(first published 1934)
Robert Sherard (1861 – 1943)
Language: English
Robert Sherard was Oscar Wilde’s friend of 20 years and first biographer. The Life of Oscar Wilde was the last of the four books he wrote about the Irish playwright and wit. Oscar Wilde Twice Defended is a shorter work than his full length biographies (The Life of Oscar Wilde, and The Real Oscar Wilde), in which Sherard responds to other Wildean biographers, including André Gide and Frank Harris. (summary by Rob Marland)
(first published 1934)
Steele Rudd (1868-1935)
Language: English
This book describes the experiences of Dick Gall, a young Australian countryman, from the time of his first application for ‘a homestead selection’ to that of the birth of his ‘son an’ heir’ on the green-grey homestead. It also includes memories of his younger years, when he chased scrub cattle, hunted wild pigs on wild horses and played on the polo field. Steele Rudd knew what he was writing about, having grown up on a homestead selection at Emu Creek himself, and worked as a stockrider (or cowboy) as a teenager.
The book is written in a very lively style, and remarkably, in the second person singular – “you” will literally be Dick Gall himself. The opening sentence: “You’ll be single when the idea of taking up a homestead first gets you.” Or later: “You’ll be three years on the little grey homestead, working hard and becoming well-known and respected; you’ll receive kindly handturns from one and another, and be known to them all as Dick Gall.” (Summary by Anna Simon)
(first published 1935)
William Butler Yeats (1865 – 1939)
Language: English
William Butler Yeats first published this collection in 1935. In it, he developed themes and symbolism prevalent throughout his work, including his fascination with masks and Irish legends.
(Summary by Newgatenovelist)
(first published 1930)
James Jeans (1877-1946)
Language: English
One of the earliest of the popular science book genre, it is a philosophical summary of the new physics of the era by a leading British physicist. Keeping technical references to a bare minimum, Jeans argues that physics has entered a new age in which mathematical representation has supplanted mechanical models.
(Summary by Peter Tucker)
Language: German/Deutsch, English
This is a collection for poetry and prose, fiction and non fiction in any language.
(first published 1930)
E. M. Delafield (1890-1943)
Language: English
“Notice, and am gratified by, large clump of crocuses near the front gate. Should like to make whimsical and charming reference to these and try to fancy myself as ‘Elizabeth of the German Garden’, but am interrupted by Cook, saying that the Fish is here, but he’s only bought cod and haddock, and the haddock doesn’t smell any too fresh, so what about cod? Have often noticed that Life is like that.”
First published in 1930, this charming, funny book is a warm portrait of a middle-class English family and their village life. Our heroine recounts the mundane delights and disasters of her household, dealing with constant money worries, the challenges of finding & keeping a really good parlourmaid, and how best to retain grace towards her fellow humans in the face of their astonishing range of foibles. It’s also a wonderfully genuine description of a marriage, with all the little ups and downs of rubbing along with the same person for so many years.
(Summary by Cori Samuel)
(first published 1912)
Amanda McKittrick Ros (1860 – 1939)
Language: English
Amanda McKittrick Ros’s poetry and prose has earned notoriety for its highly individual syntax, creative punctuation, unique diction and particular use of alliteration. Listen to this verse – if you dare. … (summary by Newgatenovelist)
(first published 1938)
Arthur van Schendel (1874-1946)
Language: Dutch
De danser Daniel Walewijn, zoon van een Nederlandse vader en een moeder van Zuid-Europeese afkomst, heeft de dans in het lichaam, zodat er niets anders voor hem bestaat. Zelfs zijn verhouding tot de vrouwen wordt volkomen bepaald door deze ene hartstocht. Zowel Daniel Walewijn als de melancholieke Reynald houden, ieder op zijn manier, van Marion Ringelinck, die evenals Daniel door de roeping voor het dansen wordt meegezogen. Deze drie levens gaan lange tijd parallel. In een reeks verhalen, vanuit het perspectief van verschillende personen die bij de hoofdpersonen betrokken zijn, laat Arthur van Schendel aan ons oog de levens van drie mensen voorbijtrekken, wier noodlot het is met elkaar in aanraking te komen, op elkaar aangewezen te zijn en toch aan elkaar voorbij te gaan.
(Samenvatting door Anna Simon)
(first published 1927)
Virginia Woolf (1882 – 1941)
Language: English
The Ramsey family, with house guests, visit the Isle of Skye at least twice. The plot is not at all the point though, as this is a book about how people think and feel and relate. There’s insight into the world of childhood thought and emotion, and a variety of views of adult cares and perceptions.
I hope this doesn’t make it sound ‘difficult’, it doesn’t need to be – just let the sentences flow and make your own sense of the words. It’s perhaps as close as a novel can come to the highly individual experience of looking at a painting. … (summary by Cori Samuel)
(first published 1933)
Amanda McKittrick Ros (1860 – 1939)
Language: English
Amanda McKittrick Ros’s poems and prose are unique, and her determination to write saw her publish two novels and two volumes of verse in her lifetime. Whether you like it or loathe it, her style is inimitable. In her own words: ‘This inventive production was hatched within a mind fringed with Fumes of Formation, the Ingenious Innings of Inspiration and Thorny Tincture of Thought.’ … (Summary by Newgatenovelist)