Tag Archives: English Literature

The Canterbury Tales

Posted on April 30, 2017 by smellincoffee

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! *ahem* If you’ve ever glanced at my Classics Club list, you’ll see Canterbury Tales sitting there, and I’ve regarded it as one of the tougher ones on my list — in the same tier as the Russians,  April is the … Continue reading →

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The Wheels of Chance

Posted on February 23, 2017 by smellincoffee

The Wheels of Chance: A Bicycling Idyll© 1896 H.G. Wells193 pages What an odd little story! Begin with one J. Hoopdriver, a draper’s assistant who lives for nothing but spare opportunities to ride his bicycle — or rather, to crash … Continue reading →

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Literary Converts

Posted on July 12, 2016 by smellincoffee

Literary Converts: Spiritual Inspiration in an Age of Unbelief © 2000 Joseph Pearce 452 pages              Literary Converts is a historical survey of the ‘second spring’ of Anglo-Catholic literature and all that followed, covering most … Continue reading →

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Jane Eyre

Posted on April 11, 2016 by smellincoffee

Jane Eyre© 1847 Charlotte Bronte525 pages   Years ago an online quiz declared to me that of all the characters in English literature, I was most like…Jane Eyre. It may have been a quiz intended for women, but I had … Continue reading →

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Bilbo’s Journey

Posted on April 9, 2016 by smellincoffee

Bilbo’s Journey: Discovering the Hidden Meaning of the Hobbit©  2012 Joseph Pearce147 pages The Hobbit begins with the sudden arrival of a pack of dwarves at Bilbo Baggin’s house. Though he is very much the quiet homebody, they have arrived … Continue reading →

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The Invisible Man

Posted on April 5, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Invisible Man© 1897 H,G, Wells149 pages The Invisible Man opens with the arrival of a Mysterious Stranger to a country inn. He is covered from head to toe, and remains so even after he takes a room. The townsfolk don’t … Continue reading →

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Lord of the Flies

Posted on April 4, 2016 by smellincoffee

Lord of the Flies© 1954 William Golding156 pages A group of boys marooned on a tiny Pacific Island must work together, battling the elements and one another. If they don’t adapt, they’ll be voted off the island — or thrown … Continue reading →

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Great Expectations

Posted on April 2, 2016 by smellincoffee

Great Expectations© 1861 Charles Dickens544 pages Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the … Continue reading →

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Brideshead Revisited

Posted on March 30, 2016 by smellincoffee

Brideshead Revisited: The Secular and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder© 1945 Evelyn Waugh350 pages My theme is memory, that winged host that soared about me one grey morning of war-time. These memories, which are my life–for we possess nothing … Continue reading →

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When Gourmands Write Fiction

Posted on March 30, 2016 by smellincoffee

I rejoiced in the Burgundy. How can I describe it? The Pathetic Fallacy resounds in all our praise of wine. For centuries every language has been strained to define its beauty, and has produced only wild conceits or the stock … Continue reading →

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