Rebecca West, Rosamond Lehmann, and book groups – welcome to episode 58!
I can hardly believe that we’ve not done an episode on book groups before – but here we are! In the first half, Rachel and I talk about whether or not we’re in book groups, and what would constitute our ideal book group. In the second half, we discuss Rebecca West’s 1956 novel The Fountain Overflows and compare it with Rosamond Lehmann’s 1932 novel Invitation to the Waltz – both the beginning of series, and both about young women entering the world.
We’re always very happy to hear suggestions for topics or authors – do let us know if there’s anything you think we should cover.
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The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gower
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
Stonecliff by Robert Nathan
Portrait of Jennie by Robert Nathan
The Train in the Meadow by Robert Nathan
Mr Whittle and the Morning Star by Robert Nathan
Golden Hill by Francis Spufford
Being Dead by Jim Crace
Reading Groups by Jenny Hartley
Kamchatka by Marcelo Figueras
Regeneration by Pat Barker
Thomas Hardy
Guard Your Daughters by Diana Tutton
Jose Saramago
George Macdonald Fraser
P.G. Wodehouse
Ivy Compton-Burnett
Immortality by Milan Kundera
E.M. Delafield
Illustrado by Miguel Syjuco
To The North by Elizabeth Bowen
Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker
The Towers of Trebizond by Rose Macaulay
Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamond Lehmann
The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West
This Real Night by Rebecca West
Cousin Rosamund by Rebecca West
The Weather in the Streets by Rosamond Lehmann
Illyrian Spring by Ann Bridge
Barbara Comyns
Rachel Ferguson
Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West
The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West
The Echoing Grove by Rosamond Lehmann
Dusty Answer by Rosamond Lehmann
Virginia Woolf
Thank Heaven Fasting by E.M. Delafield
‘Her First Ball’ by Katherine Mansfield
Harriet Hume by Rebecca West
H.G. Wells
Rebecca West by Victoria Glendinning
Random Commentary by Dorothy Whipple
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
I must confess that I’m a bit ambivalent about Book Groups – I reckon I’d find it hard to find one that chose books I could read, although having said that I do have a copy of Golden Hill! And I think I’d resent being kept away from books I want to read by someone else’s choice. I do like to talk about books though and I almost regard blogging and places like LibraryThing as my online equivalent. And I do agree with Rachel about hating to feel I *have* to read something – which is why I don’t do many challenges nowadays! As for West vs Lehmann, I think I’d choose West for no other reason than I find myself more compelled to pick up her than Lehmann – I like the latter but I don’t feel a burning desire to grab one of her books.
Just so you are aware Simon, my sister and I read Miss Hargreaves because of you!
I love my book club. I’m the co-leader of mine, which meets during the Sunday school hour at my church. There’s always one discussion leader, and we switch back and forth between fiction and nonfiction. The fiction books have tended to be better for discussion because of the emotional resonance. The recent books that have generated the best discussion are Peace Like A River by Leif Enger, Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton, The One-in-a-Million-Boy by Monica Wood, and Secrets in the Dark by Frederick Buechner. We have a wide variety of backgrounds and personalities in the group, which makes for wonderfully rich discussions that bring out things in the books that I could never have seen on my own. That collaborative process is my favorite part. (We also get together for brunch every couple months. That may be my other favorite part :)
Inquiring minds just want to know… which Ivy Compton Burnett book was so distasteful to your book group?
P.S. The Towers of Trebizond has the best opening sentence ever.
Thanks Simon and Rachel! Just been listening to your last 3 podcasts whilst travelling to and from work in the lovely M25 Surrey traffic. They have kept me sane and prevented road rage!
On the subject of bookclubs – I’m not a great fan these days as they tend to focus on recently published novels. I also have an inbuilt resistance to being forced to read a book within a certain timeframe! I did though, run a very large book group 20 years ago in Woking Library when I had more enthusiasm and energy, plus a bookgroup at Coldingley Prison, which was interesting to say the least…
You mention so many books that I want to read, including, Miss Hargreaves, that I fear I will need to buy more bookshelves! Thanks again for a very entertaining and informative few hours listening. Looking forward to Tea or Books episode 59!
Great topic — I’ve belonged to about ten book groups in the past. Since I move so often, I find it’s a really good way to meet people and make new bookish friends. I’ve also coordinated several of them (some as a volunteer, some as a paid library employee). Sometimes it’s a challenge to balance books that will attract members and books that I actually want to read — I did have a rather tense moment recently when I absolutely hated a book that another member had chosen (Lilac Girls) which was one of the worst-written books I have ever read. But our June selection is My Name Is Lucy Barton which I chose because of your recommendation!