Natasha Pulley is one of the best and most consistently stunning novelists of our time. Just as The Iliad isn’t (really) about the Trojan war, The Hymn to Dionysus is not about an endangered kingdom. It’s about looking at oneself and finding the divine heroism within.
There are plenty of reasons Hitchcock’s films are considered classic, even genius. But often overlooked is the fact that they were nearly always based on books. Two are again available in print.
Set in 1938 England, the story is steeped in the very particular interwar setting, with dozens of connotations. Crucially, it’s the year Rebecca was written (and set). Like the classic Du Maurier novel, this book focuses on a shabby manor house, a young woman who struggles to fit in, and a crumbling aristocracy intent on covering up dark secrets.
On a freezing morning in December 1832, a woman named Sarah Maria Cornell was found dead on a local farm. The mystery was covered by Catharine Williams, a contemporary who became convinced it was murder. Kate Winkler Dawson takes another look at Williams’ work and brings modern technology to the case.
One strong, one strange, and three duds for this month’s round-up of new and forthcoming books.