Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell

 

This month I've chosen Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell.  

Is this a book way ahead of its time? It contains the richness of plot that all the 21^st century gurus say we must have, including two rather nasty things happening just before it ends.  The characters are believable and rounded.

Yes, it's a classic and the print is rather small. Yes, there is a lot of description.  There is also a lot of head-hopping. Novelists had not yet mastered the discipline of a constant close third person narrative. Elizabeth Gaskell jumps into the text frequently.

The story is at once harrowing and promising of hope.  Ruth is a fallen woman and there was not much sympathy for such as her then. Yet she takes on a brave task and her illegitimate son may be proud of her, not ashamed.   

I'm now tempted to read more by this insightful novelist. 

This particular text was very well annotated which made the whole process even more rewarding. 

Find you copy here

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.   

The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan

 

This month I choose The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan.  

Two engaging stories weave together and finally make sense of each other at the end.

It’s a story full of coincidences and improbabilities. There is even a ghost and a couple of love stories. There are mysteries aplenty too. Why was a biscuit tin containing someone’s ashes left on a train? Why is the ghost so angry? How will Laura ever be able to return all of the objects that her former boss found?

Yet it all works beautifully and makes for a very pleasant read.

Anthony Perdew, the original collector of the objects, was a short story writer and interwoven in the text are some of his stories about the objects - many of which actually come very close to the truth.

The characters are charming and in my view well-rounded and believable.

Ruth Hogan keeps you engaged as she outlines the tasks for The Keeper of Lost Things.  

Find your copy here  

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.   

 

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

 

This month I choose The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams  

Motherless Esme accompanies her widower father every day to the Scriptorium, an oversized, glorified garden shed where words are filed into pigeon holes. He is involved in putting together the first copy of the Oxford English Dictionary. As she grows older she also gradually begins working on the dictionary.

She also starts collecting other words that don’t make it into the dictionary.

This novel addresses several issues: feminism, the suffrage movement and in particular the suffragettes, the loss of life in the Great War, class differences, unmarried mothers and how a dictionary is made.

Pip Williams paints a vivid picture of historical Oxford and creates believable and well-rounded characters in The Dictionary of Lost Words. She captures Esme’s voice particularly well, including when she is a child.  

 Find your copy on Amazon 

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.