The Overflowing Library

I've not read much from the library this month. Not particularly because of a conscious decision. A lot of the books I've reserved haven't come in yet which means I haven't been in for a browse and my review reading pile needed a bit of attention. That said the books I have from the library were awesome as follows. The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths Not a review as such for this one as if you haven't read the rest of the series it won't mean much to you. I power read through the other none books over the summer and was delighted to get my hands on this earlier in the month. I'm not quite sure now I'm going to last waiting a year for the next one. Rise up women by Diane Atkinson This had to be one of the most readable non fiction books I've picked up in a while and I loved it, so much so I've added it to my wishlist to buy a cop for school a some point. It looks at the fight for the vote with a lot of focus on the suffragist movement a...

Each story, written by a star-studded list of contributors, including well-known, award-winning and new voices in children’s literature, celebrates strong female characters, with subjects ranging from the ’43 Group to modern ghost stories. A donation of £1 from the sale of each copy will be given to Camfed, an international charity which tackles poverty and inequality by supporting women’s education in the developing world. The book will be published in time for the centenary anniversary of the Representation of the People Act 1918, which was given Royal Assent on 6th February 1918, extending the franchise to women for the first time. Author Kiran Millwood Hargrave, comments: “I’m honoured to be contributing to an anthology that celebrates girls in all their complexity and world-changing power: we need to hear and tell their stories.” Make More Noise is a brilliant collection of short stories of girls standing up for themselves and generally being awesome. The ...

A contemporary novel about three adopted siblings who find each other at just the right moment. Being the middle child has its ups and downs. But for Grace, an only child who was adopted at birth, discovering that she is a middle child is a different ride altogether. After putting her own baby up for adoption, she goes looking for her biological family, including— Maya, her loudmouthed younger bio sister, who has a lot to say about their newfound family ties. Having grown up the snarky brunette in a house full of chipper redheads, she’s quick to search for traces of herself among these not-quite-strangers. And when her adopted family’s long-buried problems begin to explode to the surface, Maya can’t help but wonder where exactly it is that she belongs. And Joaquin, their stoic older bio brother, who has no interest in bonding over their shared biological mother. After seventeen years in the foster care system, he’s learned that there are no heroes, and secrets and fears...

The year is 1831 Down the murky alleyways of London, acts of unspeakable wickedness are taking place and no one is willing to speak out on behalf of the city's vulnerable poor as they disappear from the streets. Out of these shadows comes Hester White, a bright young woman who is desperate to escape the slums by any means possible. When Hester is thrust into the world of the aristocratic Brock family, she leaps at the chance to improve her station in life under the tutelage of the fiercely intelligent and mysterious Rebekah Brock. But whispers from her past slowly begin to poison her new life and both she and Rebekah are lured into the most sinister of investigations. Hester and Rebekah find themselves crossing every boundary they've ever known in pursuit of truth, redemption and passion. But their trust in each other will be tested as a web of deceit begins to unspool, dragging them into the blackest heart of a city where something more depraved than either of...

Exhibition diary – seeing in a different light Opera: Passion, Power and Politics at the Victoria and Albert Museum I am visiting the V&A. I’m a member, I’ve been coming for years, and I’m lost. How can I be lost? I’m an expert here. The Fashion gallery featured in my debut novel, Threads . Countless girls have visited the fabulous café off the courtyard on my recommendation. The V&A’s predecessor, the South Kensington Museum, features in Unveiling Venus, my next book . But the museum is ever-expanding. It has just opened up a new wing, and I don’t know where I’m going.  I rather like it.  Galleries and museums used to scare me. When I was growing up, they were dark and dusty places, full of yellowing Old Masters and oddly-arranged exhibits in glass and mahogany cases, arranged in ways I didn’t understand. I felt that I should know more about them than I did. I was overawed, overwhelmed, and at the same time somehow bored. I associated them with...

Mary Adams continues her journey through Victorian society – now as the much-admired Persephone Lavelle. From lavish Venetian balls to luxurious Mayfair townhouses, she gets a glimpse into the most glamorous lives of the age. When she meets a mysterious Harlequin she has the chance to rise to the very top, but to do so she must betray someone close ... After loving the previous book in the series I was so pleased to get my hands on an early copy of Unveiling Venus to follow Ophelia and the next part of her story. Luckily for me this story was just as wonderful as I hoped. The rich detail throughout really gives the reader a sense of the historical setting Ophelia is living particularly the real contrasts faced by those at either end of society. I loved seeing both through Ophelia's eyes as she experiences both. The part of the book set in Venice was really enjoyable as you get to experience that world along with Ophelia and it is clear the author's passion for art shi...

This month marks 100 years since women gained the vote. I have been fascinated by the suffragette and suffragist movement for many years and the sheer volume of suffragette books being published to tie in with the 100 year anniversary pleases me no end. Below are a selection of fiction and non fiction books featuring women of the suffrage movement that have been recently published or are about to be publisher that I can't wait to get my hands on. Rise up women. The remarkable lives of the Suffragettes. Almost one hundred years ago, British women led a hard-fought campaign to gain the right to vote—and this is their story. Britain’s women’s suffrage campaign began in the nineteenth century, but the twentieth century ushered in a more militant campaign. On June 30, 1908, two schoolteachers broke windows at 10 Downing Street to protest being turned away from Parliament; and when Parliament dissolved without passing the Conciliation Bill, the Women’s Social and Political Un...