Dean Street Press December 2023 Round-up Post

I’m so pleased with how well our second annual month reading books republished by Dean Street Press, the indie publisher devoted to finding and republishing good fiction and non-fiction, has gone! I set things up in this post with all the detail and then I created this Main Post where I recorded all the reviews that people submitted with links to their review (if I didn’t capture yours, please comment on this post or the Main Post with a link and I’ll add it).

What did we read?

I was so pleased at the number of reviews that were submitted – thank you everyone! We …

• Read books by 20 authors
• Read 44 different titles
• Wrote 53 reviews of those titles

“Babbacombe’s” by Susan Scarlett was the most popular book, with four reviews. I loved how many people took part – nineteen different reviewers, in fact, and although the number of books was slightly lower than last year, the number of reviewers was higher!

Thank you to everyone who joined in, and a big thank you to Dean Street Press for republishing (or publishing for the first time) these lovely books, and Scott from Furrowed Middlebrow for finding all his imprints’ books, which certainly featured heavily in my selection!

Are we doing it again in 2024?

Shall we? I rather think this will happen again!

Book review – Elizabeth Fair – “Bramton Wick”

A sneaky fifth book for my Dean Street December challenge: this is the last Elizabeth Fair I had left from the set sent to me back in the very early days of the publisher! All month, we’ve been reading books published by Dean Street Press, the indie publisher, and this is another book from the marvellous Furrowed Middlebrow imprint. Please see this post for all the detail and the Main post for all the reviews so far. I’ll be publishing a short round-up post on 1 January with a summary of how we’ve done.

Elizabeth Fair – “Bramton Wick”

(21 February 2017, from the publisher)

Unlike sisters in fiction, they were not in the habit of confiding to one another the romantic secrets of their young heats. Laura had had few such secrets to confide, and she had known instinctively that Gillian woud not lend a sympathetic ear to the account of her deep attachment, which had lasted nearly six months, to a young man staying at the Vicarage for Latin coaching, or the even more unprofitable affection she hd expended on film stars, the photograph of a school friend’s brother, and the heroes of books.

In Fair’s first novel, published originally in 1952 and very much of its post war(s) time, we initially spend some time wandering around the titular village and meeting its inhabitants and their houses (always very important to Fair).

The cast of characters does fit in with the classic mid-century village novel: the acerbic retired major and his pliable wife, the lady of the manor and her cossetted son, the faded widow and her two daughters, the impoverished sisters mulling over forgotten glories, the impoverished himself landlord, the tweedy women and their dogs, and the incomer with the Wrong Clothes. But it has that zesty undertone I like in Fair, comenting on itself, especially on how the central, it turns out, sisters are not like sisters in fiction.

Some eligible suitors appear for the sisters one of whom was a land girl in the war and one of whom is a young widow, including two rather feeble chaps who did OK in the war but are now flitting from job to job, and there are some delicious confusions as well as set-pieces and the odd spectacular scene. A very pleasant environment in which to spend the last days of the year, knowing it will all come out OK in the end.

This was my Book 5 for Dean Street December.

Book review – Susan Scarlett – “Sally-Ann”

My fourth book for my Dean Street December challenge and the last one in my photo above, although I do have some DSP-shaped parcels in my Christmas pile and I have some lurking on the Kindle, too, so we’ll see … We’re reading books published by Dean Street Press, the indie publisher devoted to finding and republishing good fiction and non-fiction. This is another book from the marvellous Furrowed Middlebrow imprint. Please see this post for all the detail and the Main post for all the reviews so far. Emma bought me this one for Christmas 2022 and I’ve only read two of the eight books I received then (however, watch this space for a new project for 2024 that will catch me up nicely!).

Susan Scarlett – “Sally-Ann”

(25 December 2022, from Emma)

Ann put on her coat.

‘Poor Mum. It’s a shame you’ve never had anything.’

‘What!’ Alice gave her a quick hug. ‘Silly girl. I’ve had everything. A good husband. Nice home and both of you. I wouldn’t change places with anybody. Not even Queen Elizabeth!’

Ann laughed. ‘I can see you at Buckingham Palace. Before you’d been in the place two minutes you’d be down in the kitchen interfering with the cooking. Then upstairs interfering with the Princesses’ lessons.’ (p. 143)

Over a year and it still gives me a funny jolt when the late Queen crops up, as she so often does in FM books. Here, of course, in the form of one of the Princesses. Anyway, this is another super fairy tale where a deserving but cash-strapped family girl gets her lovely man and a kind future. In this one, unlike “Babbacombe’s“, the family has gone down in the world: our heroine’s father, who lacked the money to train as a doctor (as Ann then did, too), became a chemist and ran his own shop until an estate was built with its own shops and he lost all his business. Now they take in a range of lodgers (giving the author a nice boarding house setting to play with) and Ann goes out to work as a beautician.

The fairy tale element comes when she has to go and do the make-up of a young heiress and then becomes a stand-in bridesmaid, the Sally of the joined-up-name title. She meets Sir Timothy and holds up the pretence for a while, then when she’s found out by the (mild and somewhat unfortunate) villain of the book, things might go smoothly but for that familiar figure, the (here an uncle) who holds Sir Timothy’s fortunes in his businesslike hands. But of course love cares not for money and you know all will end happily.

Like in “Babbacombe’s”, Ann has a poorly younger brother and there are touching scenes as Timothy shows his mettle by being lovely with him. There’s an unusual touch when Ann and Timothy come across a drowning; I think this is there to show Ann’s hardiness and/or that one must grasp the nettle, but it was an odd element. Dodie Smith delightfully appears as a celebrity spotted in a posh restaurant; there are massive coincidences but, as I said: fairy tale. But also, being Streatfeild, there’s a strong moral compass and a range of entertaining and well-drawn characters, especially at the beautician’s. Another lovely read!

This was my Book 4 for Dean Street December (and the challenge’s Book 40-something!).

Book review – D. E. Stevenson – “The Tall Stranger”

Another one read for my Dean Street December challenge and I’m part-way through my second Susan Scarlett, too (though I think I have an Elizabeth Fair lurking on the Kindle so I might not be done yet!). We’re reading books published by Dean Street Press, the indie publisher devoted to finding and republishing good fiction and non-fiction. This is another book from their wonderful Furrowed Middlebrow imprint. Please see this post for all the detail and the Main post for all the reviews so far. Emma bought me this one for my birthday in 2022 so now I’ve read and reviewed 9 out of the 14 books I received then!

D. E. Stevenson – “The Tall Stranger”

(21 January 2022, from Emma)

‘Did you really – break his arm?’ whispered Barbie.

‘Yes, really. Of course I didn’t MEAN to,’ explained Nell. I was a bit excited – the creature had grabbed my bag – so I caught hold of his arm and held it – you know the way – and he struggled …’ (p. 14)

Opening in a London pea-souper which sees Nell and her doctor boss trying to get to hospital to visit Nell’s best friend and flatmate, I felt a bit confused by this book at first. Then we get to Barbie, who’s had a mystery virus and is very run down, she’s sent home to the Cotswolds and off we go, with Nell’s story happening very much off-stage. Barbie has been tied to Edward since childhood – they’re not related (he’s her aunt’s step-son – got that?) and now he has Expectations, but is he all he makes himself out to be? Meanwhile, Barbie meets a tall, unknown chap at a wedding and that seems to get off on the wrong foot but we know he’ll reappear.

The best bits, however, are Barbie and Nell’s strong friendship (turns out they did ju-jitsu with a chap from downstairs for a bit and do know how to break an arm) and the details of Barbie’s job as an interior designer. She’s soon up a ladder in a Scottish castle where everyone is self-assured and confident but she can hold her own, and her skill and enjoyment of her job are such (and this book is a later one, published in 1957) that she will end up with a husband AND a job, for once.

There is a portrayal of a man living with a learning disability that’s a bit tricky to read nowadays (but not as bad as it could have been), and one uncomfortable scene about how good a thing colonialism was (mind you, I was instructed on the same by a young man newly over in the Midlands from India, so you need to experience these opinions to make your judgement) and it’s interesting that the expounder of the theory says that it’s fashionable to criticise Empire – in 1956 or thereabouts.

A good page-turner and two fun heroines, plus the D. E. Stevenson autobiographical sketch makes an appearance at the end and it’s always nice to see that again.

This was my Book 3 for Dean Street December (and the challenge’s Book 39, I think).

Book review – Susan Scarlett – “Babbacombe’s”

Here’s another read for my Dean Street December challenge! And I’ve got another one read and ready for review, too … We’re reading books published by Dean Street Press, the indie publisher devoted to finding and republishing good fiction and non-fiction. This one is from their brilliant Furrowed Middlebrow imprint. Please see this post for all the detail and the Main post for all the reviews so far. Emma bought me this one for my birthday this year; I’ve now read four out of the seven books I received then: all the Dean Street Press ones, in fact! I have been aching to read this one ever since, just for that glorious cover if nothing else! Susan Scarlett is of course Noel Streatfeild in pseudonym, and Scott from Furrowed Middlebrow and Dean Street Press have done a great job getting all her light and lovely novels out there again for us to enjoy.

Susan Scarlett – “Babbacombe’s”

(21 January 2023, from Emma)

David was appalled. He had never known tragedy – his life had been one long laugh. A short while ago he would have shoved Beth’s story out of his mind with a ‘God, how awful! Let’s have a drink!’ Now it touched him. This Edward he had never met was Beth’s brother. His feeling for her seemed to have brought other senses alive. (p. 73)

We open this charming novel with Beth at her school leaving assembly, celebrated for her intelligence and all-round decency, one sister squirming under the reputation she can’t keep up. We meet Beth’s four siblings and mum and dad, all squashed happily into a terrace house, and even before we get all the lovely detail about the shop (I do love a book with lots of practical detail and I do love a book about a shop …) we get to find out exactly how they make the space work. But an awful half-cousin is coming to stay, and when she gets a job in the same department store as Beth’s dad George has always worked at and Beth is starting in Gowns, of course she’s in the flashy area of Lifts. I really loved all the workings of the shop and there’s even a chase involving a store detective.

And of course there’s an across-the-classes romance as Beth unwittingly meets the son of the owner and berates him for being idle, causing a change of heart the chap in my next read could have done with. While Beth can’t imagine going against her father’s wishes and seeing David, he’s determined, and while his actions might feel a bit stalkery nowadays, it’s not that she’s unwilling to be with him, just unwilling to upset their fathers by doing so. And Beth’s sister and cousin are far worse rule-breakers and bring ignominy upon themselves, as flashy or showy people always do in Scarlett/Streatfeild’s books. There are lovely trips to the countryside and it is a fairy-tale, but that’s just as wanted now in 2023 as it was at the time it was first published in 1941, right?!

There are two dogs and a cat, all delightful and all perfectly fine all the way through.

This was my Book 2 for Dean Street December (and the challenge’s Book 30-something!).

Book review – Molly Clavering – “Love Comes Home”

Well at last I’m taking part in my own Dean Street December challenge! I’ve had so many people join in and I was yet to post a review! Just as a reminder, we’re reading books published by Dean Street Press, the indie publisher devoted to finding and republishing good fiction and non-fiction. This one is from their wonderful Furrowed Middlebrow imprint. See this post for all the detail and the Main post for all the reviews so far. I acquired this book from my best friend Emma for my birthday in 2022; I’m happy to say that I’ve read and reviewed 8 out of the 14 books I received then.

Molly Clavering – “Love Comes Home”

(21 January 2022, from Emma)

Jane has escaped her demanding family in Scotland to stay with her vivacious friend Kitty, seen throughout as a sort of unrelated twin showing how she might have been without so much self-control. She’s summoned back when her sister Love comes home (hence the title) and has to leave behind Navy man John who has just proposed, while getting off on the wrong foot with Peregrine, who is coming up to stand as Conservative candidate in the parliamentary election.

Her local townspeople and farmers are all Labour and there’s a certain amount of politicking in the book, both understanding of the plight of the poor when contrasted with the idle rich but also comments pro the working rich, i.e. the landowners who look after their tenants. I didn’t mind this myself, though others have, as the premise of the book’s plot is the upcoming election and the split between the followers of the parties.

John is stationed nearby and visits, Peregrine gets enmeshed in the family’s life, too, and Love is busy trying to arrange everything to her satisfaction, so there are lots of misunderstandings and set-pieces but all, as always, set against the lovely Scottish countryside. The book was published in 1938 and it’s interesting that one character has been walking in the German countryside and there’s quite light-hearted mention of Hitler!

The aspect I wasn’t really so keen on was an undercurrent of misogyny, with, as noted before in other mid-century books, a keenness on young women having their rebellion beaten out of them, and in this case, settling for a man with a roving eye which is OK because you know he has. Hm. But a delightful and gentle book around that and I will forgive Clavering.

This was Book 1 for Dean Street December.

State of the TBR – December 2023

Well, it has gone down a little compared to last month! I took seven print books off the TBR including a couple of fairly substantial ones, and acquired five more, of which two were review books so don’t join the main run of it. I did not take any of the oldest books off the TBR and I need to address that if I can this month!

I completed 14 books in November (four with reviews to be published, as I did a lot of NonFiction November posts in the month), including seven for NonFiction November and five for Novellas in November. I also successfully ran one of the weeks of Nonfiction November which I thoroughly enjoyed doing, although the admin for it did knock a bit out of my reading time! Of the print books I put in a virtual pile to read at the start of the month, I read and reviewed five. I am part-way through two more (including my current Reading With Emma Read). I got through five out of the six NetGalley books published in November (DNFing one, three to review) and added one for December then read that, too and no older ones, and my NetGalley review percentage is still 93%.

Incomings

I’ve acquired five print books from publishers, The Heath Bookshop (two at an event) and friends this month:

I’ve just realised “How Bad Are Bananas?” came in the October BookCrossing meetup but can’t face redoing the photo, so ignore that one! Alastair Humphreys’ “Local” has the inveterate traveller doing local stuff during lockdown “Stories for Winter and Nights by the Fire” is the winter volume from the British Library Women Writers imprint, and thank you to both publishers for these. I picked up a British Library Crime Classic at Ali’s flat last weekend, “Suddenly at his Residence” by Christianna Brand is set in Kent, my county of origin, so I couldn’t resist picking it up. I went to a wonderful author event hosted by The Heath Bookshop at the local parish church just last night, and bought and had signed Kehinde Andrews’ “The Psychosis of Whiteness” and Derek Owusu’s novel “Losing the Plot” and am very much looking forward to getting to those.

I won just the four NetGalley books this month Good news is I have already got one of them read even though it’s published this month!

I was offered Ela Lee’s “Jaded” (published Feb 2024) by the publisher, apparently a good one for fans of “Queenie”, “The List” and “I May Destroy You” looking at the effect of a sexual assault on a young Black woman’s life and career. Christie Barlow’s “The Library on Love Heart Lane” (December) is another in her series, with a lot of regular characters reappearing, and will be reviewed soon. Michael Meyer’s “A Dirty, Filthy Book” (Feb 2024) uses previously unpublished material to examine Annie Besant’s trial for distributing literature on birth control and Ishi Robinson’s “Sweetness in the Skin” (April 2024) which I was also offered by the publisher, has a young woman desperate to follow her aunt from Jamaica to France, with her mother trying to stop her.

I bought none on Kindle and I DNF’d “Death Checked Out” plus its sequel on NetGalley as didn’t enjoy the worry of reading a modern mystery!

So that was 14 read and 9 coming in in October (of which I have already read one) so I feel I’m going back in the right direction!

Currently reading

Emma and I are almost half-way through Cal Flyn’s “Islands of Abandonment” and are still thoroughly enjoying it. I’ve started the review book “You’re all Talk” and it’s fascinating so far.

Coming up

Coming up this month I have four review books plus I’m going to be reading at least these four for Dean Street December, maybe more if any arrive for Christmas – see my introductory post here.

I have read my one NetGalley book for December so I might delve into my older ones or my general Kindle books once I have finished the above.

With the ones I’m currently reading, that’s one books to finish and eight definitely to read, which is doable, I think.

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How was your November reading? What are you reading this month? Did you do Novellas in November or Nonfiction November and are you taking part in Dean Street December? Have you read or picked up any of my selection?

Dean Street Press December 2023 Main Post

It’s time again! Are you up for it? This month, I’m going to be reading (at least) four books published by Dean Street Press, the indie publisher devoted to finding and republishing good fiction and non-fiction. This is the starter post and where I’ll record all your reviews during the month. See this post for all the detail. If you want to be inspired, my round-up post with all the stats from 2022’s challenge is here.

What should I do?

Read your book(s) and comment on this post with a link to your blog post, Goodreads review or other place where you’ve written about your read.

I will also read and review books during the month and add my own links; please also feel free to chat about those books and visit other people’s links during the month and afterwards.

Ready to go?

Are you in? Link to this post in your reviews, comment here with them and use the hashtag #DeanStreetDecember23 on social media through the month!

THE STARTER AND SUMMARY POSTS

Here are people setting their intentions for the month!

Robin’s Reading Rambles

Hopewell’s Library of Life

All the Vintage Ladies

THE REVIEWS

Verily Anderson

Spam Tomorrow – Staircase Wit

Gwen Bristow & Bruce Manning

The Invisible Host – All the Vintage Ladies

Christopher Bush

The Case of the Misssing Men – Robinwalter

The Case of the Platinum Blonde – Robinwalter

The Case of the Running Mouse – Robinwalter

Molly Clavering

Because of Sam – Robinwalter

Because of Sam – Clothes In Books

Because of Sam – Whatmeread

Love Comes Home – my review

Love Comes Home – Robinwalter

Touch Not the Nettle – Robinwalter

Moray Dalton

Death in the Dark – Robinwalter

Death in the Forest – Robinwalter

The Art School Murders – Robinwalter

The Night of Fear – Clothes in Books

Elizabeth Eliot

Cecil – Brona’s Books

Elizabeth Fair

Bramton Wick – My review

The Native Heath – Heavenali

Rachel Ferguson

A Footman for the Peacock – Shereadsnovels

Brian Flynn

Glittering Prizes – Robinwalter

Such Bright Disguises – All the Vintage Ladies

The Sharp Quillet – Robinwalter

The Sussex Cuckoo – Robinwalter

Stella Gibbons

A Pink Front Door – Shereadsnovels

The Weather at Tregulla – Volatile Muse

The Woods in Winter – Gert Loveday’s Fun with Books

The Woods in Winter – Volatile Muse

Daniel Klein

Viva Las Vengeance – AnnaBookBel

Ursula Orange

Company in the Evening – Whatmeread

Tom Tiddler’s Ground – Madame Bibliophile

E. R. Punshon

It Might Lead Anywhere – Literary Potpourri

E. & M. A. Radford

Who Killed Dick Whittington? – All the Vintage Ladies

Susan Scarlett

Babbacombe’s – Staircase Wit

Babbacombe’s – All the Vintage Ladies

Babbacombe’s – my review

Babbacombe’s – Sarah Matthews

Murder While You Work – Fanda Classiclit

Sally-Ann – my review

Margery Sharp

The Foolish Gentlewoman – Fanda Classiclit

D. E. Stevenson

Kate Hardy – Robinwalter

Smouldering Fire – Robinwalter

The Fair Miss Fortune – Entering the Enchanted Castle

The Fair Miss Fortune – Fanda Classiclit

The Tall Stranger – my review

Vittoria Cottage – Fanda Classiclit

Winter and Rough Weather – Robinwalter

Young Mrs Savage – Literary Potpourri

Molly Thynne

The Draycott Murder Mystery – Literary Potpourri

Patricia Wentworth

The Annam Jewel – Staircase Wit

Who Pays the Piper? – Reese at Typings

E. H. Young

Miss Mole – Heavenali

Miss Mole – Entering the Enchanted Castle

OVER ON INSTAGRAM

BabsBelovedBooks on Apricot Sky

Dean Street December is coming!!

Last year we had a super December celebrating Dean Street Press, the indie publisher devoted to finding and republishing good fiction and non-fiction. The round-up post is here. Obviously there have been some major changes for the Press since then, but the books are still available and in print, and with Victoria’s blessing, and after a lot of enthusiasm, I’m running the celebration month again this December!

How does it work?

On 1 December, I will publish a main post (here’s last year’s) where I invite readers to share links to the books published by Dean Street Press you read during the month.

Read your book(s) and review them on your blog, Goodreads, etc., with a link to my main post if you can. Then comment on the main post with a link to yours. Use the hashtag #DeanStreetDecember23 on your social media.

Please note: I can’t guarantee to spot all your socials, especially as Twitter-likes that I’m not even on expand, so please do pop a comment with a link on the main post to be sure I list it.

I will also read and review books during the month and add my own links; please also feel free to chat about those books and visit other people’s links during the month and afterwards.

Where can we see the links to our reviews?

I will update the main post with a list of the books read and links to your reviews, so we have a lovely big list for us all to explore by the end of the month.

Do bear with me!

I’m doing this on my own and I do work full time and volunteer, so please bear with me if I take a day or so to post up your review!

Ready to go?

Are you in? Link to this post if you want to talk about it in the run-up, and use the hashtag #DeanStreetDecember23 on social media through the month! I’ll be reading the four books in my image: what will you be reading?

Dean Street Press December 2022 Round-up Post

Well, that went well, didn’t it! I mentioned in November as a passing thought that I was going to read a few books published by Dean Street Press, the indie publisher devoted to finding and republishing good fiction and non-fiction, in December, I set the scene in this post with all the detail and I created this Main Post where I recorded all the reviews that people submitted with links to their blog, Goodreads review or Storygraph review (if I didn’t capture yours, please comment on this post with a link and I’ll add it).

What did we read?

I was astonished at the number of reviews that were submitted – thank you everyone! We …

• Read books by 24 authors
• Read 57 different titles
• Wrote 66 reviews of those titles

Robin Walters “won” (there is no prize) for sheer numbers, with 30 books read and reviewed! I think I came second, with my eight. But I loved how many people took part – sixteen different reviewers, in fact! Thank you to everyone who joined in, and a big thank you to Dean Street Press for republishing (or publishing for the first time) these lovely books, and Scott from Furrowed Middlebrow for finding all his imprints’ books, which certainly featured heavily in my selection!

Are we doing it again in 2023?

Well, given the response and the requests to do it again, I rather think we will!