Book Review: Angela Marchmont series

Any of you who know me, are aware that I love to read, and despite being busy with my day job, my hobby business, my volunteer work, my studies, and everything else, I read approximately 5 novels per week.  I have not shared any favourite authors with you all before, but this author is new to me, and maybe new to all of you as well!

While I was away recently, I downloaded a few novels to my Kindle, and a couple of these e-books were by an author I had not read before, Clara Benson. After reading my way through the delightful, albeit predictable, amateur sleuth style novels 'The Murder at Sissingham Hall', and 'The Mystery at Underwood House', I was hooked! 

The books are set in the 1920s, mainly in England, and centre around Mrs Angela Marchmont and her ability to get herself into the middle of many an intrigue and manage to solve crimes while she is there. 

The first novel is written in first person, and Angela Marchmont does not have such a lead role as it were, but the following books in the series are in third person and Angela is most definitely the protagonist.

Angela Marchmont appears to live the life of the idle rich, and along with her chauffeur William, tends to arrive in the middle of crime and mayhem wherever she goes. She has the trust of British Intelligence and Scotland Yard, and is a bit of a mystery herself. The mysteries are predictable, but still a great adventure read and very entertaining.

I had not seen the biography of the author until after I had read all the books out so far,  and was surprised to see that these novels are purported to be written by a lady in the 1920s and her manuscripts had been found in the mid-sixties and worked on for publishing well after her death. When reading these stories I felt the syntax to be of a 21st Century author writing in the style of Georgette Heyer, Agatha Christie, and even Enid Blyton, but I did not get the impression from the books that they had actually been authored by someone of that time.  

This could be because the author was:

• anachronistically ahead of her time; 
• the books are heavily edited; or 
• they have been written by person or persons unknown in the 21st Century and given a cute back story of a fictional 1920s author. 

I have decided that the books have indeed been written in the 21st Century - but don't let the author's fun at pretending to be someone else prevent you from enjoying these books!

The fact is however, that I thought the books were great fun and it doesn't matter to me who the author is or when the books were written. love them all!  

I really enjoyed reading these delightful novels. They are a charming old fashioned yarn, the kind of novel you take with you to the seaside and read while sun bathing! They do not ask too much of the reader, instead they take you for a rollicking ride of mystery and amateur detection! 

4 out of 5 bats

You can download them via the Amazon store for Kindle, and also ibooks and they are really cheap. Why not give them a try?





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Book Review: No.1 Ladies Detective Agency

I read a lot.

I started reading when i was 3 years old, and my love of reading has never abated. 

A series of novels i have been reading in the last two weeks, and now on to the last of the series so far,  is by Alexander McCall Smith, author of many books on a variety of subjects, about a private investigator in Botswana.

Fourteen books so far in the series and i have been averaging reading a book a night (i do not sleep much and i read fast).  The fifteenth in the series is due to be published later this year and I am eagerly awaiting it!

They are of course the novels about the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, with the private detective Precious Ramotswe and her assistant, Grace Makutsi.

They are about how small crimes/fraud/infidelity have been investigated by these two ladies, and also about their lives in the ever changing world. The sadness of old traditions being lost, and the embracing of the modern world.

I find these books charming, and hard to put down, they have a good juxtaposition of 'feel good' positive themes, tackling real life problems such as domestic violence, and the honour of some traditional ways.

Mma Ramotswe drinks red bush tea, (which i believe is Rooibus tea), and a common thread through the novels is her drinking her tea. It is very English in this respect as tea is made on occasions of celebration, thought, sadness, and any time in between!

I give these books f5 out of 5 bats.

After I have finished the most recently published of this series, I think I shall start on Mr McCall Smith's The Sunday Philosophy Club series!

The series so far!

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About Me: I work full time, I am also studying for a therapist qualification in Naturopathy specialising in Herbalism, I have a small craft 'business', I am co-admin of an auction page on facebook to help other small hobby businesses, i maintain my own 'store' facebook page, I blog at least once a week and I maintain a facebook page created to support small home businesses and hobby sellers 

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What’s your favourite book?

Dear Batlings,

tonight I will speak of two books featuring the same protagonist, that have always been favourites of mine, to the point that I once (pre-flood … I lost all my cool things in the flood) had a collection of ephemera and trinkets  based on these novels as well as owning many different editions.

I speak of the novels featuring a girl called Alice, written by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, or Lewis Carroll to his fans.

Published first  in 1865, and based on a story he created and regaled a friend’s child, Alice Liddell, with ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland became an immediate success. In 1871, another Alice book was published, ‘Alice’s Adventures through the looking glass and what she saw there’.

I first read these books when I was very young, a millennia ago it seems. I was struck by the fun and fantasy of the novels, the slight baroque feel to some of the scenarios young Alice found herself in, and the colourful descriptions. Every time i reread these books, and doing do as an adult, I note social commentary which is most amusing, as well as still being absolutely enamoured with the fantasy, the fun and the totally off the wall incidents in both the books.

This week I was most overjoyed when I received  necklaces made by my friend Katharine, that featured Alice inspired images.

I have started my Alice collection once again!

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrab

To Lewis Carroll, and books I will never be too old to love!

What’s your fave book? why not let me know in a comment?