Tag: Read

#WWWWednesday – 28th January 2026

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Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!

What I’m Currently Reading

Benbecula by Graeme Macrae Burnet (Polygon)

On 9 July 1857, Angus MacPhee, a labourer from Liniclate on the island of Benbecula, murdered his father, mother and aunt. At trial in Inverness he was found to be criminally insane and confined in the Criminal Lunatic Department of Perth Prison.

Some years later, Angus’s older brother Malcolm recounts the events leading up to the murders while trying to keep a grip on his own sanity. Malcolm is living in isolation, ostracised by the community and haunted by this gruesome episode in his past.

Julia Sleeps by Zoe Caryl

Julia Sleeps is a heart-warming tale of grit, dreams, and the unbreakable bond between a father and daughter. At its center is Evie Jameson, a feisty young Glaswegian with a voice that could melt steel and stir souls. Born into a humble tenement in the shadow of the Great Depression, Evie draws on the strength and support of her indomitable mother, grandmother and sister, but it is her devoted father Johnny who is her champion. Everyone expects her to clock in at Buchannans Sweetie Factory in Cowcaddens, but Evie has other plans – plans that shimmer with spotlight and song.

With Johnny by her side, Evie dares to chase the impossible: a career on the stage. Her father is her fiercest ally, shielding her from the harsh realities of showbiz while cheering her every note. Together, they navigate the dazzling highs and bruising lows of the entertainment world as Glasgow begins to shake off its post-depression gloom.

But just as Evie’s star begins to rise in 1939, history intervenes. War erupts, and the call of duty threatens to crush Evie’s dreams and take her and Johnny from the city they adore. The conflict thrusts Evie into dangers and adventures she could never have imagined, but amid the chaos, will she also find love?

From London in the Blitz to magical, mysterious India her courage and integrity are put to the test and she must draw on the strength forged by her proud Scottish heritage. Inspired by a true story, Evie’s tale is one of nostalgia, ambition and resilience where family, true friendships and love shape both the woman and the singer she is destined to become.

What I’ve Just Read

Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT and the Race That Will Change the World by Parmy Olson (Macmillan Business)

Mary Anne by Daphne du Maurier ( Victor Gollancz)

What I’ll Be Reading Next

Room 706 by Ellie Levenson (Headline)

Kate stretches her legs and turns on the TV while James washes away the traces of their morning. She watches in horror at the unfolding news: the hotel they are staying in has been taken under siege.

She should be making her way home, working on appearing normal, getting ready to re-enter family life with her loving husband Vic and their two adored children. Instead, she is trapped somewhere she shouldn’t be, with a man she definitely doesn’t love.

How will she begin to tell Vic what she is doing here? If her body is found, will it give up the secret of what she’s been up to? She’s been so careful hiding the evidence of her affair: write nothing down, leave no trace. Will he begin to understand why?

For now, Kate can only hide, take a deep breath, and reflect on the series of choices she’s made that have brought her to this moment.

What will her marriage and her life look like, if she makes it out?

Book Review – Mary Anne by Daphne du Maurier

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About the Book

She set men’s hearts on fire and scandalized a country.

In Regency London, the only way for a woman to succeed is to beat men at their own game. So when Mary Anne Clarke seeks an escape from her squalid surroundings in Bowling Inn Alley, she ventures first into the scurrilous world of the pamphleteers. Her personal charms are such, however, that before long she comes to the notice of the Duke of York.

With her taste for luxury and power, Mary Anne, now a royal mistress, must aim higher. Her lofty connections allow her to establish a thriving trade in military commissions, provoking a scandal that rocks the government – and brings personal disgrace.

Format: Hardcover (379 pages) Publisher: Victor Gollancz
Publication date: 1st January 1954 Genre: Historical Fiction

Find Mary Anne on Goodreads

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My Review

Mary Anne is the first book from my new Classics Club list. Set during the Napoleonic Wars it’s a fictional account of the life of Daphne du Maurier’s own great-great-grandmother, Mary Ann Clarke. From 1803 to 1808, Mary Anne was the mistress of Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (the ‘Grand Old Duke of York of the nursery rhyme) who was the second son of King George III.

Mary Anne’s story is one of a woman determined to rise above the circumstances of her birth and provide a better life for her three children, the product of a disastrous early marriage to a man with whom she was smitten but who turned out to be an inveterate gambler and drunkard. Scarred by this experience Mary Anne is encouraged to use her beauty and charm to attract a succession of wealthy men willing to support her increasingly lavish lifestyle. Throughout she keeps her marriage a secret, presenting herself as a widow.

When she comes to the notice of the Duke of York, it looks like she’s hit the jackpot. He appears besotted with her although she knows, given his position and the fact he is married, she will never be anything more than his mistress. Having said that I thought she developed a genuine affection for him. However, even the Duke proves unable to fund Mary Anne’s lifestyle – the dinner parties, the gowns, the jewellery – resulting in her running up debts with numerous traders. Forced to look elsewhere for money she becomes involved in using her influence with the Duke to obtain military commissions for those willing to pay.

Unfortunately it all comes tumbling down when her relationship with the Duke comes to an end. Mary Anne finds herself facing financial ruin and embarks on a campaign of revenge threatening to reveal his personal letters. Eventually she goes one step too far with catastrophic consequences.

Mary Anne makes a lively, very engaging heroine. She is quick-witted and charming but at the same time there’s a ruthless streak to her. And the line ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’ could have been written with her in mind. Although she professes to be acting in the interests of her children, they have to move frequently from place to place whenever creditors threaten and Mary Anne is forced to seek a new patron.

The book’s major flaw is that it gets bogged down in a lengthy section describing a Parliamentary inquiry into the Duke of York which reads like a court transcript. Apparently du Maurier herself wasn’t entirely satisfied with the book acknowledging that some of it read more like newspaper reportage.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Nathalie Buscombe as the text in my hardback copy was too small to read comfortably. I thought she did a great job of conveying the wit and charm that proved so irresistible to Mary Anne’s male acquaintances.

In three words: Lively, fascinating, detailed
Try something similar: England’s Mistress: The Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton by Kate Williams

About the Author

Daphne du Maurier (born May 13, 1907, London, England—died April 19, 1989, Par, Cornwall) was an English novelist and playwright, daughter of actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier, best known for her novel Rebecca (1938).

Du Maurier’s first novel, The Loving Spirit (1931), was followed by many successful, usually romantic tales set on the wild coast of Cornwall, where she came to live. She also wrote historical fiction, several plays, and Vanishing Cornwall (1967), a travel guide. Her popular Rebecca was made into a motion picture in 1940.

Du Maurier was made a Dame Commander in the Order of the British Empire in 1969. She published an autobiography, Growing Pains, in 1977; the collection The Rendezvous and Other Stories in 1980; and a literary reminiscence, The Rebecca Notebook and Other Memories, in 1981. (Source: Britannica)