“Who are my mother and my brothers?” – A Sermon on Family Values
Jesus replied, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are …
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The Hound of the Baskervilles and the Cat of the Wimseys: More Detective Fiction Covers
Here’s another detective novel paperback which seems to drastically misunderstand the story it contains. Or has it? After my previous …
Nine Tailors Make A Dame: Crime Fiction and Book Covers
Whilst rummaging around the primary texts for my current research project (a study of the novels of Agatha Christie), I …
Paté and Parallels: Reading “The Last Chronicle of Barset”
I’ve been reading Anthony Trollope’s The Last Chronicle of Barset recently, and enjoying the experience. [Spoiler warning: don’t read this …
“at evensong, one hour before the sun go down”: a Sermon on the Parable of the Vineyard
Preached at the church of St. John the Baptist, Beeston, during September 2017. May I speak in the name …
Sunday Morning in the Midlands
It’s a spring(ish) morning so the birds are making themselves known outside the window by the time I get up. …
The Charms of Rosmerta: Harry Potter, a pagan goddess and the English school story
This term I am in the enviable position of teaching Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone as part of the …
Mummers Must Advertise: Dorothy L. Sayers, Ben Jonson, Balzac and a Host of Hogglers
Having recounted one tale of a literary reference I thought I’d found (but which turned out to be no such …
Sophocles and Inspector Morse
I’m reading a lot of detective fiction at the moment. Partly for fun, and partly because I’m working on a …
“The Tenth Province of Jaryar” – Penelope Wallace on Fantasy Fiction and her New Novel
Last October I had the exciting experience of publishing my first novel “We Do Not Kill Children”, and Jem kindly …
