The Red Prince: the life of John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster

John of Gaunt, a son of King Edward III, was never a king, however he played an important role supporting the kingship of his nephew, Richard II, as Richard struggled to be a leader. John was known as a good mediator in disputes at home and overseas. However he had many enemies who plotted against him. Despite these challenges his family was influential in the leadership of England for many years.

Historian, Helen Carr has written  the book, The Red Prince, to provide an account of England during the life of John of Gaunt and also clarify some of the misconceptions about his life as well as his achievements and failures. 

This is an excellent book providing an introduction to a dramatic period of English history. As the author writes there are huge gaps in the available information about these historic times. Much of the information that is available is written by individuals promoting a viewpoint that would receive approval from those currently close to the king. It is therefore a challenge for historians to sift through the information that is available and attempt to discover what really was happening in the second part of the fourteenth century.

John of Gaunt: father of England's Medieval Monarchy and self styled Spanish king - History Extra 

Burial Rites

 

Last year I read the memoir of Hannah Kent, Always Home, Always Homesick, in which she mentions visiting the location where her novel Burial Rites was set. Burial Rites is a novel of historical fiction about Agnes Magnúsdóttir, who with two others was accused of murdering two men. Agnes was executed on 12 January 1830 for her alleged part in the crime.

 

In Burial Rites by Hannah Kent we first meet Agnes when she is in prison awaiting her execution. To say that she is being mistreated in prison would be an understatement. Then one day she is taken from prison to a farm where she is to spend the rest of her life. The farm is a property where she once lived as a young child. Most of the family is not welcoming to the new arrival. 

 

A minister is sent to prepare Agnes for her impending death but it is sometime before she feels that she can begin to confide in him. Eventually the reader learns about Agnes' early life as well as the events that led to the murder of her employer. We gradually come to know more about Agnes as a person.

 

This novel of historical fiction is based on historical records relating to the crime plus life in Iceland at the time. This first novel by Hannah Kent won a number of awards in 2014 including the Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelist, ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year, Indie Awards Debut Fiction Book of the Year, Victorian Premier's People's Choice Award, Booksellers Association Booksellers Choice Award and shortlisted for a number of other prizes.

Ghost Stories on the Trail of Agnes Magnúsdóttir - Stuck in Iceland 

Agnes Magnúsdóttir - Find a Grave

The Place of the Last Execution in Iceland - Total Iceland

The Performance

Three women attend the performance of the play, Happy Days, by Samuel Beckett. Meanwhile bushfires rage in the state threatening lives and property.

Margot, an older lady, is a professor of literature. She lives with her husband whose health is failing and has outbursts which end with her covered in bruises. As the prospect of retirement approaches, Margot is concerned about her future.

Ivy attends the play with her lifelong friend, Hilary. Ivy is a philanthropist and is making a donation to the Theatre Company producing the play. But Ivy has had problems with relationships over the years and is concerned as to how to relate to her son and his family.

Summer is a drama student who works for the theatre company. Once the play begins she is allowed to watch the play. Summer is very concerned about the bushfires, especially as she knows that her partner will have attempted to drive to meets her parents who will be trying to escape the fire.

Throughout the book we have visions of what is happening on the stage as the play unfolds. However we are also shown how concerns about their own lives affect the viewing of the play by the women. At interval Ivy recognises Margot as she was once one of Margot's students and Margot, Ivy and Hilary attend the function organised in the break. Meanwhile Summer goes to the staff room to check her phone for phone calls about the fires and manages to make contact with Alice who is safe.

 By the end of the play the three women have a greater understanding of their lives beyond the theatre.

Happy Days By Samuel Beckett - Wikipedia

Pamela Rabe shines in this hypnotic revival of Samuel Beckett’s classic play Happy Days - The Conversation May 12 2025

Happy Days - SparkNotes 

Other People's Words

In 2001, Other People's Words:the life and times of an accidental publisher by Hiliary McPhee was published. Twenty-five years later the story of the author's experiences in the world of publishing has been republished with some additional material.

After working in publishing for a number of years, in 1975 Hiliary McPhee and Dianna Gribble decided to form their own publishing company, McPhee and Gribble. Other People's Words tells of the experiences and challenges faced by the two women as they tried to make their way in the male dominated world of publishing. Another major problem was trying to break into overseas markets which, especially in Britain, were not interested in Australian authors and books.

The first project was publishing a series of non-fiction books for children. Gradually they were able to attract authors of adult fiction and non-fiction to publish their books. Hiliary McPhee spent much of her time convincing overseas publishers to work with them promoting Australian publications and authors overseas.

Other People's Words describes the work involved in editing a book and gaining the confidence of some authors especially when changes needed to be made. McPhee and Gribble had partnerships with other publishes until 1989 when they decided to try working on their own. However the timing was not good due to the economic downturn resulting in the business being sold to Penguin Books. For two years the McPhee Gribble logo still appeared on the books with the Penguin logo. 

The new chapter at the back of the book warns of the changes AI is making to the publishing industry.

Great Writers & the Cats Who Owned Them

Australian writer, Susannah Fullerton, has compiled a book about seventeen authors whose lives have been ruled by cats and / or have included cats in their books. 

The authors include: Dr Johnson and his cat Hodge, Horace Walpole and his cat Selima, Robert Southey and the cat Rumpelstilzchen, Andre Dumas and his cat Mysouff I, Eward Lear and Foss, Charles Dickens and Bob, Mark Twain and Bambino, Collette and La Chatte, L M Montgomery and Daffy, Sir Winston Churchill and his cat Nelson, Ernest Hemingway and Boise, Margaret Mitchell and Old Timer, Dorothy L Sayers and Blitz, Paul Gallico and Sambo, Dame Muriel Sparks and Bluebell, Doris Less and Magnifico, plus Dame Lynley Dodd and her cat Wooskit. The authors often owned many cats but the book concentrates on one special cat for each writer.

At the end of most chapters there is a section called Paws For Thought with information about other cats and their owners. The chapters in Great Writers & the Cats Who Owned Them contain illustrations of cats by Susie Foster. Great Writers & the Cats Who Owned Them is a book for cat lovers as well as for lovers of literature.

On Not Climbing Mountains

An Australian woman travels to Switzerland to visit the country where her father, who has recently died, was born. She explores the country by train following suggestions from a copy of an old Baedeker guide and during her travels reflects on lives and works of a variety of authors, playwrights, actors, artists, explorers and others associated with Switzerland over the years. The daughter also remembers an exhibition that she once saw of a series of paintings by Jean-Frédéric Schnyder (JFS) of railway station waiting rooms  throughout Switzerland. She describes the paintings relevant to the railway stations as her journey progresses.

On Not Climbing Mountains by Clair Thomas does not really have a plot though the daughter's reminiscences develop into a pattern during the journey allowing the reader to gradually learn about the daughter's memories and relationship with her father. Once I became used to the style of the writing I enjoyed reading about the lives of  people involved with Switzerland in different ways as well as the experience and thoughts of the daughter as her journey progressed until she returned home.

Swiss Baedeker guides - Hidden Europe 

Art of Jean-Frédéric Schnyder (part VI Waiting Rooms for the Eyes) - On Schnyderian Art

 Jean-Frédéric Schnyder Waiting Room exhibition  - Mamco art exhibition

On Not Climbing Mountains - The Guardian 27 February 2026. 

The Cat Who Saved Books

Rintaro Natsuki became the new owner of the second-hand bookshop, Natsuki Books, after the death  of his grandfather. The original plan was that he would go and live with an aunt but that plan changed after he met Tiger, a talking cat. The cat was on a mission and needed help to save books that were being destroyed. This led to Rintaro, Tiger and later Sayo to journey through four labyrinths to save books.

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa explores the importance of books in the lives of individuals and how reading can open up new worlds for us to explore. As Rintaro travels on the expeditions he comes to understand himself better and what his future should be. He also learns more about the importance of books.

Statements about books and reading (pages 195-197) include:

Books have tremendous power.

Books can give us knowledge, wisdom, values, a view of the world ... the joy of learning something you didn't know before and seeing things in a whole new light. Books teach us how to care about others.

Books are filled with human thoughts and feelings ... we learn about the hearts and minds of other people besides ourselves.

Human beings don't live alone, and a book is a way to show that. 

Empathy - that's the power of books. 

The Cat Who Saved Books is a heart-warming read about the love of books and literature. Once I started reading this book I just had to keep reading until the final page.

 Sosuke Natsukawa has also written The Cat Who Saved the Library.