• Books

    My Favourite Books Imagined as Pre-Raphaelite Paintings

    February 28, 2025 - By 

    Sadly, I cannot be considered an ‘art expert’ in any capacity, but luckily for my ego, Taschen’s ‘Basic Art’ series allows me to pretend I am. These slim books which act as crash courses in key artistic movements have equipped me with just enough knowledge to delude myself, quite happily, into thinking I have the art knowledge of a Tate curator. I’ve just finished Taschen’s entry for the Pre-Raphaelites – a group of artists who came together in the 19th century as a ‘brotherhood’ in defiance of the English Royal Academy of Arts. The brotherhood favoured composition styles that pre-dated…

  • Books - Literary Britain

    A Visit to the Birthplace of Jane Austen’s Most Famous Books: Chawton Cottage

    July 23, 2024 - By 

    Nestled in the Hampshire countryside, a modestly sized but unassuming house sits on a main road going through the village of Chawton. The village itself is as picturesque as most small English parishes come, but it’s the house covered in commemorative plaques which draws the eye. This is the house which was once inhabited by one of the world’s most celebrated authors – Jane Austen. It’s difficult, as you drive down Winchester road, not to picture Jane walking along in her own day. She was extremely fond of the Hampshire countryside having spent the first 25 years of her life…

  • the st andrew and st mary s church in watton at stone england united kingdom
    Books

    J.L Carr’s ‘A Month in the Country’ and Handling Trauma

    May 10, 2024 - By 

    Published in 1980, J.L Carr’s A Month in the Country follows Tom Birkin, an art restorer on his first job who visits Oxgodby, Yorkshire following the first world war. Birkin is to spend the summer uncovering a medieval church mural, finding as much to interest him in the people of the village as the mural itself. There’s the Vicar’s wife, Alice Keach, whose kindly yet lonely manner charms Birkin fairly quickly; Kathy Ellerbeck, the teenage daughter of the stationmaster (who doubles as a Wesleyan preacher); and Charles Moon, a young man of roughly the same age, hired to find the…

  • stone bridge leading to the medieval eltz castle
    Books

    Why ‘Dracula’ Was the First Classic I Fell in Love With

    March 10, 2024 - By 

    I have a funny relationship with classic novels. They make up probably 80% of my bookshelf, and yet I find myself hesitating every time I open the first page of one. It’s because I’ve come to realise that ‘classic’ does not guarantee enjoyment. Yes, it usually does guarantee something well written, insightful and intellectually valuable. But that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m going to enjoy reading it. I can appreciate The Grapes of Wrath and its heartbreaking commentary on American industrialisation, while also knowing that I never want to subject myself to reading the approx. 500 page monstrosity again. When I…

  • pink flower field
    Books

    Spring Reading: 5 Books to Kick Start the New Season

    February 11, 2024 - By 

    What does Spring mean to you? To me it means an awakening: animals and plants stir from deep slumbers, and new life emerges. The world looks a little prettier, and its inhabitants are a little more awake. It’s the beginning of a new cycle – a chance to clean things up or start all over again. While we all have rituals to start out the year, whether sticking to newly made resolutions or just tidying up the home a little, one of my favourite ways to kick off a new season is by deciding what I’m going to read for…

  • white building
    Books - Reviews

    Lost Connections: Why A Passage to India Defied My Expectations

    January 28, 2024 - By 

    I don’t feel very connected to my culture. I am the grandchild of Indian immigrants on both sides of my family, and truthfully, I’ve always felt a little more English than Indian. I observe some of the festivals, but barely speak the languages. I consume the food, but not the religion. I know that it’s a little sad not to feel my cultural roots, but I recognise that much of this is by choice – I can blame my parents for not teaching me Hindi growing up, but I can’t really blame them for the fact that I, at 26…

  • Books

    Exploring The Trail That Inspired ‘The Wind in the Willows’

    January 14, 2024 - By 

    Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows has never been out of print, and for good reason. There is something for everyone within the pages of this children’s classic, whether it’s following the amusing adventures of Mr. Toad or sharing in the honest friendship of Ratty, Mole and Badger. It exudes the charm and warmth of the English countryside, and the well-mannered ideals of Edwardian England, which Grahame was writing in. It is easily one of the cosiest books I read toward the end of 2023, in large part due to this pleasant, homey setting: the expansive rooms of Toad…