Hilary Hinds’ A Cultural History of Twin Beds.

Hi all, I can proudly say that my book review on Hilary Hinds’s A Cultural History of Twin Beds has been successfully published in Lancaster University’s annual LUX journal. In the review, written at the start of lockdown and copied below, I present Hinds’s investigation into how Western modernity’s investment in health and hygiene is …

Elizabeth Gaskell’s “The Doom of the Griffiths” Review.

 Hi all, In Gaskell’s melodramatic tale “The Doom of the Griffiths” (1857), the fourteenth century Welsh nationalist figure of Owain Glyndŵr is plotted against by his lifelong friend, Griffths, during his victorious battle against the English. In return for such betrayal, Owain conjures the curse that the Griffiths’s “line would end with the murder of …

‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’ Review: 3 Reasons Why Thomas Hardy’s Angel Clare is Anything But Angelic.

In college, Thomas Hardy’s ‘Tess d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented’ was my English teacher’s favourite novel and she would encourage our class to read it whenever we ‘had the time’. Now, in the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic, I think it’s safe to say that I definitely have enough time on my side, and no …

Jackie Kay’s Trumpet.

Jackie Kay’s jazz infused novel ‘Trumpet’ is a perfectly fast-paced read that comments on gender, dual identity and disguise with comedic undertones in the narrative. Kay exploits these tropes by personifying them in the protagonist Josephine Moore, ‘a woman playing a trumpet’ (p, 56), who identifies as the male Joss Moody. Trumpet, documents the life …

A Comparison Between Shakespeare’s Caliban in ‘The Tempest’ and Milton’s Satan in ‘Paradise Lost’.

Hi all, Whilst studying ‘The Tempest’ in college I have noticed a potent parallel between the enslaved Caliban and Satan. This post will be an exploration of these connections. Both characters are depicted as being inherently evil, yet we are still able to feel sympathy for their suffering.  Caliban and Satan are both characters who …

An Overview of ‘The Good Morrow’ by John Donne.

Hi all, In this post, I will be exploring the ways in which ‘The Good Morrow’ by John Donne may be clearly defined as a metaphysical poem. Below is the video that inspired this post.  I wanted to share it here as I found it particularly beautiful as an audible version of Donne’s ‘Good Morrow’. …

My Top 5 Favourite Rupi Kaur Poems

Rupi Kaur is a Canadian poet famous for her modern approach to poetry and controversial comments on the themes of love, sex and race. In her self published anthology titled ‘Milk and Honey’, Kaur writes in the style of confessional poetry by relating to her own thoughts and experiences of abuse, trauma and hurt. I …

Film Review: Bram Stoker’s Dracula, 1992.

After a busy week of college mock exams, I enjoyed an extended weekend having a well deserved break from revision and exam stress. On Friday night, me and my sister decided to miss an episode of the addictive, yet highly controversial, Love Island in order to have a movie night watching Bram Stoker’s Dracula which …

Book Review: Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Due to many recommendations from followers on my blog, I have recently read Dracula by Bram Stoker. It took me longer than expected to read this novel, yet I blame this on my college exams. Now that I have finished, I thought that I would write a quick post on my thoughts in the format …

Review: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

Horrifying, heartbreaking and emotionally haunting. The Lovely Bones was written in 2002 by Alice Sebold and is guaranteed to provoke any reader to feel an array of mixed emotions and absolute despair from the first page of the book to the very last. The novel contains an incredibly graphic and powerful storyline as it follows the …

Book Review: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. (No Spoilers!)

My most recent read has been Gail Honeyman’s debut novel ‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’. This highly emotive novel encompasses the challenges of loneliness, value of friendship and the importance of even the smallest acts of kindness.  The narrative of this novel is from the perspective of Miss Eleanor Oliphant who is an excessively polite …

Next book? You decide.

Hi all, As a libra, I carry the indecisive trait and a recent trip to Waterstones has left me choosing between Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Jane Austen’s Emma- one of which will constitute my holiday reading in India. However, I thought it’d be interesting to hear some external opinions on the two classics through my …

Review: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. (No spoilers!)

The Little Stranger is a gothic novel which was written by Sarah Waters in 2009. It revolves around a male narrator named Dr Faraday and his complete fascination with a grand mansion named Hundreds Hall. The story begins with an insight into Faraday’s childhood when he is first introduced to the house by his mother …

Review: Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín (No Spoilers)

Hi all, My most recent read has been a short novel named Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín. I really enjoyed this book, yet was disappointed by the speed of events and the portrayal of certain characters. Keep reading to find out whether Brooklyn should be added to your reading list! The book revolves around a young, …