Ah, dear readers, it’s that time again – April, a wonderful month of warm sunshine and cool breezes, and with them both a dream of another land. It’s READ OF ENGLAND time once again, a monthlong dive into English literature and English history. I’m fully prepared this year, with a tin of loose leaf Earl Grey and some imported cookies – er, ‘biscuits’ — from England. And I’ve got books, of course, loads of books.
What’s on the menu?
The Vicar of Wakefield, a classics club entry.
To Rule the Waves: How the Royal Navy Shaped the Modern World
A Time Traveler’s Guide to Restoration England, Ian Mortimer
Empire on the Edge: How Britain Came to Fight America
The Decline and Fall of Rome, Volume I, Edward Gibbon. This one is primarily a classics club entry, but I can get away with it in April because Gibbon has such a reputation as a master of English prose.
The Scarlet Thief, Paul Fraser Callard. Crimean war historical fiction, I think; I purchased this one a few years ago during a sale .
Ten Cities That Made an Empire, a most interesting-sounding take on the British empire that focuses on colonial cities as hubs of commerce that made the Empire so successful at its peak. This one I’m…not sure about. The Postal service claims they delivered it, but there’s no trace of it.
The Decline and Fall of Rome, Volume I, Edward Gibbon. This one is primarily a classics club entry, but I can get away with it in April because Gibbon has such a reputation as a master of English prose.
The Scarlet Thief, Paul Fraser Callard. Crimean war historical fiction, I think; I purchased this one a few years ago during a sale .
Ten Cities That Made an Empire, a most interesting-sounding take on the British empire that focuses on colonial cities as hubs of commerce that made the Empire so successful at its peak. This one I’m…not sure about. The Postal service claims they delivered it, but there’s no trace of it.
That’s…a lot of history, and Gibbon will take time enough it’s likely I won’t get through everything. Still, I’m really looking forward to it!
Reading Freely 
I look forward to your English lit postings this month …. I’m joining Jane Austen for the month …. https://rtdavismarginalia.blogspot.com/2019/04/jane-austen-1-april-1816.html
yum things to look forward to… i'll be glued to the screen waiting for what you think about Gibbon… i read it in high school and was floored by the writing style, which i thought was the best i'd ever read…
Yet again, despite English History being my 'thing' we have no books in common! Empire on the Edge is on my Amazon List though so I'll be interested in your review…More importantly – what biscuits did you get 'imported'?
I forget the brand names (at work on lunch at the moment), but one was a tin of chocolate \”digestives\”, and the other was lemon something or another. The website I used was englishteastore.com.
Did you read the entire collection? I'm just trying one volume to experience his prose..
And I'll look forward to your Austen trek as well!
I prefer plain digestives rather than the chocolate variety – although they're not very good for dunking in tea – they tend to dissolve! Lemon Puffs? I do like lemon….. [grin]Custard Cremes are good – although too many give me a headache. Party Rings are good although I eat too many of them in one sitting. Oh… Fox's Crunch Creams…. YUMMY.
it was a 2 volume set, about 800 pages each, i remember that… also that it took me almost a whole semester to read it… long time ago, now…
Was going to leave a comment about how exciting these books sound, then I got distracted by your Goodreads widget… \”Wodehouse steampunk version of The Hound of the Baskervilles.\” I need to know more about THAT. 😀
Hah! Well, at first I thought it was a simple Wooster parody, one that mixes the best of Wodehouse with Sherlock Holmes. And then there were zombies and robots and zeppelins. At first that was so weird I wasn't sure what to think, but I'm moving forward slowly between spats of chuckling and gaping at the page in mystification.
Ohh…that kind of steampunk. XD Well, let us know the final verdict when you get there!
lost me, there…
I am thoroughly flummoxed that you've nothing by my BFF Dan Jones on your list!
He's just not someone who's made it on to my radar quite yet. I'll try to try one of his books at some point, though!