Good morning, I hope you’ve had a fantastic week! Mine was truly excellent! It was my boyfriend Julien’s birthday on Wednesday, October 16 (I gifted him a good quality bomber jacket that he wanted and his mother came from out of town to have dinner with us at a Japanese restaurant – his favourite cuisine) and I also had plenty of time to myself to enjoy some lovely things (taking his birthday off work really helped!).
Cosy vintage books
I’ve absolutely got to tell you about High Rising because this is a huge, huge favourite. I’ve been hearing about Angela Thirkell forever, ever since Virago started reprinting her Barsetshire books in 2012. Goodreads tells me I’ve read and enjoyed High Rising before but I had no recollection of it so I read it again and what a delight! This is a hugely entertaining humorous village novel in the style of, say, Miss Buncle’s Book or Diary of Provincial Lady. Laura Morland is a widow with four boys (whose names and lives nobody can keep straight) and has got a rather successful career as a writer (which she constantly dismisses as unimportant and just here to pay the bills because she only writes potboilers – a topic for a different day). She lives with her youngest son Tony who’s an absolute DEMON and the novel consists of the whole lot of wonderful everyday nothings that happen in her village life – keeping things civil with her housekeeper Stoker, acquiring a secretary, keeping appointments with her publisher, school drama, Tony being an absolute nuisance every single minute of every day with his obsessive love for trains and the railroad and a little dash of very funny romance.
I can’t tell you how much I laughed reading this. The whole thing is wonderful but I must say Tony takes the cake. What a riot his scenes are! Angela Thirkell writes his (exhausting) conversations with his mother (who vacillates between wanting to hug him and wanting to smother him) so well I found myself absolutely CRYING with laughter so much several times. I’m SO happy I revisited this because all I want to know right now is read all of her books back to back. They’re exactly what I look for in cosy, fun village books. There seems to be 29 books in the series so I’m over the moon that I’ve got so many wonderful books ahead of me still!
Fantasy of manners books
Fantasy of manners – essentially Jane Austen with magic – is my absolute favourite brand of fantasy and my favourite thing ever in books is comedy so it’s no surprise that I absolutely adore India Holton whose books about pirates, spies, flying houses, tea and a whole lot of enemies to lovers romance are amongst my most treasured possessions. Her Secret Service of Tea and Treason is my favourite of the three – Alice, Agent A, and Bixby, Agent B, have to infiltrate a pirate country house party under the guise of being husband and wife and much hilarity ensues. The most exacting, literary-minded characters with tons of chemistry thrown into THE silliest situations (a pirate conga line, anyone?). What a treat this book is and this entire series is a true gift.
I’m currently reading the first book in her new series, The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love (the quote in the title of this post is taken from this book), and it’s the light academia fantasy romance of dreams. I haven’t felt like something had been written specifically for me like this in so long. This made me want to apply to Oxford to pursue another degree (I’ve already got a Master’s in English literature, but perhaps a BA in History, or a PhD in English lit? Studying fantasy of manners? Oooo). This book features rival academics, parasols, tea (of course) and a whole array of exotic & rare birds. Also tenure and fowl play (HA!). I love it to pieces already and look at that cover, my goodness! Obsessed. This also made me want to reread all of Gail Carriger who was my first introduction to this genre and was the first author I felt was catering to my every whim without having ever met me!
Costume dramas
Bleak House (2005), written by Andrew Davies is one of my favourite costume dramas. I rewatch it all the time. I never watched much of Little Dorrit when it aired in 2008 – I remember that the Tattycoram scenes really upset me. I decided to revisit it this week and couldn’t help but watch the entire thing. Beyond anything else, Amy Dorrit (brilliantly portrayed by Claire Foy) is an absolute light and an angel and stays true to herself and to her values – goodness and truth always – through really challenging circumstances. While some of the characters irritated me hugely (Rigaud, Ms Wade), I thought this was an excellent, deeply entertaining adaptation and both Arthur and Amy must be protected at all costs. It’s got great secondary characters too (I loved Frederick, Amy’s uncle, very much). Amy’s unfailing kindness and patience and love (the ‘you can’t stop me loving you’ part of it all is so touching) makes her an absolute role model for me. I love her to pieces. I’d like to watch and read as much Dickens as possible before December to be ready for a Dickens tour I signed up for in London. I’m beyond excited about this trip! In one form or another, be it book, audiobook or adaptation, I’d like to go back to Our Mutual Friend, Dombey and Son, Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol as priorities.
Princesses
I’ve embarked on a bit of a Disney project. I’m a Disney princess devotee through and through but I don’t rewatch the other animated films nearly as much as the princess movies so I wanted to remedy that. I’ve been following along the Disuniversity podcast from the beginning – they’ve got a whole episode for each animated film and give you background and useful information for each. I’ve been absolutely loving their episodes. I’ve only watched the first two so far and while not every film I’ll revisit will be a hit (I think Pinocchio will haunt my nightmares for the rest of my life), I thought I’d tell you about some I’ve really enjoyed.
Snow White is never going to be my favourite princess film (hello, traumatising witch) but I loved watching it again and I love Snow White who’s such a gentle soul. The woodland scenes are gorgeous and beautifully pastel. I also absolutely adored the domesticity of this film – the cooking, the baking, even the cleaning with a song, I know Enchanted (a huge favourite of mine) has got similar scenes and it was a joy to see them here too. Snow White always sees the brightness in darkness (‘you can fill the world with sunshine’) and she gets her heart’s wish and gets to live with someone who loves her after years of abuse from her stepmother. It’s a fantastic story for her.
I’m wishing for the one I love to find me today/ I’m dreaming of the nice things he’ll say/ Away to his castle I’ll go to be happy forever I know.
I’ve had a look around for Snow White inspired fanart and I came across this absolutely gorgeous piece of art for the Wishing Well scene (one of my favourite scenes).
That’s it from me! I hope your week is full of lovely things, I’ll speak to you next Sunday or Monday. Lots of love. ❤️
Magical Emma Rose 