Dear Enemy

Dear Enemy by Jean Webster was first published in 1915 and is the sequel to Daddy-Long-Legs which was published in 1912. Both books are written as correspondence. Sally MacBride went to college with Judy Abbott and much of their friendship is described in the first book. In Dear Enemy Sally, who has spent the past few years as a socialite, reluctantly agrees to take charge of the John Grier Home for Children, the children's home where Judy spent her life before college. 

In Sally's correspondence to Judy we learn of the the challenges and joys Sally encounters when trying to improve the conditions of the home for the one hundred plus children living there. Letters are also written to a politician friend and to the local doctor who works with her at the children's home and who she comes to refer to as 'Dear Enemy' in her correspondence.

As well as providing a usually amusing account of the life of the women writing the letters in Dear Enemy and Daddy-Long-Legs the author provides an insight into life and expectations for young women in the first part of the twentieth century. Penguin Books published both the books in one volume in 2004. It contains an introduction to the books by Elaine Showalter. Jean Webster drew the illustrations used throughout both novels.

Massif

Garth Nix is a well known Australian author of fantasy novels both for adults and young adult readers. His latest novel, Massif, takes the reader into space where communities have established bases on Massifs - pieces of mountainous land that have been propelled into space where they are controlled by an avatar. The avatar provided visitors with craft called Basics which could be used for space expeditions. Much of the equipment that came from outside the world of Massifs would not work in a Massif environment. Those who arrived from earth had therefore to rely on Massif technology when in a region controlled by Massifs. The number of Massifs grew and were often used as bases for battles in space.

One spacecraft operating from the DrummerBoy Massif was Sassafras which was operated by Parnell, Kaz, Ricka, Shille, Aditi and Murad. On one mission Sassafras and other craft from the squadron were attacked. Kaz had left the main ship in a rider, a smaller craft, in order to assist in the battle. Then she disappeared. The Sassafras managed to return to base but was confirmed to be out of action. The crew wanted to rescue Kaz but first they needed a new craft for the mission. To complicate matters the DrummerBoy Massif was being evacuated. Parnell and his team were on their own with their actions monitored by the whim of the avatar, DrummerBoy.

The novel, Massif by Garth Nix, involves the reader with the challenges faced by Parnell and his team as they attempt to rescue their team member and also learn to understand more about the avatar which is attempting to control their lives. 

Massif - Readings

Massif - New Zealand Book Lovers

Daddy-Long-Legs

When The Correspondent by Virginia Evans was announced as the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction where the story is revealed through a series of letters written by the main character, I immediately thought of the book, Daddy Long Legs, written and illustrated by Jean Webster, which I enjoyed reading, and rereading, many years ago. I still have my copy which was given to me probably around 1960. Consequently I decided to read the book again and enjoyed returning to the world of Judy Abbott.

Judy Abbott is an orphan who has spent her life living and working in an orphanage. But her life changes when one of the orphanage trustees, who wants to remain anonymous, offers her the chance to attend college for four years. The only payment he requests is that she write to him about her progress each month. He will not be replying to her letters.

Judy's story, past and present, is therefore told in the letters that she writes to a man that she only knows by a version of his shadow that she spied when he left the orphanage. He was obviously very tall and thin so she called him Daddy-Long-Legs. 

At college Judy makes some new friends including Sally McBride and Julia Rutledge Pendleton and during the holidays has the opportunity to stay at a farm and visit the home of friends. Judy's life has definitely changed for the better and, via the help of Daddy-Long-Legs she has the opportunity to live an interesting life with many possibilities.

Re-reading this book in 2026 I enjoyed following the adventures and misadventures of Judy Abbott once again. Daddy Long Legs was first published in 1912, reprinted many times (the copy I own was reprinted in 1956 - the 79th reprint) and translated into many languages. In 2025 it was republished in the Penguin Puffin series. The novel has been the basis of a number of stage plays plus film versions in 1919 and 1955. The sequel to the book is Dear Enemy published in 1915.

On Re-Reading Daddy Long Legs - Literary Ladies Guide  

The Frock Shop

Set in Mossman, a suburb of Sydney overlooking the harbour, The Frock Shop by Sophie Green is a novel about friendship as a group of women sort out challenges faced in their daily lives. The time frame of the book is from September 1991 to early 1992. 

Daphne, now in her 70s has worked in different versions of the shop which she currently manages as a charity clothing store. She encourages her friend Adelaide who has recently returned from a career in music in Europe to volunteer in the shop. When an actress, Christina, returns from America, she also agrees to help. Margot is a regular visitor to the shop who Daphne realises needs help as does school-girl, Lucy, who is interested in fashion and enjoys exploring the items in the store.

It was a while before I became involved in reading the book as the first chapters, that focused on introducing the characters and providing part of the back-story, were a little slow. However once the main plot began I enjoyed following the interaction between the women as they faced a variety of challenges in their lives. 

Throughout the book there are also a number of pages devoted to describing the story of an item of clothing that may now be located in the shop as well as what happens to that clothing item when purchased by a new owner. The Frock Shop will be enjoyed by those who enjoy reading about the friendship formed between a group of women from different backgrounds and experiences except they they form a common interest in clothes and fashion.

When the Forest Breathes: renewal and resiliance in the natural world

Suzanne Simard's life revolves around the health and continuation of forests, particularly in British Columbia where logging is an important industry. As Professor of Forest Ecology at the University of British Columbia she is particularly interested in studying the impact of tree connectivity and communication on the health and diversity of forests. This book is a study of the Mother Tree Project which is conducted in selected areas of forest by Professor Simard and her team of researchers, including family members. An important part of this study is working with First Nation's People utilising their knowledge and experience as well as information collected by studies undertaken by Professor Simard and her team.

The Mother Tree Project obtained finance to study to undertake investigations in selected areas of forest in partnership with the logging industry. In the study the researchers were particularly interested in the relationships formed between well established trees and new growth, especially in a time of climate change and forest fires. However not all the loggers agreed with the arrangements and many of the older trees vital for the study in some areas were cut down. It was therefore necessary to find other ways to obtain the required results.

The forest is a living organism with organised cycles of birth and growth, death and rebirth. It is important that we are aware of how nature works to protect the current challenges to our environment. The studies undertaken in the Mother Tree Project and their findings are relevant not only to forests in British Columbia but in other parts of the world too including Australia.

Mother Tree Project - UBC  

The Correspondent

Sybil Van Antwerp likes writing letters. When the novel starts in 2012 Sybil has turned 73 and we learn about Sybil and her life in the correspondence exchanged over the next seven years. Sybil lives alone. She is divorced and her husband returned to live in Belgium where he remarries. Sybil's brother lives with his partner in France. Sybil has little communication with her daughter who now lives in England. She occasionally sees her son and his family. Sybil has a good neighbour, Theodore, who looks out for her needs plus another man from Texas who is trying to get her attention. She also has a good friend Rosie, who regularly writes to her, plus a few other friends.

Sybil has kept copies of all of her correspondence received and friends such as Rosie have kept Sybil's letters. As well as writing to her brother and Rosie, Sybil writes to authors who have written novels that she enjoys, contacts a lecturer at the university about being able to attend occasional lectures and regularly exchanges letters with the young son of a friend who is having a difficult time.

In The Correspondent by Virginia Evans we learn of the sorrows experienced by Sybil in the past as she attempts to survive in a world where her eye-sight will be limited and she must adapt and learn to accept the friendship and help of others. This novel is told through Sybil's correspondence.

Probable Caws

Probable Caws is the 39th book in the Meg Langslow mystery series by Donna Andrews. The first book in the series was Murder With Peacocks published in 1999. Each title in the series has a bird, or something to with birds, in the title. There are lots of birds in Probable Caws, including crows and swans, and also lots of horses.

Meg is asked to go to Rangar Ragnarsen's gothic castle to assist when almost fifty horses are removed from a farm to Rangar's property until new accommodation can be found for them. As these are rescued horses, many of them are in ill-health and a team of volunteers, plus vets, has been called in to assist with the relocation of the animals. Some of the volunteers, including Meg, stay at the property overnight to ensure that the animals settle into their new environment. Then a body is found in the barn.

As with the other books in the series a number of members of Meg's family also provide their expertise in looking after the animals and, of course, solving the crime. However in this title much of the emphasis is on the animals, many of whom have distinct characteristics and quirks. Donna Andrews has provided another enjoyable book for readers of cosy crime to enjoy.

Titles in Meg Langslow mysteries - Fantastic fiction  

Turing Hopper Books

Turing Hopper is an artificial intelligence personality living inside a corporate computer system who uses her digital access and human friends to solve crimes. The four books in this cozy crime series by Donna Andrews are You've Got Murder (2002), Click Here For Murder (2003), Access Denied (2004) and Delete All Suspects (2005). Being sentient, Turing Hopper is aware when things go wrong and uses her powers to help solve crimes.

I enjoyed reading this series of books many years ago, long before Artificial Intelligence became an issue.

Donna Andrews then became well known for writing the Meg Langslow books. 

We Chase Shadows

We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman is the second book in the We Solve Murders series. This is another amusing crime novel following the adventures of Steve, a retired policeman, Amy his daughter-in-law who has worked as a security guard and Rosie, an author of crime novels, who have set up an agency to solve murders. This book covers their first official case.

In Italy, when a security guard is murdered, a threatening note is found in his pocket. Steve, Amy and Rosie are employed to discover who committed the murder and the intention of the note. When investigating they discover a world for selling cosmetic products, vitamins and 'health' products to customers online. Six people set up the scheme and one by one they are being murdered. 

The investigation takes Steve, Amy and Rosie to locations around the world including Spain, Palm Springs and Italy as well the village where Steve lives in England. During the investigation they discover that they are following shadows as suspects appear to have multiple back stories and may not be who they say they are.

We Chase Shadows is another entertaining crime book by Richard Osman.

The Forever War: America's unending conflict with itself

This book is largely a study of the extent of extremism and division in the United States of America and how it affects politics and daily living in that country. It is also a study showing that this situation is not new. In fact conflict has been rife in the USA for the past 250 years and the situation, unfortunately, is unlikely to change. In The Forever War: America's unending conflict with itself Nick Brant has written a history of issues which have always affected and divided American politics in the past and will probably continue to do so in the future.

The Forever War begins with a brief account of the events of 6 January 2020 when Donald Trump tried to over-rule the results of the election. Joe Biden was now the President and Trump had returned to Florida but would politics be the same again? 

Nick Bryant dispels myths that the confusion and mayhem occurring around Donald Trump and his followers was a new development. In this book he outlines the many events that have occurred in America involving assassinations and attempted assassinations, American gun laws, treatment and marginalization of people of colour and immigrants, slavery, women's rights particularly the right to abortion, the power of the Supreme Court, presidential electoral system, to name a few. 

The author examines the original documents on which American law is based and demonstrates weaknesses in the original documents which are interpreted in a different way from what was intended by those who wrote them. America has changed dramatically in 250 years and the founding fathers could never have foreseen how the original documents have been interpreted over time and certainly not in this century.

History and politics are intertwined and perhaps the world would benefit if more people examined past events in order to avoid continuing making the same mistakes. This particularly applies to the United States of America but also to the world in general. 

Nick Bryant is a British journalist who worked in the USA for many years but has now relocated with his family to Australia. In the final chapter of the book he describes this change in his career and the decision to now watch American politics from afar.

The Sunne in Splendour

The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Penman is a work of historical fiction based on the life of Richard III (1452 to 1485), the last Plantagenet King who reigned from June 1483 to 22 August 1485. The author has written a detailed family saga about Richard and his extended family plus the almost continual unrest among those who were competing to take the throne. Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field by a cousin, Henry Tudor who became Henry VII.

The copy of the novel that I own has more than 1,200 pages. I bought the book many years ago and started reading it when I attended cricket championships. I knew the story of Richard from reading British medieval history so this was a book that I could leave for months at a time and pick up again and continue reading. This week I decided it was time to finish reading the book.

As with much medieval history it is not always possible to locate reliable information and resources about life at the time especially as Richard's rivals spread propaganda about him before and after his death. After the Tudor victory it was in the interests of their subjects to recreate the story of Richard III in order to cement the hold of the Tudor family as rightful rulers. When William Shakespeare wrote his play Richard III he based his work on the propaganda stories about Richard and his reign. For many, these stories were considered to be true history. Recent studies of the life and times of Richard III have largely produced a different perception of his life than that provided by the Tudors. 

In this work of historical fiction Sharon Penman has tried to construct the story around more recent research suggesting that Richard, in the two years of his reign, was basically a decent king living and ruling in difficult times. She presents a story of what his life and the life of his family may have been like living in extremely difficult times.

Thus ended the War of the Roses. 

Richard III of England - Wikipedia  

The Mercian Chronicles: King Offa and the birth of the Anglo Saxon State AD 630-918

Max Adams, an archaeologist and historian, has written a detailed study of medieval history based on the limited files of information available about almost 300 years of the history of Mercia, a kingdom in England. Archaeological items, including remains of buildings, coins and items discovered in digs, contribute information in the telling of the story of this period of British history.

The period of British history after the Romans left the country is often referred to as The Dark Ages, not because nothing happened during this period of time but because little remains of documents and records that once existed. But some documents from the period or accounts written later do remain and the author in this book, The Mercian Chronicles, endeavours to make available the information that has been discovered which he then analyses to endeavour to discover what may be the true story. 

Some chapters largely provide a record of the limited information available while other chapters take the reader through the story of life at that time. During this period England consisted of a number of separate kingdoms, Mercia being a powerful one. In the book we learn of the relationship of Mercia with some of its neighbours and also with leaders across the English Channel. The relationship between leaders of the church and rulers of the kingdom are also explored. There is also the threat of the Viking invasion that is about to arrive in Britain and France.

Especially towards the end of the book there is information about the growing importance of Wessex and its rulers such as Alfred the Great and his family and the move towards the eventual establishment of one England in the future. There was also interaction with Charlemagne, the leader of the Franks as well as being Holy Roman Emperor. This all goes to show that parts of England were not as isolated from Europe as some believe and that there were definitely trade relations with other countries as well as general concern about the possible Viking threat.

Throughout the book there are a series of chronologies listing significant dates and events plus a list of main source materials. A series of photos and maps occur throughout the text. A detailed bibliography and index can be found at the back of the book. 

The Mercian Chronicles by  Max Adams is a must read book for those interested in this period of British history. He is also the author of Alfred's Britain: war and peace in the Viking Age. 

The Stationery Shop of Tehran

The Stationery Shop of Tehran by Marjan Kamali is the story of the love between two young people who first met in a stationery shop in Tehran. Roya and Bahman meet in the shop on Tuesday afternoons and discuss poetry and the political unrest occurring around them in 1953. Bahman was involved in a political group supporting the elected prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, who was eventually defeated in a coup staged by supporters of the Shah in August. The coup had the support of Britain and America who had interests in Iran's oil supplies.

Political unrest is not the only challenge encountered by Roya and Bahman in forming a relationship. Bahman's mother wanted her son to marry a woman from a family of high social status and did all she could to block her son's relationship with Roya. When Roya receives a letter from Bahman breaking  off their relationship she is devastated. Several months later she learns that he is married.

When Roya and her sister, Zari, move to the USA to study, Roya meets Walter who she marries. But she never forgets Bahman. In 2013 Roya learns that Bahman is in a nursing home in a nearby suburb and she is determined to discover why Bahman really left her.

Set against a background of Iranian politics, Marjan Kamali has written a novel about love and loss and the need to discover the real truth of how and why events occur.

The Lion Women of Tehran is another book by Marjan Kamali. 

Shellybanks

Kate Delaney is on holiday in Europe with Liam when she receives a message from her Aunt Dolores stating that her partner, Kevin, had died. Kate and Liam immediately travel to Dublin to help her aunt. One day, when with other family members, they go for a walk along Shellybanks beach to the Poolbeg Lighthouse, the walk revives memories of the past for Delores and she decides it is time to reveal her story to her niece.

Dolores reveals the horrific mistreatment that she and other girls received when they attended a supposed cookery school run by a group within the Catholic Church. She also reveals that she had a baby which was stolen from her and given to another family. That baby would now be thirty-five and Dolores wants to meet her.

Dolores and Kate take the story to the garda and an historical case investigation is undertaken. Kate, who is a journalist, also assists in part of the investigation. Obstacles presented by people involved in past events continually obstruct the revealing of the truth but, as more women tell their story, the mistreatment of young girls by organisations associated with the church is revealed. Just as she has lost all hope, eventually Dolores meets her daughter.

Many books have been written about past actions and power of the Catholic Church, particularly in Ireland but also in other countries, and Shellybanks by Louise Milligan can be added to the collection. Shellybanks is a novel about young women working for no pay and being treated as slaves. It deals with continued abuse by those in positions of power as well as forced adoption of babies. The crimes in the book are revealed but it is unlikely justice will occur. These events are hopefully now in the past but it is important that people are aware of these past actions of some church authorities which are part of Ireland's history.

Shellybanks in Dervla McTiernan's Book Club that isn't a Book Club for July 2026.

Ireland: when the Church is the state - Catholics for Choice 

Shellybanks Beach - Trip Advisor 

The Great South Wall Walk - Wild Irish Walks

Cold River

We first met Senior Constable Sally White, a police officer at Edenville, a small town in the Victorian High Country, in the novel, The Creeper, by Margaret Hickey. She had recently returned to work when the police were alerted that a young hiker was missing. Search parties were immediately arranged with little success. 

Then one morning Sally finds a woman waiting for her to open the police station. She is there with enquiries about her daughter, Astrid, who had disappeared when skiing in the mountains two years earlier. Were the police still looking for her daughter? Sally adds this cold case to her list of investigations. Could they be connected.

In Cold River, Margaret Hickey provides the reader with another fast paced tension driven crime novel with a range of dubious characters living in a sometimes dangerous environment. As Sally tries to find what happened to the missing people she uncovers a secret in part of the local community where money is made from chop chop, the illegal growing and selling of tobacco with links to crime gangs. Sally also discovers information that will impact not only the local community but also the police force. She has two choices - to keep the secret or release the information to authorities. The impact of the decision is left to the imagination of the reader.

For readers living in Victoria the setting for the book will bring back memories of the police search  for fugitive, Dezi Freeman, last year. 

Villa Coco

Set in Italy, Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer is the story of a young American who recently completed a course in archives and records management and takes on the job of recording a collection of objects and papers kept in a villa. At least that is what he thinks his project is. Instead he finds himself assisting a ninety-two year old lady in a variety of tasks in her house and garden. She also tells him to learn Italian.

During the novel the reader meets an array of family members and friends of the Baronessa and gradually learns stories about her life and the reasons for her sometimes bizarre decisions made from time to time.  The young man becomes the assistant to the Baonessa in a villa in need of repair and encounters a parade of often eccentric characters. He is eventually allowed to start working on the task he is employed to undertake but this work is continually interrupted with the need to work in the garden, help with the olive harvest and assist a neighbour make wine.

The story builds slowly and is revealed through descriptions of the house and the neighbouring environment as well as the observations of the Baronessa and her relationships, past and present. The young man learns that his employer has a mission she is determined to accomplish and he will learn of his proposed involvement all in good time. Meanwhile the young man begins to learn more about himself and to evaluate the path that his life may take.

Villa Coco is a novel to just relax and enjoy reading, allowing the story to reveal itself at its own pace. It is a story of love and compassion often told with a quiet humour as the Baronessa is determined to complete her planned task.

Murder at Thornwood Park

Set in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, historian, Rose McHugh, receives information that the museum that she manages has been provided access to historical records relating to Thornwood Park after the death of the estate's owner. Reading through some of the documents retrieved from the house, Rose discovers information suggesting the possible disappearance of young women who visited the house in the early 1940s. 

Rose and her friends, including Jazzy and George plus her sister Kim, endeavour to uncover what really happened at the property. As a historian she is particularly interested in the history of the hall and the family that lived there, especially in the early years of the Second World War when members of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force training centre were housed in the district. The tension builds when  it is obvious that someone is determined to stop Rose and her friends investigating Thornwood Park's past.

Murder at Thornwood Park by Joan Sauers is the third crime novel featuring the investigations of Rose McHugh. The first two titles in the series are Echo Lake and Whisky Valley.

Henry Goes Bush

Henry Goes Bush by Wayne Marshall is a mad romp into the unknown, into unpredictable alternative worlds which look the same - almost. The novel is initially based on events that occurred in the life of Australian author and poet, Henry Lawson, in 1892 when he was sent to the outback city of Bourke by his editor to explore the outback and more importantly learn to control his alcohol intake. Then the author's imagination takes over inventing an almost wild west series of events that begin when Henry decides to explore a mysterious tunnel hidden in a back yard.

Like Alice in Alice in Wonderland Henry slides down the tunnel to discover that he has arrived not only in another version of Bourke but also another version of the people who live in the real world. He soon discovers that whenever there is an earthquake the entrance to the tunnel moves so consequently, during the novel, he encounters many aspects of the town and its people.

Henry Lawson was an alcoholic and the experiences in the book may reference Henry's mental state at the time. Who knows. Meanwhile the reader needs to just suspend belief and enjoy the adventure.

More about the real Henry Lawson:

Henry Lawson - Australian Dictionary of Biography

Henry Lawson: poet of the people -  State Library of New South Wales

Portrait of Australian poet Henry Lawson - National Archives of Australia 

About Henry Lawson - Henry Lawson Festival 

About Henry Lawson - Henry Lawson Society  

Henry Lawson - This is Australia

The Poet of Australia - National Library of Australia 

Book Reviews

Henry Goes Bush - Readings 

Henry Goes Bush - ANZ LitLovers 

Excerpt from Henry Lawson: a stranger on the Darling by Robyn Lee Burrows  

Land

Although primarily set in Ireland in the mid 1860s, Land by Maggie O'Farrell is in many ways timeless. The novel is primarily the story of a family in Ireland beginning in 1865. Tomás works as a surveyor for the British who occupy the country and want maps of the country updated with latest information. He takes his ten-year-old son, Liam, with him to assist in the project. Then, on the peninsula, Tomás enters a small copse and is never the same again. When Tomás and Liam return home the decision is finally made by Tomás that he will move the family to the peninsula to live. 

As well as telling the story of Tomás and his family over the following years, the novel takes the reader back to the time of The Great Hunger (1845-1852) when food was scarce in Ireland and it is estimated that more than one million people in Ireland died and approximately the same number emigrated to Australia, Canada or the USA. 

The family eventually accepts their life in the country but the children are aware of a supernatural presence in the area, especially near the copse. The author introduces another story that took place perhaps one thousand years earlier when Brith also encountered the mysterious copse and the events that take place continue their presence when Tomás moves his family to the region. The land is definitely a special place. Six members of the family move to the peninsula but by the end of the novel the family had dispersed with one person remaining. 

In Land Maggie O'Farrell combines a look at events in Irish history in the second half of the nineteenth century with a study of a family struggling to survive in harsh times. The novel is about the effects of loss, separation, reunion, colonization and tragedy. But throughout the novel the land is the focal point throughout its history, keeping its secrets intact. No matter what happens the land will remain.

Additional Information: 

Learn about the Great Hunger - Ireland's Great Hunger Museum

The Great Hunger - The Irish Memorial

The Great Famine -  UK Parliament

Irish Potato Famine - The History Place 

Some Reviews:

Maggie O'Farrell's Land - Oxford Review of Books

Land - Harvard Review Online 

Maggie O'Farrell flattens 19th century Ireland  into a theme-pub cliche in her new novel - The Conversation 

Land by Maggie O'Farrell review - The Guardian 

Domination: the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity

In Domination: the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity, Alice Roberts investigates changes in religious  beliefs during the Roman Empire, especially during the final two hundred years, and the possible causes for those changes. She examines how a small sect formed from within the Jewish religion grew to a major enterprise not only promoting religious beliefs but also influencing economic conditions and the power basis within ruling structures in many countries.

The book begins with a discussion about the early days of Christian beliefs which travelled between countries that traded with each other, in this case parts of Wales and southern England (especially Cornwall) with Brittany and parts of France once known as Gaul. Using results of archaeological digs and referring to some of the few written accounts that have survived from or about that time period, the author examines the spread of Christian beliefs in these regions before continuing the investigation in other regions of the Roman Empire.

Main topics include The End of the Empire, The Heart of the Empire and the Business of the Empire and how these aspects merged together to form a powerful and prominent force affecting the rule and decision making of most European countries.

A select bibliography and index is provided in this thought provoking book about how the Christian religion has influenced past history and, in many countries, is still doing so today.