Red sky at night (by Jane Aiken Hodge)

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I don’t know why I left it so long before rereading my novels by Jane Aiken Hodge. I last read ‘Red sky at night’ in November 2006 - nearly two decades ago. Still, an advantage of the long gap is that I had totally forgotten the storyline, and the people. The plot kept me guessing almost until the end. I had no memory at all of any of the twists and turns in this historical novel.

It’s set in the early part of the 19th century, in a fictional county on the south coast of England, approximating, I believe, to Sussex or Rye. Smugglers are rife; in the first chapter a lone horseman is accosted, apparently by smugglers. They recognise the rider, who is allowed to proceed, but then the rider comes across some children - two teenagers and a child - who seem to be lost. 

The children, it turns out, have discovered a secret passageway from their house, but they can’t manage to get back in. And when they do, they find that their father, the rather temperamental Lord Hawth, has returned from a journey and is very angry with them.

A prize for Sister Catherine (by Kathleen Rowntree)

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I’m quite enjoying rereading my books by Kathleen Rowntree. But I was in two minds about whether to reread ‘A prize for Sister Catherine’, which I last read twenty-five years ago, in 2001. That’s because although I had totally forgotten the story, I did remember that it was my least favourite of all her books.

But my opinions sometimes change, so I decided to go ahead with a reread. It’s set in a convent, and there’s a large number of nuns mentioned; I never really sorted them out in my mind, as they all feel rather two-dimensional. I recognised them, if at all, due to their roles. 

The book opens when an elderly prioress, who is not in the greatest of health, decides to appoint two younger nuns as joint ‘directrix’. Catherine is quite spiritually minded, and cares for other people. But Margaret is fast-thinking and a good manager. The convent is struggling financially and some changes have to be made if they are to keep going. The prioress hopes that, by appointing both these women, there will be a balance of increased efficiency and continued prayer and devotion.

The Chalet School wins the trick (by Elinor M Brent-Dyer)

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It’s ten years since I last read ‘The Chalet School wins the trick’, which was 46th in the original series by Elinor M Brent-Dyer. I have a hardback edition, which was probably my mother’s originally. Apparently the Armada paperback version has minor but frequent cuts, meaning the story is essentially the same but probably with fewer asides and shorter conversations.

This story features a summer term at the Chalet School, following on from ‘A leader in the Chalet School’, which I reread in March. So there are the usual sports, and some details about the annual sale. But this is slightly unusual in that some of the main characters are not Chalet School girls - or not yet. They’re five girls who are in the area because of relatives in the nearby Sanatorium. 

These girls are staying at a Pension - a kind of inn - and because their parents or guardians are taken up so much with their loved ones who are ill. And, at first, they’re pretty much running wild. Audrey, the eldest, is almost fifteen and is supposed to be in charge of the others. Her sister Celia is around the same age as their friend Val - I assume about eleven or twelve. Audrey and Celia’s youngest sister is called Win. Then there’s Solange, a French girl, who is around thirteen. 

The writing life (by Annie Dillard)

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I’ve seen books by Annie Dillard recommended by more than one other writer whom I trust, so I put a few of her books on my wishlist, and was given a couple of them for my recent birthday. One of them was ‘The writing life’, a short book which sounded interesting. So I picked that one up to read about ten days ago.

I had thought it would have some Christian content; the author calls herself a Christian, and her books were recommended in Christian books. If not overtly so, I thought it might be a helpful, if quirky guide to writing. The blurb on the back, for instance, asks the question: ‘How do you prepare yourself, all alone, to enter an extraordinary state on an ordinary morning?’

Possibly I should have read some of Annie Dillard’s other books first. This isn’t really a guide to writing, and it doesn’t answer the question on the back. Instead, it’s somewhat random jottings about the creative process, and the struggles she has gone through. She writes, for instance, about different sheds or other private locations where she has written books. 

Sweet tooth (by Ian McEwan)

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I had never read anything by Ian McEwan. I don’t think I’d even have picked one of his books up at a second-hand or charity shop, as the covers don’t suggest the kind of book that appeals to me. But his novel ‘Sweet tooth’ was chosen for this month’s local book club read, so I bought it used, last year, and have just finished reading it.

What a fascinating book it is, too. It’s narrated by a young woman called Serena, and begins in a style almost like that of Susan Howatch, as she glosses mostly over her early years. Brought up in a cathedral close, by a benign but distant father (the Bishop) and a mother who did everything for her husband, Serena acknowledges a pleasant, if cloistered and protected childhood. 

She is an avid reader who also has a talent for maths, and is persuaded to study for a maths degree at Cambridge, even though she would prefer to read English at a less prestigious university. I could relate to her in several ways as I read this overview, but her lifestyle then diverged sharply from mine as she embarks on typecast student life to the full: drinking, smoking and sleeping with several men.