Another odd reading year for me, as my reading – and certainly reviewing – continues to take a backseat to the other goings on in my life. But it was a wonderful year by any measure: I embraced a new and challenging job, travelled to some beautiful countries, explored my own city and its wild surroundings, and, amidst all this, managed to read some very good books. Here are my ten favourites from 2014:
10. The Virago Book of Women Gardeners (1995)
An inspiring and eclectic collection of garden writing from the 17th Century to the 20th.
9. On the Other Side (1979) – Mathilde Wolff-Mönckeberg
I have had a number of underwhelming encounters with Persephone books this year – but this was not one of them. On the Other Side, a collection of letters Wolff-Mönckeberg wrote for her adult children to explain what it was like to live in Germany during the Second World War, is one of the most thoughtful and important books I have read in a long time.
8. Lucy Carmichael (1951) – Margaret Kennedy
I swore up and down from February to November that I was going to review this but it never quite happened. I have made my peace with that now but still feel it is a shame that I wasn’t able to do justice to this delightful novel about a young woman who, when jilted at the altar, sets about making a new life for herself. I think it is too long and wanders about a bit during the middle but, nevertheless, I could easily see it becoming one of my favourite comfort reads in years to come. It is full of nice people and everyday intrigues, written in an effortlessly entertaining style, and all neatly tied up with the perfect happy ending. And it contains the most winning piece of advice for a trouble soul I have ever come across: “Read a nice book. Read Emma.”
7. Drawn from Memory (1957) – E.H. Shepard
A very charming, very poignant childhood memoir from the beloved illustrator. The sequel, Drawn from Life, was also very good.
6. To War with Whitaker (1994) – Hermione Ranfurly
A wartime memoir unlike any other I’ve read – and goodness knows I’ve read too many. Ranfurly’s wanderings during the Second World War as she was posted through the Middle East, North Africa, and Southern Europe made for absolutely fascinating reading. They exposed me to a theatre of war I’ve read far too little about and focused on the sort of details I love best: fascinating people, major world events, and behind-the-scenes insights.
5. Mike and Psmith (1953) – P.G Wodehouse
I chose to start 2014 off in style, with the story in which P.G. Wodehouse introduced his finest creation, Psmith, to world. My great dilemma in life is whether I wish to be taken under the wing of a Psmith-like creature or to be Psmith-like myself. I struggle with this daily.
4. Cheerfulness Breaks In (1940) – Angela Thirkell
Not Thirkell’s best Barsetshire novel but, nevertheless, one of my personal favourites as it follows my favourite Thirkell characters (read: Lydia) through the first months of the Second World War. Structurally it has some obvious flaws and its un-Thirkell-like jingoism is jarring but it has more than enough emotional heft to make up for these shortcomings. I am willing to forgive a lot – including Thirkell’s patriotic sentimentality – for the sheer joy expressed by Mrs. and Mr. Birkett in the opening pages as they prepare to offload their featherbrained daughter Rose. A book that never disappoints no matter how many times I reread it.
3. A Long Way from Verona (1971) – Jane Gardam
Reading this back in January started off an obsession with Gardam. Though some of her other novels are equally excellent (God on the Rocks and Old Filth in particular), this was my first and remains my favourite. The story of a precocious school girl during the Second World War, it is inventive, terribly funny, and more than a little bit bizarre. I adored it.
2. The Past is Myself (1968) – Christabel Bielenberg
Bielenberg’s chilling, thriller-like memoir of life in Germany during the Second World War.
1. The Small House at Allington (1864) – Anthony Trollope
The penultimate Barsetshire book, I fell in love with The Small House at Allington as soon as I started reading it. This is Trollope at his most masterful, deftly juggling multiple storylines and a handful of equally-compelling central characters. I am fascinated by Lily Dale, anxious for Johnny Eames, and wildly conflicted over the fate of Aldolphus Crosbie, who I liked far more than any reader is supposed to like the man who jilts the heroine. Brilliant and perfectly executed, this was the uncontested highlight of my reading year.
I only read the War with Whittaker book out of your list but am making a note of many of these reads. Your recommendations are always wonderful. The Gardam book is going to be my first choice!
Gardam is certainly a good place to start – and her books are readily accessible, which is always nice!
Exvellent choice. Happy New Year. Cathy Nicholls
Thanks, Cathy. All the best to you in 2015.
I too am very keen to get the Gardam. I discovered her about a year ago and adored Old Filth and its two companion novels. However The Small House is my least favourite of the wonderful Barsetshire novels. I can’t stand Lily Dale — just want to slap her.
I fully expected to feel as you do about The Small House, so it was that much more delightful to discover I loved it!
Thatis a lovely list. I have Jane Gardam lined up for 2015, and I’m so pleased to see Lucy Carmichael.
I really, really loved Lucy Carmichael. Hopefully when I reread it (which could be as early as 2015), I’ll have enough free time to do justice to it!
As always, a wonderful list and wonderful reading coming from your post, Claire. I wish you a very happy and healthy New Year. 🙂
Thank you, Penny. All the best to you as well.
I always look forward to your end-of-year list and never cease to find some gems. I’ve read through Framley Parsonage in the Barsetshire chronicles, and I’m looking forward to the next one even more after seeing it listed first on your list. I’ve really enjoyed Angela Thirkell this year and put the Ranfurly book in my wishlist after reading your review earlier. I also resonated with your busyness pushing reading to the backseat somewhat – that’s where I’ve found myself more and more this year. Great list! Happy New Year to you and your family, and Happy Reading!
Thank you, Susan. I have such fun pulling these lists together each year. I am so, so happy to hear that you’ve had fun with Thirkell this year! Best wishes to you and yours for 2015.
Finally I managed to find something by Margaret Kennedy (Troy Chimneys) and will be reading it soon this year. I re-read A Long Way from Verona this year too — so brilliant. Have a wonderful reading year in 2015!
I read Troy Chimneys a few weeks ago and it is excellent (though much more somber than my darling Lucy Carmichael). I hope you enjoy it – it will certainly get your reading year off to a good start!
Lovely list! I remember reading a line in The Small House about being 40, and it delighted me because I was 40 when I read it. I’m going to try to finish the six Barsets this year (some new, some re-reads) in honor of his bicentennial. I hope it’s a wonderful reading year for you too!
What a fun reading year that will be for you! I can’t wait to read your blog posts while you’re working through the series. Enjoy.
I walways look forward to your list, Claire. I’m very happy to see Lucy Carmichael there, and Barsetshire on there twice, in different centuries. I am determined to re-read The Small House and see if I feel the same way about it. Thank you for the Ernest Shepard recommendation, I enjoyed both books so much. And I have Old Filth on the TBR stacks.
I love snooping through everyone’s lists at this time of year – glad to hear I’m not the only one! Enjoy Old Filth when you get to it. I’m sure you’ll love it.
Eclectic and exciting books here! Thanks to your enthusiasm for Jane Gardam I read Old Filth and you know I loved it – I plan to read more of her in 2015. Happiest of New Years!
Your 2015 reading year is going to be wonderful if it has Gardam in it! Enjoy and all the best for 2015.
Terrific list. I’ve read some of them & have others on the tbr shelves. I plan to read more Trollope, Thirkell & Kennedy this year. Happy New Year!
Thanks, Lyn. With those three authors in your reading pile, 2015 will be a great reading year for you!
Oh, that is such a nice list – a mix of books I love, and books you make me want to read, The Virago Book of Women Gardeners, Cheerfulness Breaks In, The Small House at Allington and The Past is Myself are all wonderful. But I’ve never come across Shepard’s memoirs, which sound enchanting, and I keep promising myself I’ll read Margaret Kennedy and Jane Gardam. Then there’s Wodehouse’s Psmith, who I still haven’t read. I shall make this the year I raed all three of those authors!
I’m glad you like it, Christine. And I hope you enjoy some of these books as much in 2015 as I did in 2014!
Those books sound lovely! And a reminder to me that I really ought to start looking out for some Angela Thirkell. Mostly because your posts about her books make them so tempting. Happy reading in 2015!
Thirkell is not for everyone but I adore her. Since Virago started reprinting her early novels, they are thankfully much easier to find. I hope you’re able to track them done and – more importantly – that you enjoy them!
Lots of good-looking titles here! I recall I marked Drawn From Memory and The Past Is Myself to-read after reading your reviews here, and To War With Whitaker looks interesting too. And I’ve heard enough praise of Margaret Kennedy books lately that I’m thinking I’ll have to try one.
I must say, I love the fact that you have a 1864 novel by Anthony Trollope as your favorite read of the year. I read The Way We Live Now in 2012 and was quite impressed, and I’m planning to start with the first Barsetshire book sometime this year.
I was looking at some of your previous years’ lists too, since I’m a newer reader of your blog, and I saw you had Fraulein Schmidt and Mr. Anstruther on one of them! I read that last year and loved it.
A Trollope novel has made my “Best of” list for the past three years – ever since I first started reading him – and I can’t see that changing soon. He is simply wonderful. And I’m glad to hear that you’re another fan of Fraulein Schmidt and Mr. Anstruther. I honestly think it is von Arnim’s best novel with obviously her most winsome heroine.
I’m finding the wide range of titles being written about in year-end posts quite interesting. I haven’t read any of your favourites, Claire, but Margaret Kennedy was a wonderful discovery for me in 2014. Here’s to another wonderful year of excellent books, new and old, to look forward to!
I love how varied the “best of” lists are in our corner of the blog world – so much variety to choose from and so different from the industry and newspaper lists that myopically focus on recent publications!
Your list is, of course, the one I always want to see! I’ve only read On The Other Side, which I thought was marvellous, but do have most of the others thankfully. And have just started reading Barchester Towers myself.
I feel the same way about your list, Simon! And I cannot wait to hear what you think of Trollope’s Barsetshire!!!
Grand list! I have The Past is Myself waiting to be read, and I would love to get my hands on the E.H. Shepard book. Just for starters. 🙂
Happy New Year!
I know you’ll love the Shepard, Barb (both volumes, I suspect). And I’ll be very interested to hear what you think of The Past is Myself. It’s definitely a thought-provoking book.
Wow, another favorite list where I haven’t read any of them. I’m finding so many new books today!
Wonderful! Happy to have hopefully provided you with some reading ideas for 2015.
Ooh, I will have to check out The Past is Myself. Hope you have a happy new year!
It’s an extraordinary book. I’ve read it three times now and it never feels stale. Enjoy!
Oh my, I also have much love for Psmith!! Have you read “Psmith, Journalist”?? That was a Wodehouse book that had me laughing out loud during almost every chapter.
[…] Carmichael by Margaret Kennedy – I loved this when I first read it in 2014 and declared “I could easily see it becoming one of my favourite comfort reads in years to […]