It's December, so I feel I can start talking about the C word (although I've been feeling festive for a few weeks now and have alrea...

Unlike many vintage lovers, I have never studied fashion or costume, and hardly any history before 1900 (despite a brief Ancient Rome and An...

A long walk and a good pub lunch are staple weekend activities for us Brits.  I grew up on the edge of the Brecon Beacons here in South Wale...

Last year I reviewed Secrets of the Singer Girls by Kate Thompson, which was a tale of female friendship set against the backdrop of a sewi...

I like to try something new in my make-up every now and again.  But this week I tried something old - Hollywood beauty tips!  I was recently...

As Halloween is fast approaching, I'm wondering if you are in the mood for something a little more macabre today?  If so, I have a book...

I love a good crime book, particularly one set in a charming English setting - a much beloved genre all of its own these days - so I was kee...

Now that series one of the latest BBC television adaptation of Poldark has left our screens here in the UK, you may wish to ease those withd...

I've read some super historical novels in the last year, and was looking forward to reading another book set in the 1940s.  'Secrets...

'Elizabeth Is Missing' was a book I was dying to read because it appeals to so many of my interests at once: psychology, bygone eras...

Have you resolved to 'read more' this year?  Are you struggling to achieve that goal?  Read on for some tips about to how to achieve...

I was very eager to read Sarah Waters' latest book, The Paying Guests.  I adored 'The Little Stranger', the only other Waters bo...

Fifties House by Catriona Gray is a wonderful glimpse into mid-century home design, with three main sections, focusing on rooms, houses, and...

I’ve mentioned previously on this blog that a wonderful author, Eileen Younghusband, is someone to look out for if you’re interested in WWII...

Today's review is of a bit of a trashy book - Sex Lives of the Hollywood Goddesses by Nigel Cawthorne.  This is an old book, published b...

Welcome to September!  I hope you're not mourning the loss of summer too much?  In case the weather has turned colder and wetter where y...

In 1959, Betty Cornell published 'The Teenage Popularity Guide'.  Fast forward to the modern day, and American teenager Maya Van Wag...

I recently had the pleasure of reviewing a wonderful coffee-table book by James Russell on the hugely gifted artist Peggy Angus.  A skilled ...

Sugar Hall by Tiffany Murphy is 'a ghost story' set in the 1950s in a classic rambling old mansion near the estuary of the Severn r...

The latest offering from Fannie Flagg is 'The All Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion'.  Renowned for her humorous and heartwarm...