last family-owned bank in London, founded by his ancestor Moses Tubal over three centuries before. He stands uneasily in the titanic shadow of his father, Sir Harry Trevelyan-Tubal, still the titular head of the bank, but long since removed from day-to-day affairs. Sir Harry lives in luxury in his villa in Antibes, his mind damaged by a stroke, dictating daily letters to his son which only his secretary Estelle understands and even reads. He is unaware of changes at the bank since his days in the office. Adventures in the hedge fund and derivatives markets have caused much the same damage to Tubals’ as to other banks, and now Julian must fly to Liechtenstein to divert £250,000,000 illegally from the family trust to contain the damage long enough for him to sell the bank and get out, keeping this a secret from the financial world and even his own relatives.

June 1, 2011 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: , ,  Â· Posted in: Contemporary, Reading Guide, United Kingdom, y Award Winning Author

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SMILING WOMAN by Margaret Drabble

Margaret Drabble is a well-known English novelist. I have read several of her books and have always enjoyed them. I had no idea that she was also a writer of short stories. A Day in the Life of a Smiling Woman is the first compilation of her stories that has ever been published. They are presented in chronological order beginning in 1964 and ending in 2000. Like her novels, these stories often deal with the plight of women in their times, the socio-cultural aspects of marriage, and the difficulties that women find themselves in while trying to both raise a family and be successful in the business world. The stories are distinctively English; the countryside of England as well as the urban landscapes are vivid throughout. There is a span of thirty-six years between the first short story and the last, giving the themes a relatively large period of time in which to develop.

May 26, 2011 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: ,  Â· Posted in: Class - Race - Gender, Short Stories, United Kingdom, World Lit

DECEPTIONS by Rebecca Frayn

Julian Poulter, the first-person narrator of Rebecca Frayn’s DECEPTIONS, is a somewhat priggish individual who says things like, “I’ve always believed one must strive to put painful episodes behind one with the minimum of fuss and bother.” He is a master of denial who, in flashback, tells how he and Annie Wray, a teacher, tried to forge a permanent relationship when he moved in with her and her two children by her late husband. Annie is flightier and far more spontaneous than Julian; each provides a quality that the other lacks.

May 20, 2011 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: ,  Â· Posted in: Mystery/Suspense, Psychological Suspense, Reading Guide, United Kingdom

THE DISAPPEARED by M.R. Hall

M.R. Hall has written an intriguing thriller. Its protagonist, Jenny Cooper, is a coroner for England’s Severn Vale District, close to South Wales. As the book opens, Jenny is just six months into her job. Prior to being named coroner, she was a practicing attorney. In the United Kingdom, the coroner is “independent and answers only to the Lord Chancellor.” This gives Jenny a lot of power to pursue cases and hold inquests. She is not accountable to the police or the Special Services.

April 27, 2011 · Judi Clark · Comments Closed
Posted in: Reading Guide, Sleuths Series, United Kingdom

A LESSON IN SECRETS by Jacqueline Winspear

The year is 1932 and the scars of World War I are far from healed. The specter of Nazism has begun to cast its shadow, and England has its share of “homegrown Fascists” who enthusiastically promote the aims of the National Socialist German Workers Party. Government officials are even more leery of pacifists, whose desire for peace at any price could undermine the morale of “the men in the ranks.” Against this backdrop of political and social turmoil, Maisie Dobbs keeps busy running her successful private inquiry agency, ably assisted by the conscientious Billy Beale.

April 23, 2011 · Judi Clark · 2 Comments
Tags: , , ,  Â· Posted in: Facing History, Sleuths Series, Thriller/Spy/Caper, United Kingdom, y Award Winning Author