* Mrs Quinn’s Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford

Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame is tailor-made for fans of the Great British Bake-Off, as it stars a seventy-something contestant who is as eager and self-deprecating as most of the real contestants (and offers a few twists in the competition I thought the real show could embrace, to boot).

That would be a sappy-enough plot, but the author chooses to superimpose another personal tragedy, which turns the entire adventure into a compendium of treacly platitudes. Too bad, as there are some genuinely sweet moments, no puns intended.

*** Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

It’s unclear to me why the author chose to make this novel about Shakespeare’s son, since the story would stand very well on its own and she is forced to speculate on a lot of details that are just not known. But it is a nit, as the story is told magnificently, about a mother who does not quite fit the mold expected of proper housewives, a husband who seems to abandon her, and a son who dies of the plague. It is, obviously, a very sad story, and we can all use a somewhat lighter fare these days. Do give it a try.  This wife and mother is modern and angry in all the right ways.

** Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford

Love in a Cold Climate stars rebellious daughter of a famed aristocrat who just will not settle down with a hand-picked match and instead chooses a very unsuitable match leading to her disinheritance. Shocking. It’s all quite silly and not quite real in the tiny world of British aristocracy after WWI. Will take your mind off most any disputed election.

** The Boy in the Field by Margot Livesey

The Boy in the Field is found, first thing in the story, by three siblings walking home from school. The two oldest become preoccupied with finding the aggressor, while the youngest, a delightfully-drawn younger child, wonders about his birth mother and is lovingly assisted by his current mom. The family relationships are kind and complicated, and all that makes for an interesting story, but the end fails to properly put the story to rest.

* The Adventure at Wisteria Lodge by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Classic mysteries can be great fun, but I found The Adventure at Wisteria Lodge to be offensively racist, even as it displayed the usual Sherlock Holmes deductive powers.  Some classic just don’t age well.

** Something New by P.G. Wodehouse

Something New won’t strain your brain and will bring a whiff of Victoriana for a brief and enjoyable experience if you like this kind of thing. There’s a house full of servants, with servants for the servants. There is a full complement of thoughtless young and less young people. And of course there is some minor (to them) issue of a stolen artifact. All ends well.  Plenty of un-PC references to Native Americans.

*** Lady in Waiting by Anne Glenconner

Like The Crown? You will love Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown, the life of one of Princess Margaret’s lady in waiting, who grew up on a sumptuous estate, was maid of honor for Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, and married a fabulously rich and explosive man who developed the infamous island of Mustique in the Caribbeans.  The book is a stunning display of how very insular the world of aristocrats and wealthy people can be–and how utterly different from “normal” their lives are, when dire financial straight simply mean selling one of the antique paintings they don’t have on display anyway.

There are some moving personal moments as well, about her difficult marriage and the deaths of two of her sons, all told with the utmost stiff upper lip.

** Cozy by Laura Weir

Cosy: The British Art of Comfort is a short book that’s almost too cute, but it’s a good escape into the British stay-home lifestyle (now that we are all staying home), complete with fires, tea, and a comfy bed. A wonderful way to remember that home is really a good place to be, at least if one can take a walk in the rain once in a while..

** Careless Love by Peter Robinson

Careless Love starts with two somewhat suspicious deaths, that will eventually be tied together and with more in a terrifying conspiracy. It felt like the story was a kind of warmup to another, darker, more international story. We shall see. And the personal details sprinkled throughout felt a little forced. Yes, we get it, the detective likes music of a particular era.

** Enter Pale Death by Barbara Cleverly

Barbara Cleverly is the queen of mysteries in which death is caused remotely, with the perpetuator actually convinces the victim to essentially kill herself, and Enter Pale Death fits the mold. It also features the usual pomp of old-style British aristocracy and its grand houses. Both the plot and the way it is uncovered seemed just too precious to me but the vast cast of characters was certainly well observed.