Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë “There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.” From its haunting first line to its famous closer, “Reader, I married him”, Charlotte Brontë takes her audience by the throat with a fierce Read more
We are all completely beside ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler Rosemary is now an only child, but she used to have a sister the same age as her, and an older brother. Both are now gone – vanished from her life. Read more
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2014 Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless Read more
Dombey & Son by Charles Dickens Mr Dombey is a man obsessed with his firm. His son is groomed from birth to take his place within it, despite his visionary eccentricity and declining health. But Dombey also has a daughter, Read more
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd The struggle of 19th-century abolitionist and women’s rights pioneer Sarah Grimké is at the heart of Sue Monk Kidd’s powerful new historical novel. Set – like her bestselling debut, The Secret Life Read more
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho Santiago, a young shepherd living in the hills of Andalucia, feels that there is more to life than his humble home and his flock. One day he finds the courage to follow his dreams Read more
That green cabinet in The Street has suddenly come to life. Anyone in the village with an existing phone line can order “superfast” broadband today. I just did and the order predicts I will get download speeds of up to Read more
After the resounding success of our earlier village tidy-up, Victoria and Trystan Hitchens are proposing a second day of cleaning, clearing and making good, before winter sets in. All welcome. Meet at the Church at 10am.
The Sea, the Sea by Iris Murdoch Review by Amanda Read Charles Arrowby retires from life in the theatre to seclusion in a barely-habitable residence by the sea. He intends to write his memoirs but life has a habit of Read more