There is nothing more satisfying than reading a book while sipping a hot cup of tea.
It is 1896. Christopher 'Kit' Farrell arrives in London after years in the US where working as a newspaper-reporter, he had covered the civil war. His destination is Hotel Langham where he is supposed to meet old chum, Nigel Seagrave. Seagrave, an explorer, had been given up for dead in Africa soon after his marriage … Continue reading Halloween Horror: The Hungry Goblin by John Dickson Carr (1972)
The Penguin Book of Victorian Villainies contains four novels selected by writer Graham Greene and his brother, Hugh Greene. Of the four, I had already read The Rome Express and In the Fog but the other two, The Great Tontine and The Beetle were new to me.How did they miss the last E in Greene?????????The … Continue reading Forgotten Books: Victorian Villainies (Ed) Graham and Hugh Greene
Call it the romance of the railways or whatever you like but mysteries set on trains hold a special fascination for me. So when I came across The Rome Express by Major Arthur Griffiths I was all eager to read it.A soldier who fought in the Crimean war and who later became the Inspector of … Continue reading Forgotten Book: The Rome Express by Arthur Griffiths
There's something about the Victorian Age which fascinates me and so I am signing up for the 2016 Victorian Reading Challenge hosted @ Belle Library. If the age interests you too, you can join over here.
In Ayesha, the sequel to H.Rider Haggard's hugely popular She (1886), the heroes, Horace Holly and Leo Vincy travel to Tibet and finally reach a Central Asian kingdom where the priestess Hesea, they believe is She/ Ayesha reincarnated. With Haggard falling in love with his own heroine and trying to show her in a more and … Continue reading Short Review: Ayesha: The Return of She by H. Rider Haggard
sourceWhat is about Sherlock Holmes that people can't bear to see him die? His own creator pushed him down the Reichenbach Falls but then brought him back to life as the public clamour grew too strong to resist. Other writers have followed suit and have not allowed Holmes the comfort of bee-keeping but have rather … Continue reading Sherlock Holmes Revisited: Anthony Horowitz’ The House of Silk
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 … Continue reading A Day at the Races: D.J. Taylor’s Derby Day: A Victorian Mystery
In my early school-going days, Sherlock Holmes was THE DETECTIVE. My bhuaji's husband (whom as is wont in our family, we called Jijaji) told us enthusiastically about how as a young boy in Quetta, he and some of his schoolmates, who knew English, would narrate the adventures of Holmes to the village elders. So impressed … Continue reading Sherlock Holmes Deconstructed: Partha Basu’s The Curious Case of 221B
'Edwin, Edwin, Edwin,' she repeats, trailing off into a drowsy repetition of the word; and then asks suddenly: Is the short of that name Eddy?''It is sometimes called so,'he replies, with the colour starting to his face.'Don't sweethearts call it so?' she asks, pondering.How should I know!'Haven't you a sweetheart, upon your soul?''None.'She is moving … Continue reading Dark Desires: Dickens’ Edwin Drood
This month, I am participating in the Charles Dickens bicentennial celebrations hosted by Amanda at Fig and Thistle. The book that I am reading right now is one that has long been on my wishlist: The Mystery of Edwin Drood. So far, the mystery has been fairly gripping. There are two young people, Edwin and … Continue reading Charles Dickens Month: Edwin, Rosa, and Jasper
a hot cup of pleasure 