Dorothy Whipple, May Sinclair, and favourite books of 2022 – welcome to episode 112!
Happy new year! Welcome to the first episode of Tea or Books? for 2023 – recorded on two different days, so hopefully it’s not too awkward. In the first half, we cover our favourite reads from 2022 (so won’t be a HUGE surprise if you read my blog) and in the second half we compare They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple and The Three Sisters by May Sinclair.
You can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts – and you can support the podcast and get early episodes (and other bonus bits) on Patreon. Do get in touch with any questions, suggestions or comments at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com.
The books and authors we mention in this episode:
Village Diary by Miss Read
Storm in the Village by Miss Read
In Chancery by John Galsworthy
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Four Gardens by Margery Sharp
Five Windows by D.E. Stevenson
Britannia Mews by Margery Sharp
E.M. Delafield
Remainders of the Day by Shaun Bythell
Three Things You Should Know About Rockets by Jessica A. Fox
Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops by Shaun Bythell
Things I Don’t Want To Know by Deborah Levy
The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy
Real Estate by Deborah Levy
War Among Ladies by Eleanor Scott
Lucy By The Sea by Elizabeth Strout
My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
Anything Is Possible by Elizabeth Strout
Oh, William by Elizabeth Strout
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund
The Balkan Trilogy by Olivia Manning
The Home by Penelope Mortimer
The Pumpkin Eater by Penelope Mortimer
Daddy’s Gone A-Hunting by Penelope Mortimer
The New House by Lettice Cooper
National Provincial by Lettice Cooper
Black Bethlehem by Lettice Cooper
Desirable Residence by Lettice Cooper
On Color by David Scott Kastan and Stephen Farthing
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O’Farrell
Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O’Farrell
A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
Anne Tyler
Barbara Kingsolver
The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson
The Good Companions by J.B. Priestley
Paying Guests by E.F. Benson
Osebol: Voices from a Swedish Village by Marit Kapla
Suddenly, A Knock on the Door by Etgar Keret
A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence
The Diviners by Margaret Laurence
The Tree of Heaven by May Sinclair
Life and Death of Harriett Frean by May Sinclair
The Brontes
Virginia Woolf
Anne Severn and the Fieldings by May Sinclair
Mr Waddington of Wyck by May Sinclair
Young Anne by Dorothy Whipple
Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell
South Riding by Winifred Holtby
Brilliant episode, as always. Very timely as I have now decided that Harriet Frean may not be the best book to read in a bleak January.
Thank you Sonia! And yes, it IS brilliant, but it is miserable
Loved the episode. Elizabeth Strout is one contemporary author whose books I really enjoy. I thought Lucy by the Sea captured some of the weird and intense experiences of Covid excellently. The New House was one of my favourite reads for 2022 too. I’m currently enjoying Paying Guests and already have added to my to be read list for 2023 with Mary Lawson (not read before) and some of the others mentioned.
I agree with Rachel’s praise and rating of Dorothy Whipple novels. They were sisters was the most painful one to read for me. I did struggle with the dog episode!
Have either of you read Lisa Appignanesi’s book ‘Mad, Bad or Sad – a history of Women and the Mind Doctors?’. If not, I would recommend it to you.
Thanks for the prompt I needed to read South Riding. It’s been one I keep meaning to get to and somehow keep postponing!
I haven’t heard of Mad, Bad, or Sad but sounds really interesting – thank you Sarah! And glad you’re enjoying Paying Guests – how could you not!
Wonderful episode. Thank you. Interestingly, my favourite book of 2022 was They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple. Thanks to your podcast, I learned of Dorothy Whipple and have slowly been making my way through her list. I love Margaret Laurence but have not read A jest of God- definitely plan to do so. I have a top 13 list and thanks to your podcast- True Deceiver is on there as well as Little Boy Lost, so thanks so much.
Thank you Antoinette – and how wonderful that They Were Sisters was your best 2022 book! I’ve read 3 Laurence books and I think A Jest of God is my favourite so far. I wish she’d written more!
Some of my favorites for 2022 are favorites of yours: Moon Tiger, The Diviners, The Semi-Attached Couple, The Fountain Overflows, and In a Summer Season. Half of my reading is Fantasy/Apocalyptic, but you can guess my main influence for the other half! 😉
Oh lovely! Especially pleased to see someone else had a Margaret Laurence year
Enjoyed hearing about both of your favourites for the year (and happy to hear the love for Penelope Mortimer! So glad she’s coming out from the BL!) As for Whipple vs Sinclair I would definitely go for the latter – *whispers* I’m not a Whipple fan…
Oo scandal! Now I wonder which you’ve read?
I’ve tried one novel and the short stories and they just didn’t gel so I abandoned and moved on…. 😳
Fair enough – though, depending which novel it was, you might have started with one of the ones I’m less impressed by. There are a few I think aren’t great, among the gems.
I’m looking forward to Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops – once it’s out in paperback. Hamnet is on my TBR pile. A Town Called Solace was one of my favourite books in 2022 (I’ve read all books by Mary Lawson becaue she is so brilliant). Barbara Kingsolver is also one of my favourites authors and, of course, I’ve read books by Anne Tyler, The Brontës and Virginia Woolf.
Thanks for listing the books as well as talking about them, I’m not a person who can concentrate on anything audio, but I love seeing lists.
This was so fun, I hope you two will do this every year! Like several others who have commented, some of my own best books of 2022 were Tea or Books recommendations (particularly One Fine Day and Strange Journey. Thanks so much Simon and Rachel for sharing so many truly wonderful books!
Lovely, thanks Andrea – so glad you enjoyed those two books too.
Lucy by the Sea. Hands down best book of 2023!