Tom's treasures of fiction, poetry, literature and more...

Welcome back everyone! I hope autumn is nice for you. Yes summer is gone but cosy jumpers and warming soups are coming right at us! For today's blog post I give to you my review of Arthur Quiller-Couch's and Daphne du Maurier's tragic tale of 1940 - Castle Dor . Quiller-Couch started the novel but died before he could finish and it was du Maurier who got it completed. This novel, set in Cornwall is the story of lust and tragedy. As readers we are introduced to two characters that end up colliding with one another, leading to a journey of hidden desires. We have the Rose and Anchor pub which is owned by Mark Lewarne, who has recently married Linnet Lewarne. There is Deborah who is Linnet's maid. Now she plays a vital role throughout the novel though I will not spoil how. To begin with we are introduced to these two characters and then the character Amyot. As the novel progresses the two characters Linnet and Amyot keep crossing paths until they realise their feelings for...

Hello everyone. My apologies for not posting lately but I have had no internet connection. I have got it working again so am going to post today and then will return to normal from Monday. For today's post I am giving you another bookshop visit. For this month, my bookshop is the recently visited Word on the Water. Also known as the bookbarge, this bookshop is on a barge that sits on the canal of London down in the Kings Cross area. When I first found out about this I immediately know that I had to visit this sooner or later. I never got round to it as I did not go to London as often as I had once done. But, when I was taken away to London for my birthday, the opportunity struck! The bookbarge is right near Granary Square where they had a market on. It is also near Queer Britain which is the country's first ever LGBTQIA+ museum. There was a few of us who went to the bookshop and then snooped around the museum. I think the idea of the bookbarge is rather cool! The only thing is ...

Hello everyone! After I reviewed the Horace Walpole's,  The Castle of Otranto  (1764)  I thought I would introduce my thoughts on his home, Strawberry Hill House. As the writer of the first ever gothic novel, I was interested to see what his home looked like. To me, I often think that a person's home can sometimes be an indication of their writing. Anyway, Horace Walpole's home threw me at first. When I think of gothic I think of three things: black, castles and grand architecture. As you can see black it is not... I will say that it does give off a grand and castle-like feel to it. But I expected to look more eerie or macabre even. I expected it to bear some sort of resemblence to Otranto Castle. That gave off a rather dark and macabre atmosphere to me. However inside, it had some lovely furnishings. As I entered, the first thing that I was drawn to was the light hanging in the stairwell. The detail and range of colours in such a small item were exquisite. I knew I was i...

Hello everyone, I hope you are well. Welcome to my horror reviewing and we are starting off with what is considered the first ever gothic novel.  The Castle of Otranto   (1764) by Horace Walpole is a grim tale that follows Manfred, the ruler of Otranto. At the beginning we witness Manfred's son, Conrad on his way to marry Isabella. However when he is crushed to his death a terrifying chain of events begin. From Manfred trying to pursue Isabella and Hippolita, Manfred's wife and Conrad's mother clueless, it goes crazy. For this first ever gothic novel, it made me gasps on my than one moment. It is horrifying and it is terrifying. I think what sent me over the edge was Conrad's ghost returning and accepting his father wanting to leave his mother for his was-soon-to-be wife Isabella. I still cannot fathom that this happened. I wander how Horace Walpole came up with his ideas because they are good; spine chilling but good. Further to this,  The Castle of Otranto  being t...

Hi everyone apologies for the late post. I have been away and have had the busiest few days. It was unexpected. This is also why I missed my post on Friday. But anyway, here we are! I present to you the 2020 film version of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca ... This film rather captivated me. Having watched the 1940 film version it was nice to see something different. I am not denying how much I liked the 1940 version, just that I liked this one too in other ways. This film was passionate and intense, it was serious and shocking. The Monte Carlo scenery and the Cornish backdrop added to this effectively. These locations were beautiful. I recognised some of the filming locations used in the film, all coincidently National Trust properties. The first being Ham House and Garden in Richmond, London which I have been to. The second was Osterley Park and House in South West London which I have also been to. Then I noticed moments which I realised were Petworth in West Sussex, though I have not...

Hello all. Today I am going to be reviewing the 1997 TV drama series of Rebecca  directed by Jim O'Neil. This TV drama series was positively chilling. I got that impression just from the character of Mrs Danvers. Whereas the Mrs Danvers character of the 1940 film seemed an envious character, Dame Diana Rigg's Mrs Danvers here was creepy to watch. For me it was how with the TV series she was always lurking in the shadows. Her coming out of the shadows and dressed all in black came across as sinister and caused me to be cautious of her. Ignore the fact that I have read the book and seen that 1940 film version. This TV drama alone depicts Mrs Danvers as one to be mindful of, and certainly not in a good way! Aside from Mrs Danvers, Mrs Van Hooper was an unsual character. From what I read of her and what I saw in the 1940 film, Faye Dunaway's Mrs Van Hopper was not what I expected. Although, I cannot say I fully understand what I expected. I think perhaps one with more snobbishn...

For today's blog post I am reviewing the 1940 film version of Daphne du Maurier's classic tale Rebecca  (1938) which I reviewed and published just recently as my previous post. This black and white film sees Laurence Olivier as Maxim de Winter and Joan Fontaine as the new Mrs de Winter. I liked Joan Fontaine's Mrs de Winter because she had a certain innocence to her. Where she had sweetness, Laurence Oliver's Max had bitterness and they complimented each other well. This for me was good as the characters were replicated well in the film. Another character who stood out by their strong portrayal was that of Judith Anderson's Mrs Danvers. Throughout the film we often saw her as opposed to hearing her. Her character was spectral, and that is something I noticed in the book. I found it chilling whenever the new Mrs de Winter would be in the house and suddenly Mrs Danvers was just there, as if she just appeared out of nowhere. This along with her clear resentment towards...

'Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again'¹. And so begins my review of Daphne du Maurier's classic Rebecca  (1938). I will go ahead and inform you all now that this is my favourite gothic novel I have read. Let us start with the fact that the novel is named after a character who is dead. I will not say a character who is not present because I felt her presence throughout the novel. I think we can thank Mrs Danvers for that one. As a character I found her to be cunning and manipulative, but in a quiet, innocent acting manner. This was particular with the choosing of the dress for the new Mrs de Winter for example. There were multiple moments in the novel that made me shudder at her presence, although things seemed to culminate when it came to her being at the window with the new Mrs de Winter. I will not spoil the novel but this part of the novel saw some sort of realisation as to how far she would go. I do not mean just for Mrs de Winter but for the reader too; it cer...

For today's blog post, I thought I would delve deeper into the genre of horror and how different of similar it's subgenre of the gothic is. What makes a piece of Gothic fiction or literature different from standard horror? First of all, the horror genre is a subgenre of speculative fiction. For publisher Penguin's online website, two differing ideas on what speculative fiction are have been put forward. ‘ To some, including stalwart of the genre  Margaret Atwood , speculative fiction is a sub-genre where the narrative plays with the elements of what is possible in our world; a descriptor for “what if?” stories examining alternative histories, futures and societies that seem possible within the parameters of reality.’ Thinking of this definition, does horror fit within this idea? I am unsure on this one. This element of an alternative history or future is something that I have found in horror books that I have read. When referring specifically to gothic, it is not something...

Hi all! Autumn is here. The leaves will go brown, maple leaves will scatter the ground, the nights will arrive earlier and with a sudden added coldness to them. September has arrived. This also means we are en route to the three most important events of the year. 1: my birthday, 2: Halloween and 3: Christmas. Now when I put most important, I mean to me... You might be someone who does not celebrate Christmas, or Halloween or both even. That is fine. But I look forward to talk of all my favourite wintery foods and drinks - Sweet Potato, hot chocolate, celeriac and Baileys. Also, warm milk is the drink! It is really calming! I love nothing more than to sit down with either a nice calming warm milk, a hot chocolate or a tea (Assam or English Breakfast) and a book to match. As Halloween is creeping towards us, I thought it seemed fitting that the new theme of the month for September and October is going to be Horror. I'm thinking horror, terror and Gothic. I am thinking extravagant arc...

Hi everyone. Apologies for the missing blog posts on Saturday and Sunday (yesterday), that I said I would publish. The laptop has been playing up and I have only just been able to get it going again today. I will publish my one bonus blog post along with the one for today so enjoy a double treat! Now last month, I read a good mix of stuff. Let us get into some of the things I have been reading. 1: Online articles. I know that you cannot trust everything you read online. However for me, I like to check things I read. With me, I never take something at face value. Anyway, online articles often appear and some draw me in. If I see something about a political figure whether it's someone who's over publicised/talked about such as Nigel Farage or someone who does not get enough media coverage such as Zarah Sultana. People who know me, know I like to take an interest in politics because if like some people, I pretend we live in a land of fairies then the country could crumble without ...