It’s time for some more Bookshelf Travelling in Insane Times which is hosted by Judith at Reader in the Wilderness.
The first shelf is in a small bookcase which is situated at the top of the stairs, it’s a tight space and I was really happy when we managed to get a wee bookcase to fit in. This shelf is where most of my British Library Crime Classic books reside. I’ve discovered quite a few authors that I hadn’t experienced before through these books and I tend to read them as soon as I get them so these books have all been read. I like this series, they feature covers appropriate to the time they were originally published, often from British Rail posters advertising holiday destinations in the UK. I love those posters too and have quite a few wee repro ones framed and hanging on the staircase walls.
More vintage crime, I rarely come across any original Penguin crime paperbacks, but when I do manage to find them I almost always read them straight away, so these ones have all been read too. The books by Jean Potts and Holly Roth were bought when I hadn’t even heard of those authors but I really enjoyed the books. If you are a fan of Georgette Heyer’s Regency romances then you will almost certainly like her crime/mystery books. They feature the same witty dialogue that make her historical books such fun.
The last shelf isn’t a shelf at all, it’s a book trough, although at the last antiques fair I went to (remember those heady days when we had the luxury of doing things like that and we took it all completely for granted?!) anyway, I bought another book trough but was amused to see that the label on it described it as being a book troff. The one below is on the floor in the hall at the moment as I have nowhere else to put it. There’s some more vintage crime in it, it’s a mixture of books that are waiting to be read and some I have read already. The big thick book is called The Herries Chronicle and it’s by Hugh Walpole. I think this trilogy was wildly popular when they were first published in the 1930s but I’ve never known anyone who has read them. The books are set in the Lake District, which seems like a plus to me. This volume contains four books – Rogue Herries, Judith Paris, The Fortress and Vanessa. Have any of you read any of Walpole’s books?
Young Bess is my mother’s favorite book (she also likes Pamela Frankau but I never took to those books as much) so I have read it and the others in the trilogy many times. Margaret Irwin’s books are all enjoyable.
I had a friend who loved Hugh Walpole. I remember her recommending Rogue Herries to me but I have never got around to it.
I have only read one or two of the British Library Crime Classics but I love the covers and plan to read more. While I own most of Heyer’s crime novels, I don’t know them by heart like her regencies.
CLM,
I read Young Bess recently and loved it so went straight on to read the other two in that trilogy. Those weren’t quite as good but that was inevitable I think. I haven’t read any others by Margaret Irwin, but definitely will.
I’m going to read the Walpole books soonish, I’m quite hopeful that I’ll really enjoy them now.
I still have a lot of Heyer’s regencies to read.
You have quite a few British Library Crime Classics. Between us, my husband and I have about half that many. So far I have enjoyed those I have read. I would buy all of them just for the covers if I could.
I have read several of the Georgette Heyer mysteries and plan to read them all eventually. I have recently purchased several books by Jean Potts, some old vintage copies and some new reprints, but have not read any of them. I am glad to hear that you liked them.
tracybham,
I find that the British Library Crime Classics can be a wee bit hit and miss, I’m sometimes left thinking that surely there was another crime book that deserved to be reprinted more than the one I’ve just read, but sometimes they’re really good.
Hi Katrina,
Oh, these shelves are a wonder! And I marvel at how you managed to fit one in at the top of the stairs. Well done! Where there’s a will there’s a way!
My eyes fixed first on all the Daphne du Maurier titles you have. I’ve ordered The Scapegoat from our library, but it will be a very long time before I’ll get a hold of it because our local libraries are just stuttering out of being locked down.
I probably need to purchase some du Maurier. (Du Maurier?)
And your British Library Classics all neatly arranged–how lovely. Oh gosh, if I were at your house, I’d spend all my time drooling (oh, sorry, what a dreadful image!) over them. I have quite a number now, but nowhere near the ones you have. But I do love the colorful pictorial covers they have.
Young Bess, yes! I do fondly remember that title.
Now Georgette Heyer’s crime/mysteries. I’ll take note. Do you have a title by any chance of one you particularly liked? Only if it’s no trouble.
Judith,
It’s years since I read The Scapegoat but I’m sure I enjoyed it. No Wind of Blame or Behold Here’s Poison would be good Heyer mysteries to try or even Footsteps in the Dark. Her crime fiction books feature mystery, romance and witty dialogue. I find them entertaining anyway.
Though I don’t t own any, I love the British Library books. Such wonderful covers. Given how much I adore British cozy mystery shoes, I’m surprised I don’t read more mystery than I do.
I had never heard of a book trough, or troff, before. I like it.
Carl,
Book troughs turn up fairly frequently here, at one time boys made them in woodwork at school I think and they’re really meant to sit on a desk or table. I wish I had been allowed to do woodwork at school but in my days (1970s) girls had to do sewing and cookery.