A Day at the Races: D.J. Taylor’s Derby Day: A Victorian Mystery

According to the writer of The Modern Sportsman: His Dress, Habits and Recreations - whom D.J. Taylor quotes at the beginning of his book - if there is a place which has a meadow and a rail for jumping than you will find the sporting men of England over there. With such a beginning and …

Forgotten Books: Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout

I had heard of Rex Stout but had not realised how popular Nero Wolfe was before I started blogging. Last year then I read my first Wolfe: The Mother Hunt. I loved Archie's narrative skills but wasn't too enamoured of Wolfe's detection or the plot. Fellow mystery enthusiast, Rishi Arora @ Classic Mystery Hunt, then …

Forgotten Books: Holocaust House by Norbert Davis

A man wakes up after a night of drunkenness."Carstairs!" He calls out. "Carstairs."The aforementioned Carstairs comes in and looks at the man with a wearily resigned disgust. The man apologises for his regrettable condition. Carstair's expression of weary disgust doesn't go away. After looking at the man for a few moments, he lumbers out of …

Animal Antics: Gerald Durrell’s A Zoo in My Luggage

What do you do when you are passionate about animals? Well, if you are Gerald Durrell, you set about creating your own zoo. Oh, so you first find/ construct/ renovate a zoo and then go in search of animals? No, if you are the aforesaid eccentric (or 'animal maniac' as a character calls him), you …