It is always exciting when books and artworks by David Hockney arrive in the shop, and we are particularly thrilled with two monumental inscribed David Hockney prints that we have recently acquired. One of the things that makes these prints so special is the fact that they are both inscribed and presented by the artist […]
'General' Category Archives
From the Library of Mary Renault
We have recently acquired a wonderful collection of four books from the library of Mary Renault (pen name of Eileen Mary Challans), an early pioneer of gay fiction whose later historical novels have become some of the best loved works to be set in Ancient Greece. Two of the books in this collection, ‘The Friendly […]
Shirley Jackson, Women, and the Domestic Gothic
The gothic is currently haunting our screens and imaginations, with dark, dramatic films like Robert Eggers’ ‘Nosferatu’ (2024), Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’ (2025) and Emerald Fennel’s highly anticipated ‘Wuthering Heights’ (2026) drawing avid audiences. This curious genre is central to the work of the American writer Shirley Jackson, a personal favourite of mine and the […]
Jessie Marion King and William Morris
We have recently acquired a beautiful original Jessie Marion King (1875-1949) artwork illustrating William Morris’s 1891 poem ‘For the Bed at Kelmscott’, which is incorporated into King’s design in four columns along the bottom of the painting. Before reaching us, it was given by King to her friend Mary Murray (nee Geikie) and thence passed […]
R.B. Russell’s Fifty Forgotten Books launch at Lucius Books
We are delighted to host the author and Tartarus Press co-founder R.B. Russell and the South Yorkshire press ‘And Other Stories’ for the launch of Fifty Forgotten Books, in which the author takes us on a guided tour through the wonderful, macabre and obscure books that make up his legendary collection – and the sadly vanishing […]
An Eskimo Vocabulary for Arctic Explorers
At first glance an unassuming little book bound in simple black cloth, the unexpected title – “Eskimaux Vocabulary / For the Use of the Arctic Expedition” – boldly printed in gilt to the front cover, quickly catches the eye and the imagination. Published in London in 1850, it was designed as a field guide to […]
Andre Norton’s Early Influence on Science Fiction and Fantasy
Andre Norton (born Alice Mary Norton in Ohio in 1912) was a hugely prolific writer and one of the earliest women to achieve widespread success in the traditionally male dominated genres of science fiction and fantasy. Norton’s earliest books were historical adventures for young adults (which would have been described as ‘juvenile fiction’ at the […]
Millicent Sowerby’s illustrations for “Childhood”
Painter and illustrator Millicent Sowerby was born in 1878 in Gateshead to a wealthy glass-making family. Her father, John G. Sowerby, as well as acting as director of the glass-making factory, also enjoyed recognition as a painter and illustrator. Millicent was one of the first women to illustrate Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, and she […]
A Beautiful Annie French Collection
Over the last few days I have had the pleasure of researching and cataloguing a collection of decorated letters, calendars, and bookmarks created by the “Glasgow Girl” and contemporary of Jessie M. King, Annie French, which has been a lovely task while working from home! Annie French (born 1872) is something of an elusive figure and […]
The History of Girls’ Boarding School Stories
“Girls! Girls everywhere! Girls in the passages, girls in the hall, racing upstairs and scurrying downstairs, diving into dormitories and running into classrooms, overflowing on to the landing and hustling along the corridor — everywhere, girls! There were tall and short, and fat and thin, and all degrees from pretty to plain; girls […]