I came late to Daniel Defoe. I did not read A Journal of the Plague Year during our Plague. But this week I raced through Roxana, Defoe’s last novel, published in 1724, the rowdy, rollicking autobiography of Roxana, a-deserted-wife-turned-courtesan who delights in luxury but repents her sins. In fact, she is looking back in middle age at her life, saddened by…

Thornfield Hall | A Book Blog

27.08.2025

“Outrageous,” the Britbox Show about the Mitfords – Thornfield Hall

Outrageous, the new TV show about the Mitfords. If you are an out-of-control Mitford fan, that is, if you have read alll of Nancy's novels and biographies, and Jessica's hilarious autobiography and radical journalism, you must sit down with a pot of tea and prepare to watch Outrageous. Captain Nemo told me about Outrageous, the…

Thornfield Hall | A Book Blog

02.09.2025

Post-Party Reading: Nancy Mitford’s “Don’t Tell Alfred” – Thornfield Hall

I'm so exhausted by my birthday party that that I can hardly get off the couch. Pop-up cards! A picnic! Hours of conversation! And so I'm sitting around reading Nancy Mitford. No one is wittier than Nancy Mitford, and her last novel, Don't Tell Alfred (1960), is her best and funniest. Fanny, the narrator of…

Thornfield Hall | A Book Blog

02.09.2025

Distraction & Diversion: Chris Hayes’ “The Sirens’ Call” – Thornfield Hall

At the coffeehouse I asked my friend if her bookstore carried a new small-press book. She said it did not, but she would order it. "What's the title again?" "I've got a pen and paper here." "Oh, I've got my phone." I don't mean to be sanctimonious, but I was flabbergasted. Who would prefer typing…

home›Thornfield Hall | A Book Blog

Thornfield Hall | A Book Blog

Books & Literature

The Memoirs of a Courtesan: Daniel Defoe’s “Roxana” (Final Version) – Thornfield Hall

“Outrageous,” the Britbox Show about the Mitfords – Thornfield Hall

Post-Party Reading: Nancy Mitford’s “Don’t Tell Alfred” – Thornfield Hall

Distraction & Diversion: Chris Hayes’ “The Sirens’ Call” – Thornfield Hall

home
›
Thornfield Hall | A Book Blog