Little Face … chilling, compelling, original. ‘Lies were lethal, however honourable the intentions of the liar. They deprived people of the opportunity to know the basic facts of their own lives.’ Little Face, Sophie Hannah
The Trouble with Goats and Sheep. As the blurb says, ‘quirky and moving’. ‘It was strange how the past often broke into the present like an intruder, dangerous and unwanted. Yet whenever the past was invited in, whenever its presence was requested, it seemed to fade into nothing, and made you wonder if it had … Read more
Nine Perfect Strangers … perfect in every way. ‘You never changed your appearance for men, you changed it for other women, because they were the ones carefully tracking each other’s weight and skin tone, along with their own, they were the ones trapped with you on the ridiculous appearance obsession merry-go-round that they couldn’t or … Read more
Nicci French – gripping, dark and twisty … ‘No one is like anyone else. No one can be replaced. Every death is the end of a world. And they’re gone, and yet they remain.’ Day of the Dead, Nicci French
Anne Tyler (again) – an extraordinary writer … ‘She had always assumed that when she was old, she would have total confidence, finally. But look at her; still uncertain. In many ways she was more uncertain now than she had been as a girl.’ A Spool of Blue Thread, Anne Tyler
When the writing blows you away … ‘Dandy is small and chubby, clean-shaven with a neat Tony Curtis haircut and very small eyes. His suit is a herringbone check in black and white, double-breasted, the old style. His shirt is a strange shimmery orangey-red colour. He sports a puce handkerchief in his pocket and has … Read more
When you’re reading a book and something leaps off the page … ‘Every day was perfect that April. The scrawny beauty of our house warmed and melted in the spring light. Through the long screens of beech and ash plantations blackbirds flew low to the ground, calling high and scuttling low about their love affairs. … Read more
Lines that leap off the page … ‘All of us, in some private room of our minds, still hope for more: for real fame, for a sudden visit from the muse of first-rate. But we have more or less (according to our age and character) given up expecting it.’ Real People, Alison Lurie
When a moment jumps off the page … ‘Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlaying our hard hearts.’ Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
The bits of the book that leap off the page … ‘Life was the process of learning to live with less and less.You lost everyone close to you or they lost you. There were no other alternatives.’ The Intrusions, Stav Sherez
The bits of the book that jump off the page … ‘It is a miracle. I remind myself that I am on a tiny planet that is moving at an insane speed through a boundless universe, never tiring of its flight around the sun, and I think to myself: it’s crazy. That we exist at … Read more
When a line or two from a book you love stays with you … ‘She remembered things he did not; he remembered things she did not. Their past was a bolt of fabric they had scissored up and divided between them.’ Back When We Were Grownups, Anne Tyler
The bits of books that stay with you … ‘It is only with the heart that one can see clearly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.’ The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery
‘With the wedding so close, Rose had begun experiencing niggling doubts … Marriage, she decided, was momentous, requiring an almighty leap of faith.’ MARRIAGE, MISUNDERSTANDING and MR SELFRIDGE Harry Selfridge has been very much on my mind of late. For the last eighteen months or so I have been writing about him and recently … Read more
For as long as I can remember I have loved department stores so when the TV series, Mr Selfridge, launched in 2013 it was right up my street. Here was the captivating story of a towering London landmark, one I knew well. I soon realised how little I knew, however, about its charismatic founder, Harry … Read more
Before the first series of Mr Selfridge aired in 2012 I knew little about Harry Selfridge. I had been to Selfridges on London’s Oxford Street many times without ever giving a thought to the man behind the store. Yet it was clear there was something special about the place; something that set it apart from … Read more
I was already busy writing When Harry Met Rose: Mr Selfridge and the Search for Love when I went to a workshop with the author Simon Brett at the Writers’ Centre in Norwich in 2014. It was a short session, a couple of hours, and was part of the Noirwich festival, so the theme was … Read more
“Once I have it in my head what I want to write about I tend to plough on doggedly until I reach the end.” Chris Hill, author of The Pick-Up Artist I’m delighted to welcome award-winning author Chris Hill to the blog, just as his new novel, The Pick-Up Artist, launches. “Hi Maria and thanks … Read more
“I love her and that’s the beginning of everything.” F. Scott Fitzgerald When the new series of MR SELFRIDGE launches on ITV in January, 2015, I, for one, will be glued to my television. For me, there is something utterly fascinating about Harry Selfridge. In an era bound by convention, he stood out from the crowd. … Read more
The documentary series, Royal Marines Commando School, on Channel 4, ranks as some of the best TV I’ve seen in years. Watching the recruits tackle the world’s longest, toughest military training in their quest to become the best of the best has been a real eye-opener – terrific drama. The regime at Lympstone, in Devon, is … Read more