Clothes in Books

Nothing says fun holiday outing like a vist to a dead poet's grave.

I have a new substack newsletter with the annoying detectives, the woman of substance, and more jumble sales clothesinbook.substack.com/p/the-big-issu…

I made a list of Annoying Detectives in Fiction. I'm expecting a lot of additions and arguments - bring on your own pesky Investigators, your aggravating sleuths, your vexatious policemen. clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/03/annoyi…

@ClarkeMicah "in their gray-and-brown homespun" - cliche about the olden dayes no. 94. They loved bright colours.

After a few diversions, time for a classic blog entry on a Golden Age detective story: Anthony Berkeley's The Layton Court Mystery. Is it the first country-house-party mystery? JIm Noy says so. Good fun, though I have issues. (and there are no clothes) clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/03/the-la…

My piece for the i newspaper on Barbara Taylor Bradford's A Woman of Substance. A look back at Thatcher, and an era of male domination of book-reviewing - I wouldn't have been writing about this book for a national newspaper back in the day clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/03/cultur…

Anyone watching Woman of Substance who remembers it first time around? I wrote about the whole circus for the ipaper - sex scenes, Thatcherism, dresses, a hint of Gothic lesbianism. Of course I am watching every dynamite moment inews.co.uk/culture/books/…

The jumble sales in books keep coming! today we have some good stories, and a Patricia Moyes classic detective story, Murder Fantastical, with a wonderful fete with jumble stall. The fete details more covincing than the rest of it - but they are excellent. clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/03/jumble…

@ClothesinBooks Henrietta Clandon’s Good by Stealth is the ultimate study in horrid letters. The plot begins with Edna Alice’s release from prison for writing them, proving that the damage caused by a malicious, anonymous note can be just as deadly as any physical weapon.

A recent book set on Sark in the 1930s, The Stranger's Companion by Mary Horlock, is a fine read. It also contains a horrible letter from a man to a woman which set me thinking about Bad Letters in Literature. Examples welcome clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/03/a-book…

Did a podcast on Ross Macdonald with Sergio Angelini for Tipping my Fedora - and so have been re-reading, and staring at Paul Newman in the film Harper. Was he TOO good-looking? In this extra post I am looking at the first Archer book, The Moving Target clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/03/more-r…

We're all over the place lately, but there are connections. Graham Green and a charity fete led us on to Charlotte M Yonge. And then back to crinolines. And also croquet clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/03/from-g…

The nice people at Substack create an image for me when I have a new newsletter. This time it is the glory that is Paul Newman getting upset about the lack of coffee. (If he reads my newsletter he will cheer up)

Sergio Angelini and I discussed Ross Macdonald, films and books, on his Tipping my Fedora podcast. There's a link to it in my blogpost clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/03/tippin…

A white elephant stall, Charlotte M Yonge, fortune teller, cake and a seance form a winning line in the CiB Books Blog Bingo. All kinds of unexpected in Graham Greene's Ministry of Fear clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/03/graham…

I've been rereading Margaret Millar & Ross Macconald for an upcoming podcast with Sergiio Angelini @ Tipping my Fedora. So here's a look at Millar, and more to come. Total spoiler - we love them both clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/03/margar…

I'm serving up substack newsletters now.... a weekly roundup of the posts on my blog, and they made me a nice image to share.... clothesinbook.substack.com/p/literary-jum…

Of course one day we were going to do literary jumble sales on Clothes in Books. And the day has come. From Barbara Pym to Mapp and Lucia, with a surprise teaser from Graham Greene. With pictures. Please add your own favourites and mentions.... clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/03/the-in…

More on esteemed crime author Laura Lippman, and her new main character, Mrs Blossom. She solves a crime AND has a makeover! Discovers kaftans! Good times for Clothes in Books clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/02/more-l…

Laura Lippman is a long-time favourite crime author, but very under-represented on the blog. Her latest book sent me back to an earlier one, with special opportunities for fans of The Wire. Another Thing to Fall clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/02/laura-…

A new newsletter out on my substack: open.substack.com/pub/clothesinb…