La Plage, from 1900, by artist Alfred-Victor Fournier
- Credit: Getty Images
CHARLIE CONNELLY offers his selection of perfect holiday reading, from the latest new European paperbacks
I’m ready for the holidays. I’ve a clean vest ironed, a selection of handkerchiefs knotted in each corner to protect me from the sun’s harmful rays and I’ve been practising rolling up my trouser legs to mid-calf level for a couple of weeks now. This guy is, let me tell you, beach body ready.
In this state of demob happiness my thoughts have travelled via brown ale, whelks and sticks of rock to beach reading. Last month I revealed here my infallible recipe for good holiday literature: a thriller, an anthology, a literary prizewinner, some poetry and a stone-cold classic novel. I’m particularly looking forward to cracking the spine of some O. Henry short stories and getting sand and bits of ham sandwich between the pages of Dorothy L. Sayers’
Another lockdown month, at home, lots of reading, not a lot of anything else. But thank goodness for books, there were a lot of great ones in March. I read twenty books in a wide variety of genres and modes, with a high concentration of things that made me feel free and among friends, at least while I was reading them.
Sequel to
The Paris Wife, a novel about and from the first person POV of Martha Gellhorn, Hemingway’s second wife. I didn’t like it as much as the first book, perhaps because I fairly recently read a biography of Gellhorn so it was more familiar. However, McLain is a terrific writer and I read this avidly. It began an interesting theme that ran through my March books of early-twentieth-century men and women trying to find new ways of being partners here mostly very unsuccessfully, though there were moments when the two of them were writing in different rooms at the same time and meeting up at meals to compare progress.
Artistic Temperament: Mysteries & Thrillers 2021 publishersweekly.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from publishersweekly.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Hertfordshire has been an inspiration to many writers including the world-famous Thomas Hardy and Enid Blyton. With the country in lockdown visiting different parts of our region isn t the best idea with everyone being told to stay at home. However, that shouldn t stop you from exploring Herts through literature with one of these top class novels:
The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde
Image - Pixabay Technically not a novel, this play by Oscar Wilde was first performed in 1895 at the St James s Theatre in London. The trivial comedy for serious people is centred around two protagonists trying to escape burdensome social obligations.
Image - PA It is difficult to think of another city that has been the backdrop to such a plethora of novels over the years. Whether it s the winding River Thames and sprawling back alleys that inspires authors, or the sheer depth of history and prestige this city is steeped in - one thing rings true, Oxford is the returning home to many authors both past and present. With the country in lockdown visiting different parts of our city is not the best idea with everyone being told to stay at home. However, that shouldn t stop you from exploring Oxford through literature with one of these top class novels: