The Adventures of Miss Barbara Pym by Paula Byrne – the ‘modern Jane Austen’?

This excellent cradle-to-grave biography of a much loved novelist who goes in and out of fashion captures her alarming habits and tormented love affairsIn 1971 the author Barbara Pym was at her day job at the International African Institute when she noticed “Mr C” laboriously attacking his lunchtime sandwich with a knife and fork. Pym made a mental note of the detail before asking herself ruefully, “Oh why can’t I write about things like that any more – why is this kind of thing no longer acceptable?” Ten years earlier, Jonathan Cape had dumped her after her sixth book on the grounds that her brand of anthropological observation of English social manners was old lady-ish, dull and didn’t sell. As an extra humiliation, no other publishing house had been interested in picking up Miss Pym: books built on “the daily round of trivial things” could hardly compete with Frederick Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal or, if you were feeling fancy, Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude. Jonathan Cape had even published John Lennon (Pym liked the Beatles, but still). Clearly there was no place in contemporary literature for Mr C and his oddly formal way with a sandwich.There is nothing unusual about major minor novelists having a disappointing and disproportionate decline, followed by a posthumous flowering in reputation and sales. What’s unusual about Pym is that her phoenix moment came while she was still alive. In 1977 the Times Literary Supplement asked well-known... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2021-04-08 06:30:07 UTC ]
News tagged with: #frederick forsyth #contemporary literature #philip larkin #future books #delivery charges #novelists #jonathan cape

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Jane Smiley on Her Writing Process, Beloved Pets, and Writing in Paris

If you love Jane Smiley, this episode is for you. Eve and Julie are joined by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author in an interview that was recorded live for Miami Book Fair 2021. They discuss Jane’s most recent book, Perestroika in Paris, as well as Jane’s writing process, beloved pets, and what... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-12-23 09:51:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #jane smiley #writing process #book fair #prize-winning author

Little A lands McGowan's investigation into missing Dublin women

Claire McGowan’s true crime investigation, The Vanishing Triangle, has been acquired by Little A, the literary imprint of Amazon Publishing. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-15 16:24:14 UTC ]
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The Best Books of 2021 You May Have Missed

I’ve been writing this column for seven years, now, and it never gets old for me. Getting to sift through each previous month’s fiction titles is the best kind of treasure hunt, always rewarding and sometimes astonishing. For the second year in a row I’m gathering up my favorites from the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-12-14 09:51:28 UTC ]
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A first edition of Harry Potter is now the most expensive modern work of fiction ever sold.

Apparently, J.K. Rowling’s bruised reputation has not lowered the value of her books. Yesterday, a rare first edition of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone sold at auction for $471,000, which Heritage Auctions says is “the highest price ever paid for the boy wizard’s debut... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-12-10 18:27:50 UTC ]
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Mr. Men Little Miss Books Stand the (Silly, Splendid, Topsy-Turvy) Test of Time

Mr. Men Little Miss, the children’s book series created by Roger Hargreaves, turns 50 this year. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-12-08 10:00:15 UTC ]
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Marcus Rashford to publish children’s novel The Breakfast Club Adventures

The footballer and campaigner is writing story with Alex Falase-Koya, drawing on his own memories of friendships made before starting the school day Fresh from receiving an MBE for his campaigning to lift children out of poverty, Marcus Rashford is now warming up for a new challenge: the England... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-12-01 12:04:57 UTC ]
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‘True Grit’ is a modern classic, but it’s not the only great work by Charles Portis

I binge-read Portis’s books — “Norwood,” “The Dog of the South” and more. They offered just the lift I needed. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-11-24 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The Coming-of-Age Stories That Made Charlie Jane Anders

Charlie Jane Anders discusses the coming-of-age stories that shaped her award-winning science fiction and helped her confront the world in front of her. The post The Coming-of-Age Stories That Made Charlie Jane Anders appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2021-11-18 21:30:07 UTC ]
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In Elif Shafak’s ‘The Island of Missing Trees,’ a surprising narrator makes sense of surreal events

Shafak’s new novel weaves the tumultuous history of Cyprus into a story of young lovers split apart. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-11-16 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Wilbur Smith, best-selling author of African adventure tales, dies at 88

His novels — filled with bloodshed and bodice ripping — sold more than 140 million copies. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-11-16 01:36:30 UTC ]
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Myleene Klass writes modern household manual for HQ

Myleene Klass has written an “essential” modern household manual for HarperCollins imprint HQ, based on her TikTok series. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-09 21:35:14 UTC ]
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Though the planet’s future seems bleak, Jane Goodall still has hope

The conservationist on the hope that guides her — and why it’s not the same as optimism. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-11-05 12:00:00 UTC ]
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News Corp is going ‘only positive’ on climate but did Gina Rinehart miss the memo? | The Weekly Beast

It seems the billionaire is not convinced by the Murdoch empire’s new Mission Zero campaign, and neither are its star commentators; Plus: Tomalaris rides offFresh from targeting climate change “propaganda” in the education system, billionaire Gina Rinehart popped up in News Corp Australia’s... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-10-15 01:46:45 UTC ]
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Eugene Lim’s ‘Search History’ is a pulpish adventure interwoven with meditative moments

Lim’s novel fits into a loosely affiliated school of experimental books that play fast and loose with narrative conventions. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-01 10:30:12 UTC ]
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Fairlight Moderns grows with two more for 2022

Fairlight Books is expanding its Fairlight Moderns collection with two new titles publishing in spring 2022. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-15 21:47:27 UTC ]
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Virago Modern Classics acquires Barber's Amazing Mr Blunden

Virago Modern Classics has acquired world English language rights in The Amazing Mr Blunden by Antonia Barber, ahead of a Sky Original Christmas film this year. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-15 06:44:43 UTC ]
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Colm Toibin’s ‘The Magician’ imagines the adventurous life of a literary great

Thomas Mann may have written some very heavy books, but this biographical novel offers a more lighthearted portrait of the German writer. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-14 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Missing persons wanted

Growing up in the West Midlands, I turned my back on reading books and even visiting libraries for many years. When I start to think back to why this was happening, I realised that not seeing Asian representation within publishing and at libraries was a key factor. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-13 23:49:44 UTC ]
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