BleakChesneyWold

                          If the enemy lands next Autumn    The Trumpet Major and his Brother Robert (1880) is generally considered Hardy's lightest novel. Also the only one which could be called 'historical'.  It is set on the Dorset coast in 1803-1805 centred round the mill village of 'Overcombe' ( Sutton Poyntze) not far from Budmoth (Weymouth)  and overshadowed by the Napoleon's threat to invade southern England. Small communities are impacted by parading soldiers and later the Press Gang make their presence known. News sheets circulate warnings of Napoleon's mobilisation across the Channel at Boulogne. A warning beacon stands ready to be lit if needed. At one point a rumour circulates stating that Napoleon's 'Army of England' has landed. And villagers start to leave their homes.  The plot is centred around  a young lady from Overcombe -Anne Garland-and three potential husbands: The local...

                                              Serious Treatment of Unreality  ' The Weird Tales of William Hope Hodgson, edited by Xavier Aldana Reyes, is  part of the British Library Tales of the Weird series, published in 2019. Contains ten short stories.  William Hope Hodgson was born in Whetherfield, Essex in 1877: His father was the Reverend Samuel Hodgson, who was placed by the Church in different stipends, including at Middlesburgh, Nottinghamshire, Battersea, then Ireland, and finally became curate of All Saints Church in Blackburn in 1890. William was educated at school in Margate, and settled with his family in Blackburn for a year before serving in the Merchant Navy from 1891-1900. The sea became an important setting for much of his subsequent fiction, which is reflected in the above collection. TIMELINE The Blackburn Weekly Telegraph obituary of 2...

                       Review of new book and  on line chat with author Paul Williams                                              I have not really covered Jack the Ripper and the wider 'Ripperology' genre. Decided to make an exception for Paul Williams, an English writer who now lives in Australia. A specialist in Cryptozoology and the study of wolves in folklore, Paul has also written many articles for various history magazines, and has had some hundred short stories published. Most significantly, he is the author of Jack the Ripper Suspects : The Definitive Guide and Encyclopedia - which has 333 entries.  1. For people (like myself) who are not really knowledgeable about Jack the Ripper, which books, websites, online videos, are a good starting point to get an overview of the subject and some of the c...