There are plenty of things to be excited about in 2017 and, for me, one of those things is this lovely pile of books I accumulated just as 2016 ended. None of these actually made it under the tree at Christmas as they were delayed in transit but it was rather nice to get Christmas presents the week after Christmas – a way to prolong the holiday, if you will. And they were certainly worth waiting for.
Here’s what I got:
Miss Bunting, Marling Hall and The Headmistress by Angela Thirkell – the most recent Thirkell reissues from Virago. All three are favourites but I’m particularly delighted to finally have my own copy of The Headmistress – I think it’s the best of Thirkell’s novels.
The Marches by Rory Stewart – I love Stewart’s writing and to say I’ve been looking forward to this book for years is no joke as the publication date was pushed back time and again. But now it is here and I am so looking forward to reading about the journey Stewart took with his father along the border between Scotland and England.
Dashing for the Post edited by Adam Sisman – If there is one thing I have learned over the past few years it is that you always need a little more Patrick Leigh Fermor in your life. This collection of his letters promises to be full of extraordinary anecdotes, classical allusions I will not remotely grasp, and (given that it is PLF) probably a little too much purple prose. I can’t wait.
The House by the Lake by Thomas Harding – a unique history of Germany from the 1890s to the 2010s, told through the lives of five families linked by a lake house they each lived in.
Clearly 2017 is going to be a great reading year!
The Captive Reader 
Delightful selection. I was so sorry that I missed out on the Stewart book at Netgalley. Its been archived.
Too bad. Hope you have a chance to read it someday as it looks very promising.
I really enjoyed ‘The House by the Lake’. The history of the house & the families is so well written. Hope you enjoy it too
I second that. In Europe’s turbulent twentieth century the same house could find itself in three different nations – Germany, then East Germany, then a new united Germany.
Your comment reminds me of More Was Lost, which I read last year, where the borders around where the family home is are redrawn so often that it is in three different countries in only a few short years.
Thanks, Maria. I’m really looking forward to it.
Any stack of books that starts with Angela Thirkell is bound to be good. I have made a note of The Marches and The House by the Lake. Both sound interesting.
So true! I keep smiling every time I see my copy of The Headmistress on the bookshelf – I am so delighted to finally own it.
Your new books are a great beginning to 2017. I discovered Anthony Trollope and soon after, Angela Thirkell, now two of my favorite authors. I am reading August Folly (the new Virago edition), a Christmas gift from me to me. And PLF is a brilliant writer too.
August Folly is a delightful way to start the new year off! Enjoy.