The Witch of Exmoor is a 1996 novel by Margaret Drabble. The novel is a social novel, with a focus on exploring the state of post-Thatcher Britain through the Dickensian satire of the Palmer family. [1] [2] The title describes the satirical protagonist, Frieda Palmer, who provides the source of much of the social commentary. [3]
The novel had mixed reviews. Washington Post reviewer Frances Sellers suggested that the novel's criticism of "Britain's privileged middle classes" might have turned her critics, which would endear her to middle class reviewers. [4]
The New York Times reviewer James Wood did not like the novel, focusing on how the novel's characters were underdeveloped "caricatures" and poor comparisons to the literary traditions created by Dickens and Woolf. [1] The Washington Post was similarly critical of the novel, writing that its "very strengths are its downfall. With its allusive style, caustic wit and sharp insights, it is a very clever book. But, just like the conundrum from which it draws its inspiration, it sometimes feels more like an intellectual exercise." [4]
Other reviewers were more positive. The L.A. Times describes the novel as successfully handling the difficult elements of "comic irony" where Drabble has "the balance just right and proves herself a master of the art". [2] Kirkus Reviews called the novel one of Drabble's "best and most assured novel in years" describing it as "satire and melodrama, nicely mixed, and a thoroughly satisfying entertainment." [5] Similarly Publishers Weekly describes the novel as "postmodern family drama at its best." [3]
Dame Margaret Drabble, Lady Holroyd, is an English biographer, novelist and short story writer.
The Hunter's Blades Trilogy is a fantasy trilogy by American writer R.A. Salvatore. It follows the Paths of Darkness series and is composed of three books: The Thousand Orcs, The Lone Drow, and The Two Swords. The Two Swords was Salvatore's 17th work concerning one of his most famous characters, Drizzt Do'Urden. In this series, Drizzt tries to stop an orc king from spreading chaos and war. The series reached the New York Times bestseller list and is followed by the installments of the Transitions series.
The Haj is a novel published in 1984 by American author Leon Uris that tells the story of the birth of Israel from the viewpoint of a Palestinian Arab.
The Memoirs of Cleopatra is a 1997 historical fiction novel written by American author Margaret George, detailing the purported life of Cleopatra VII, Queen of Egypt. Published on April 15, 1997, it landed on The New York Times Best Seller list for Fiction Hardcover. In 1999, the American network ABC adapted it for television, and released it as a four-part mini series entitled Cleopatra starring the French-Chilean actress Leonor Varela alongside Timothy Dalton and Billy Zane.
A Good House is the first novel by Canadian writer Bonnie Burnard, published by Picador in 1999 and later by Henry Holt and Company in United States of America. It was the winner of that year's Scotiabank Giller Prize. The novel narrates the story of a family in three generations, five houses starting from 1949 until 1997.
Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me is a novel by Javier Marías that was first published in 1994. Margaret Jull Costa's English translation was published by The Harvill Press in 1996, winner of the Rómulo Gallegos award and the Femina Award. The title of the 368-page novel is taken from William Shakespeare's Richard III, Act V, Scene 3.
Tana French is an American-Irish writer and theatrical actress. She is a longtime resident of Dublin, Ireland. Her debut novel In the Woods (2007), a psychological mystery, won the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, and Barry awards for best first novel. The Independent has referred to her as "the First Lady of Irish Crime".
Empire of Lies is a 2008 thriller novel written by screenwriter and Edgar-winner Andrew Klavan.
Shadow of Night is a 2012 historical-fantasy novel by American scholar Deborah Harkness, the second book in the All Souls trilogy. As the sequel to the 2011 bestseller, A Discovery of Witches, it follows the story of Diana Bishop, a historian who comes from a long line of witches, and Matthew Clairmont, a long-lived vampire, as they unlock the secrets of an ancient manuscript. Diana and Matthew travel back in time to 16th century London during the Elizabethan era.
The Peppered Moth is a 2000 novel by English writer Margaret Drabble; it is her fourteenth published novel. The novel follows the fictional experiences of three generations of women within one family, and contains several elements that are loosely based on Drabble's own biographical experience.
Jerusalem the Golden is a novel by Margaret Drabble published in 1967, and is a winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1967.
The Middle Ground is a 1980 novel by British novelist Margaret Drabble. It is her ninth published novel. The novel explores the "crisis of British urban life" through the eyes of a middle aged journalist, Kate Armstrong.
The Red Queen is a 2004 novel by British novelist Margaret Drabble. The novel describes the trip of a British academic on a trip to Seoul to give a paper at a conference. At the beginning of the novel, the academic, Dr. Babs Halliwell, reads the memoir of a 19th-century Korean princess.
The Pure Gold Baby is British novelist Margaret Drabble's 18th novel, first published in 2013. The novel was her first novel to be published in seven years, following The Sea Lady. In 2009, Drabble had pledged not to write fiction again, for fear of "repeating herself."
The Gates of Ivory is a 1991 novel by novelist Margaret Drabble. The novel is the third in a series of novels, following The Radiant Way and A Natural Curiosity. The novel continues the stories of several middle aged intellectuals introduced in the last two novels. The novel also introduces a new character, Stephen Cox who is loosely based on J.G. Farrell.
The Realms of Gold is a 1975 novel by British novelist Margaret Drabble. The novel explores the mid-life experiences of anthropologist Frances Wingate and her affair with Karel Schmidt.
The Seven Sisters is a 2002 novel by British novelist Margaret Drabble. The novel reflects on a mid-life crisis of an estranged Candida, when she moves to a rundown London apartment. The novel largely follows Candida's evasive and sometimes deceptive representation of events, including an epistolary section which is her "computer diary".
A Natural Curiosity is a 1989 novel by Margaret Drabble. The novel is an unintended sequel to Drabble's 1987 novel The Radiant Way, which follows the lives of the three protagonist women first introduced in that novel. The novel continues Drabble's interest in exploring the contemporary experience of the British middle class through the eyes of women.
Quichotte is a 2019 novel by Salman Rushdie. It is his fourteenth novel, published on 29 August 2019 by Jonathan Cape in the United Kingdom and Penguin Books India in India. It was published in the United States on 3 September 2019 by Random House. Inspired by Miguel de Cervantes's classic novel Don Quixote, Quichotte is a metafiction that tells the story of an addled Indian-American man who travels across America in pursuit of a celebrity television host with whom he has become obsessed.
We Are Water Protectors is a 2020 picture book written by Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Goade. Written in response to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, the book tells the story of an Ojibwe girl who fights against an oil pipeline in an effort to protect the water supply of her people. It was published by Roaring Brook Press on March 17, 2020. The book was well received. Critics praised its message of environmental justice, its depiction of diversity, and the watercolor illustrations, for which Goade won the 2021 Caldecott Medal, becoming the first Indigenous recipient of the award. The book also received the 2021 Jane Addams Children's Book Award winner in the Books for Younger Children category.