Dear walking book clubbers,
Here we are, crouching under a tree, sheltering from the crazy old rain which periodically fell down in bucketloads in spite of the dry forecast. Thanks again to Shanna for lending me her brolly! And thanks to you brave souls who came in the rain; we had a great discussion. It was also very lovely to see more of you on Zoom the following evening to continue the talk.
At Freddie’s
A few of us were lukewarm, but most really liked this Penelope Fitgerald novel about a stage school in Covent Garden in 1963: So evocative of the time and place. Such eccentric characters. A paean to the theatre, which we have missed over the past year. We spent some time dwelling on the final passage, with it’s amazing closing image of “climbing and jumping, again and again and again into the darkness.” I read this whole bit out in this month’s webcast. Hope you enjoy it - please let me know your thoughts in the comments! As always, there are a few clips from our Heath walk at the end.
In addition to the links in last week’s email, thank you to Pat who pointed me towards Billie Piper’s Desert Island Discs, for a more contemporary take on stage-school life. And thank you also to Caro, who mentioned the new LRB Selections edition of Penelope Fitzgerald, featuring some of her work for this most intellectual magazine!
*** A reminder that these emails will always be free for those who need them to be, but if you are able to support Emily’s walking book club by subscribing for £20/year, or indeed for £50/year (which includes a bespoke literary consultation with me) then please do. ***
Our next walks
I am so excited to celebrate #Dallowday with you, and discuss Virginia Woolf’s modernist masterpiece of London life, Mrs Dalloway, on Sunday 13th June. Those of us who understandably feel intimidated by taking on such a supposedly tricky classic, take heed: Do not be afraid of Virginia Woolf! This book is far far more readable than one might fear, and has so much to give.
Heath walk: Sunday 13th June, 11.30-1pm, from outside Daunt Books, 51 South End Road, NW3 2QB.
Zoom talk: Monday 14th June, 8-8.30pm.
Buy the book from Daunt’s and get 10% off: use the code WBC at checkout online, or tell them you’re in the group in the shops.
On Tuesday, tickets will go on sale for our July book club. We’ll be discussing Funny Boy by Shyam Selvadurai: a beautiful coming-of-age gay novel set against the backdrop of the Sri Lankan Civil War. I first came across this book at university, way back when, and can’t wait to revisit it with you - it really deserves a much wider audience.
Heath walk: Sunday 11th July, 11.30-1pm.
Zoom talk: Monday 12th July, 8-8.30pm.
Buy the book from Daunt’s and get 10% off: use the code WBC at checkout online, or tell them you’re in the group in the shops.
Happy reading!
Emily