The Haunting of Hill House

Hill House had a reputation for being haunted. As Dr Montague was interested in studying psychic disturbances he decided to rent the house for three months in order to study the house and any events that may occur. He invited a group of people to join him including Eleanor, Theodora and Luke. It soon became obvious that Hill House was not an ordinary home. But what was really happening there and why?

All the characters in The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson were affected by events occurring in the house but it is Eleanor who is the main focus of the story. Eleanor's mother had recently died and Eleanor had been her carer for many years. At 32 Eleanor has a fractured relationship with her sister and has no friends. She agreed to become involved in Dr Montague's investigation to restart her life and hopefully work out who she really is and what she wants from life. However Eleanor discovered more than she really wanted to.

The Haunting of Hill House is one of the texts for year 11 English. 

The Runner

Set in Richmond, Victoria, in 1919 we meet Charlie Feehan who lives with his mother and baby brother. The house was in a slum area in Richmond and the family struggled to survive, especially after the death of Charlie's father several months before. Charlie attended the local school but decided to try for a job as a runner for the local gangster, Squizzy Taylor, to provide the family with extra cash. Charlie's mother did not approve of her son working for Squizzy Taylor so Charlie had to keep the job a secret.

Mr and Mrs Redmond lived next door to Charlie's family and helped them when they could. Knowing that Charlie was an excellent runner, Mr Redmond offered to train Charlie to run in the annual mile race at Ballarat. After working for Squizzy Taylor for a while, Charlie decided that a safer career option would be take up Mr Redmond's offer.

The Runner, by Robert Newton, is a novel about challenges faced by many families trying to survive after the First World War. Squizzy Taylor was a real person whose gangster activities expanded into Fitzroy until he was killed in October 1927. Most of the other characters are fictional. Themes in the book include poverty, friendship, grief, organised crime, ambition and adolescence.

The Runner is one of the novels studied by my grandson in year eight. 

Eighteen: A history of Britain in 18 young lives

Eighteen stories about the lives of a selection of eighteen young people which compare their lives at eighteen with their later achievements. The chronologically arranged stories also provide an overview of the history of Britain from the seventh century until modern times.

Some of the individuals from history who appear in this book include The Venerable Bede, Empress Matilda, Geoffrey Chaucer, Jacques Francis, Queen Elizabeth I, Fionnghal (Flora MacDonald) Nic Dhomhnaill, Horatio Nelson, Mary Anning, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Vita Sackville-West, C S Lewis, Rosalind Franklin, Richard Burton and Vivienne Westwood.

For many of the young people in this book life held many challenges, particularly in their younger years, and for some it took many years to decide the path they wanted to follow. Some, of course, knew from an early age, what they hoped to do. 

In Eighteen by Alice Loxton, the author stresses that in order to achieve individuals need a mentor, someone who can offer encouragement and point the young person in the right direction to eventually find what they really want from life. This is a readable book encompassing both history and stories of how individuals achieved success. Another excellent book of history by Alice Loxton.

The Endless Sky

The Endless Sky is the 31st novel by Australian author, Di Morrissey. I read a number of her earlier titles many years ago and especially enjoyed those set in the Kimberley. This novel is mainly set in western Queensland among fossil fields in the red earth or in a set of secluded underground caves. 

Nicole and Stacie travelled to the region to seek a setting for a television show. They did not know what to expect when they set out but soon discover a new world with scenery they have not previously experienced. In the outback they learn about the world of fossils, including fossil smuggling, and the meaning of the land to the local indigenous people. When they are told that the caves and surrounding area are under threat from a secret potential development they decide that they should use their program to expose the impending threat to the area. A man that they met early in their adventure disappears so they naturally want to know what happened to him and why he left the camp.

As with Di Morrissey's other novels the setting of the book is a focal point and her descriptions of the landscape and sky are impressive. However much of the story is told through the dialogue of the characters and this does not quite work as disappointingly the dialogue resembles a monotone voice after a while. The book has an important story to tell but, in my opinion, it is not a must-read novel.

Eleanor: A 200 mile walk in search of England's lost queen

In December 2024 Alice Loxton walked from Lincoln to London to follow the path taken to carry the body of Queen Eleanora from Lincoln to Westminster Abbey in December 1290. 

Queen Eleanor had died in the village of Harby near Lincoln on 28 November. Eleanor's body remained at Harby for three days before being taken to Lincoln. From there the funeral procession continued to London where Eleanor's body was buried at Westminster Abbey on 17 December. The procession stopped at twelve locations on the almost two hundred mile journey. 

King Edward I later ordered that a series of memorial crosses should be erected indicating the places the procession stopped when carrying Eleanor's body back to London. Twelve monuments known as Eleanor Crosses were erected. Three of the Eleanor Crosses remain almost intact today at Geddington, Hardingstone and Waltham Cross. 

 In writing Eleanor, Alice Loxton not only describes the challenges of making such a journey today, she also reflects on what the journey would have been like 700 years ago. Throughout the book the author reflects on the life of Eleanor and how she has been almost forgotten through the intervening years. However, if people look carefully, there are glimpses of her past to be found in the three Eleanor Crosses that survived the destruction of the Reformation and the English Civil War, plaques showing where other crosses once stood plus more recent memorials to remember the queen.

Alice Loxton, during the walk, also observes other indications relating to history and in doing so has provided a readable, entertaining account of past events and their significance. This is a book written for members of the general public to read and enjoy. If they wish, readers can then explore some of the topics further in other sources. At the end of the book the author provides a list of books and other sources to explore for further information plus a list of places and organisations that people might want to visit.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Eleanor and now plan to read other books by Alice Loxton. 

Evil Bones

Not her normal line of investigation, but when a decorated body part is found attached to a tree forensic anthropologist, Temperance Brennan, is asked to investigate. It turns out that this is one of a series of mutilated animals that have been found. Concern grows as the killer is selecting larger animals for each kill. Could the next find be human? Temp and Detective Slidell work together to identify the killer before any more lives are lost.

Evil Bones is another fast paced crime novel by Kathy Reichs and is the 24th book in the Temperance Brennan series of crime novels. Another good read.

A Slowly Dying Cause

Checking this blog I found a post I wrote in 2022 for Something to Hide by Elizabeth George. In the final paragraph of the blog post I made the statement - I can now say that I have read a novel by Elizabeth George but it is highly unlikely that I will read any more. Unfortunately I have repeated the mistake made in 2022.

A Slowly Dying Cause by Elizabeth George is number 22 in her Lynley novel series. The murdered body of Michael Lobb is found in the family tin and pewter workshop. The case is investigated by Detective Inspector Bea Hannaford and her team and as the investigation proceeds it is realised that this is not a straight forward case, though they eventually make an arrest. Much later, detectives from London, Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers, become unofficially involved in the investigation.

A large part of the book involves an employee of a mining company trying to convince Cornish landowners to sell or lease their property. At each visit we read the same spiel which becomes monotonous after a while. The sexual activities of a variety of characters feature throughout the book. The fate of the roof of Thomas Lynley's family home also takes up many pages. Throughout the novel pages from the journal of the murdered man are inserted, providing additional information. 

Elizabeth George, an American author, has made her name creating books within a perceived English setting. With a series of 22 books, obviously many people enjoy reading her novels. I almost gave up reading the book but then the author returned to the investigation, so I finished reading the 640 pages of the novel.