Even in these first two years of the correspondence that I read last night, Queen Victoria has talked about what she called the “shadow side” of marriage – pregnancy & childbirth. Vicky married Fritz, a Prince of Germany, at 17 & mother & daughter wrote thousands of letters to each other over the next 45 years. I started reading it last night & I’m loving it. The letters have been selected from the six volume edition published some time ago. The photos are also beautiful, including several of the Royal family that I hadn’t seen before. Folio Society books always have lovely paper & good bindings but this one is just glorious. This is the most gorgeously produced book I’ve seen in a very long time. Letters to Vicky, the correspondence between Queen Victoria & her daughter, Vicky, the Empress of Germany. However, the most exciting of my Folio purchases (& the main reason I renewed my membership) is this one. I’ve always wanted to read the Chronicles as they’re the basis for many of Shakespeare’s plays & this edition has many of the original woodcuts & commentary by Michael Wood, one of my favourite historians. So, you can see I’ve bought lovely editions of On The Eve by Turgenev, Moonfleet by L Meade Falkner & Holinshed’s Chronicles. I always wait until they offer the books at half price & the time had come. The other books are from the Folio Society. The other book, Cat Detective by Vicky Halls, needs no explanation. A Time of Gifts & Between the Woods & the Water have been recommended by many people over the years so this was a perfect chance to buy them. The latest arrivals are two books by Patrick Leigh Fermor. I’ve been buying from their mail order catalogues (& now their website) for nearly 30 years. Above are a few books I bought from my favourite remainders booksellers, Clouston & Hall in Canberra. You probably won’t be surprised to learn that some books have made their way into the house. Apart from a very cold day of rain & hail on Easter Monday (perfect reading weather), the weather has been unusually mild & sunny (which is also perfect reading weather). I’m looking forward to reading it again.Īfter reading Pushkin’s poetry over the last few months, I couldn’t resist this volume of his stories, including his most famous, The Queen of Spades. Although I’m a member of the Richard III Society, I’ve always been interested in different interpretations of Richard’s life & reputation & Seward has updated the book twice – in 1997 & again this year after the discoveries in Leicester. The subtitle says it all really : England’s Black Legend. I already own a copy of Desmond Seward’s biography of Richard III, first published in the 1980s. This is the 1998 translation for OUP but with the usual attention to detail & gorgeous illustrations of Folio editions. I’ve always wanted to read William of Malmesbury’s Deeds of the English Kings, which was written in the 12th century & tells the story of English history from the coming of the Romans to the reign of Henry I. I was tempted by the Folio Society special offer for their new titles & bought these three gorgeous editions. I’m rushing towards my goal of 1,000 books on the tbr shelves with a vengeance lately. You’d think Phoebe didn’t want me to get at those books, wouldn’t you?! Well, this was one battle of wills she didn’t win.
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