Stella & Rose's Books

Growing up in the age of diesel locomotives, I have always been fascinated by steam. Partly I have my father to blame for this. He’s an engineer and welder and would often take us kids to museums that featured various engineering marvels. One of my favourites remains the York Railway Museum. I also grew up living opposite an old GWR station and goods shed in Sennybridge, Wales; the station closed in October 1962 with the Neath and Brecon Railway line closing completely in November 1969. I often wondered what it used to be like to have steam trains running past the house!

(Published on 15th Oct 2024) Read full article

The title of this book intrigued me. What did it mean and what was the book about as the title does not make it clear?

This is the autobiography of Captain Doust who spent most of his working life on the sea. His area of expertise was marine salvage where his engineering skill and his amazing ability to improvise, with whatever equipment was available, under the most difficult of circumstances made him a master of his profession.

He was born in Portsmouth in April 1895 into a strong nautical family background. Both his grandfather and father were Royal Navy engineers, so whatever his career it would be to do with the sea.

(Published on 14th Sep 2024) Read full article

It was the name that got me first - ‘Lemony Snicket’.  It rolled off the tongue and sounded like a cake or a nice yellow flowered plant. That’s what persuaded me to read the back cover to see what the book was about:

“Dear Reader, I’m sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant, don’t read this, whatever you do.  It will sadden you and cause harm to your mind.” 

Lemony Snicket was not wrong.  The three children the book is about, the Baudelaires, are newly orphaned and go to live with a distant relative who cares nothing for them and sees them as a form of cheap labour and a way to access their parents’ fortune.  Not cheery then, and actually pretty cruel in places.  When the children first encountered Count Olaf’s ‘troupe’ of followers one of the followers says:

(Published on 14th Aug 2024) Read full article

This book was once owned by the internationally renowned Eleanor Lowenstein, her bookplate is in the front of the book. Eleanor Lowenstein opened the Corner Bookshop on Fourth Avenue New York and was offered her first cookery book collection in 1946. This was just the beginning and the rest as they say is history!

Mr Briggs in his Preface says of his recipes the following  ‘I have bestowed every Pains to render them easily practicable, and adapted to the Capacities of those  who may be ordered to use them. To waste Language and high Terms on such Subjects, appears to me to render the Art of Cookery embarrassing, and to throw difficulties in the Way of the Learner…’

(Published on 14th Jul 2024) Read full article

It was the colourful cover of the book that caught my eye and also the title. I was intrigued to know who Spring-Heeled Jack was, so I turned the book over and it describes him as a sort of modern-day Superhero.  I have since found out that he was a notorious figure in Victorian times who was reputed to have attacked women, terrorised and harassed people at night and was able to leap high into the air.

Victims described him as having a terrifying appearance with "eyes that resembled red balls of fire" like the devil, but more importantly was his ability to make extraordinary leaps into the air to escape capture. He would leap across rooftops with astonishing agility blowing flames from his mouth so newspapers and the public at the time gave him the name "Spring-Heeled Jack".  Although he was never caught, he became one of the most popular characters of the period and eventually was portrayed as a hero of sorts which is probably why the renowned author, Sir Philip Pullman portrays him in this vein too.

(Published on 14th Jun 2024) Read full article

Looking around the office again for inspiration in preparing my featured book article, I noticed we had multiple copies of Deer of the World. I don’t know about you, but I am an animal lover and was immediately drawn to this title. Here in the Wye Valley and the neighbouring Forest of Dean, we have many Deer although I could not tell you what ‘brand’ they are! They are very stealthy creatures and I find myself in awe of them whenever I come across one… so silent in their comings and goings. I guess not so good if they are loose in your countryside garden demolishing your beloved plants!

(Published on 14th May 2024) Read full article

Yeadon’s Register of LNER Locomotives

As I am normally the buyer of Children’s books for the business I often write about children’s books, authors and illustrators. However, as we have recently purchased a very large collection of books about trains and buses, I thought I would take a look at what the collection contained. 

Yeadon’s Register is a series of 56 books covering all the locomotives of the LNER (London and North Eastern Railway). Each volume is well illustrated with class introduction and full history of each locomotive, leaving the reader in no doubt as to what happened to any particular LNER locomotive during its lifetime. A must for the railway enthusiast!

(Published on 14th Apr 2024) Read full article

Or… Herbert’s Guide To London, Being a Guide to Hotels, Places of Amusement, Objects of Interest, Parks, Clubs, Markets, Docks, Railway and Steamship Routes. In fact, anything you could wish to know about the London of almost 150 years ago appears to be in this Guide!

Front Cover / Title Page  

Books like this have always fascinated me. Despite the fact that I hated history lessons at school, I find that I’m drawn to books that describe what life was like in the past. This particular book is beautifully presented – unusually so for a directory, which are usually dull affairs. Not so this one, as every page is embellished with a beautiful gold and purple border and scattered throughout the book are full-page black and white engravings of various monuments and buildings to be seen in London.

(Published on 15th Mar 2024) Read full article

Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There was first published in December 1871 and is the sequel to Alice's Adventures In Wonderland (1865), by author Lewis Carroll.

Alice Through the Looking Glass - John Tenniel, Tony Ross & Helen Oxenbury  

Alice again enters a fantastical and nonsensical world, but is this the Wonderland that she happened upon once a lazy dream ago, when she followed the White rabbit down that hole?  This time it is snowing outside so she is playing inside with two kittens, a black one called Kitty and a white one called Snowdrop, so this is quite different to the sunny day when she entered Wonderland previously.  But again, we see the 'dream' quality - is this a prerequisite for entering fantastical and wondrous worlds?  “Alice was sitting curled up in a corner of the great armchair, half talking to herself and half asleep”.

(Published on 15th Feb 2024) Read full article

This is a book filled with beautiful photographs showcasing the work both at home and abroad of the gardens and public places designed by Thomas Mawson.

Thomas Mawson / Front Cover  

This is the first full biography of Thomas Hayton Mawson (1861 – 1933) and charts his successes from Cumbria to Greece and the Civic Art he designed such as Hanley Park near Stoke on Trent.

In the early twentieth century he was the most sought-after garden and landscape designer of the day and could name crowned heads of Europe among his clients.

(Published on 15th Jan 2024) Read full article

I chose this lovely book as the picture on the cover reminded me of when I used to live in Kent.  It is about landscape artist Stanley Roy Badmin of whom, I imagine, some of you may have heard.  His works have appeared on greeting cards, calendars, in copies of the Readers Digest and Radio Times magazines and much more.

The book has been written by Chris Beetles, a London art dealer, who has put together 44 of the artist’s watercolours plus some etchings.  Chris Beetles has been a leading authority on S.R. Badmin for the past thirty years and the book provides an informative history of Badmin’s career and his development as a prominent etcher and fine artist.

(Published on 13th Dec 2023) Read full article

Written and illustrated by Ul De Rico and published in 1996, this is the sequel to The Rainbow Goblins which was published in 1978.

It is a children’s book (probably for older children unlike its predecessor) and the story is about the White Goblin who was banished by his brothers, the Rainbow Goblins, and lives in a world of snow and ice.  After learning of his brothers’ ignominious death, he wonders, “who am I to be thrust out of the beautiful, coloured world” and goes on a very selfish colour-drinking rampage.  He greedily catches, licks and sucks every colour he can reach.  He then self-righteously decides that he is now the ruler of the world and descends into the Cave City and persuades the Cave Goblins (living in peace, harmony and happiness at this point) to help him build gigantic buildings and cities.

(Published on 15th Nov 2023) Read full article

Scenes of Commerce by Land and Sea by Rev. Isaac Taylor

So, I was browsing the Natural History section in our Special Book Room on our website and this title caught my eye. That looks interesting I thought, especially when I saw the subtitle “Where Does It Come From? Answered”. And indeed, it is interesting!

Published almost 200 hundred years ago in 1839 by John Harris, leading British publisher of illustrated books and fiction from 1801 to 1839, this book has 396 pages including an index and 66 black and white engravings. Let’s take a look inside…

(Published on 14th Oct 2023) Read full article

A few years ago I went to a talk given by Matthew Rice at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. The talk was about describing architecture and the language we use to do so. He said it is not enough, or indeed accurate, to describe something we see as that ‘twiddly bit on top of the curved thing below the window’ - we need to learn the language! So, there is a language for everything from Bricklaying to Churches and Cathedrals. It felt quite revelatory at the time but also quite obvious. The talk was excellent by the way, and I am now the proud owner of Rice’s Church Primer.

(Published on 14th Sep 2023) Read full article

I’m new to Fred J. Hando’s books, but I instantly loved his interesting prose and writing style. Fred J. Hando (23rd March 1888- 17th February 1970) was from Newport, Wales, and a head teacher, artist and writer on the Monmouthshire and Gwent area. The main aim of his numerous books and newspaper articles was to “persuade readers to see the little places of a shy county.” 

A prolific writer of the local area, I would now follow him anywhere given a chance, even if just around the corner, because he would make it interesting, weaving a story from the history of the area that would make me see the view in a completely different way.

(Published on 14th Aug 2023) Read full article

Familiar Garden Flowers by Shirley Hibberd, Illustrated by F. Edward Hulme

Having lived in a flat for most of my adult life I am now very much enjoying having a garden and learning about different plants and what they do and don’t like.

This set of books really appealed to me when I first saw it.  It is so attractive to look at – both the covers of each book and the beautiful chromolithographic plates of the garden flowers (200 in total!).

The books look at the different variety of plants that can be found in a typical English garden and offer detailed descriptions and a history of each plant as well as tips on how to plant, propagate, maintain etc.

(Published on 14th Jul 2023) Read full article

Like many of my age, I grew up reading Enid Blyton. For most of my childhood, my parents made the decision not to have a TV in the house. Although this was an unpopular decision with myself and my siblings, I look back with admiration as it meant we were moved to use our time in other (more constructive?) ways. Living in rural Mid-Wales, this meant spending a lot of time outside, but it also meant reading – a lot of reading!

My earliest memories of reading include Malcolm Saville, Arthur Ransome, Ladybird books, as well as lots of non-fiction such as Usborne books on nature. But probably the largest number of books in our home library were written by Enid Blyton.

(Published on 14th Jun 2023) Read full article

Seven Years with Samantha by Clive Ball

Front Cover / Leaving Dover

 

This is an intriguing title as the cover shows an old vintage car in the desert. Samantha is Clive’s 1929 Austin Seven which he had rebuilt. It had a 750cc engine and did 40mph. He set off from Dover in 1965 and ended up doing one of the longest journeys ever undertaken in such an old car, extending to a total of 48,000 miles. I’m sure this record has been surpassed many times since but in 1965 this was some achievement.

(Published on 14th May 2023) Read full article

‘Now We Are Six’ was first published in 1927 and is the third title in the Pooh bear quartet, after 'When We Were Very Young' (1924), 'Winnie-the-Pooh' (1926) and before 'The House At Pooh Corner' (1928).  It is the second in the series that is a collection of poetry and rhymes for children and contains a total of 35 different poems – some more well-known than others. Perhaps this is partly why some say that this is their least favourite book of the four.

(Published on 14th Apr 2023) Read full article

The Big Book of Fables Edited by Walter Jerrold and Illustrated by Charles Robinson

Walter Jerrold has chosen the fables and edited this Big Book of Fables which was first published in 1912 (although, of course, the fables themselves are much older). Jerrold was a writer and newspaper editor. He spent much of his time in London, starting out as a clerk in a newspaper counting house and going on to become deputy editor of The Observer.

(Published on 15th Mar 2023) Read full article