Enjoyable introduction to this author and series. One slight quip- I wouldn’t say that Barbara Pym’s novels are at all cynical. They display a certain skepticism about ossified ways of thinking and being but also a great affection and faith in everyday traditional ways(the middle brow, I guess)
Ooo how exciting! They sound like such a wonderful publisher and the quotes you read from those Elizabeth Fair books are hilarious! I may well contact them too!
Kate, one book you might really like is The Fortunate Miss East by Laurence Meynell. I stumbled across it, and it is now one of my favorite books, but hard to find!
I'm so thrilled about this series - Rachel and I talked about a couple of them, including an Elizabeth Fair, in a recent episode of 'Tea or Books?', and I can wholeheartedly recommend Ursula Orange and the brilliant novel The Lark by E Nesbit.
Kate lovely books. Have you visited the Furrowed Middlebrow blog? The owner Scott has documented so much about Middlebrow books and their authors. My favourite blog.
Great video, will check out the publisher now! Seaview House sound right out my street, I love stories set around the sea, it's a bit of a guilty pleasure for me :)
I love this publisher, I discovered them a little after their first publication of the Furrowed Middlebrow editions. I recently read the title, A Chelsea Concerto by Frances Faviell. A memoir about the London blitz. Really excited to see these editions being talked about in the book community. Your video was fabulous!
These sound great! Thanks for sharing😊. I have Mrs Pettigrew Lives For A Day ordered because you and a few other book tuners really love it. I'm excited to read it!!
I hadn't heard the term "middlebrow" before, but I'm exited about these books! Some of my favorite authors wrote between 1910 and 1960, and I'm looking forward to finding more! Thanks for this video! :-)
I bought two e-books, which were $1.99 each! I got Comes a Stranger by ER Punshon and The Man with the Dark Beard by Annie Haynes. So excited to read them! :-)
Are they considered modern classics solely because they were published in the 1950's or where they huge hits of their day that have been forgotten? I love the sound of Elizabeth Fair's work as I love and understand British humour much better than I do American/Canadian humour. Thanks Kate for bringing these books to our attention. PS. I just bought the book by E. Nesbit called The Lark from the series.. it sounds brilliant!
Mummah Bookworm That's a good point - I guess I would count them as modern classics since they're coming back into print and have people still wanting to read them. Is there such a thing as a niche modern classic?
I just found this video from quite a while ago and was intrigued because I had never heard of Elizabeth Fair. I will definitely see if I can find these books. I was thinking as I listened that you might like "My Friends the Miss Boyds," by Jane Duncan. She wrote a number of books with the "My Friend(s) the..." title. I have only read two; "My Friends the Miss Boyds" and the next one. "Miss Boyds" I really enjoyed, but I think the next one was kind of meh.
I love the name Furrowed Middlebrow! haha. So fun. How did you find out about this publisher?!? Thanks for letting us know. By the way, I love the wallpaper behind you! It's so pretty!
Thank you for teaching me about "Furrowed Middlebrow" literature! It's something that I've never heard of before, and I can't wait to hear what you think of these! Do you think Elizabeth Goudge would be considered furrowed middlebrow? I've been dying to read her books along with Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and I Capture the Castle.
Blatantly Bookish Elizabeth Goudge would definitely be considered Furrowed Middlebrow! I can't wait to hear what you think about all of these modern classics!
Blatantly Bookish I know I'm just adding an additional book to your TBR but I'm planning on reading The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West this summer if you were interested in doing a buddy read.
Thank you Kate! A buddy read this summer sounds like the perfect way to get into Furrowed Middlebrow lit. The Fountain Overflows it is! And if you change your mind by then and are dying to read a different selection of furrowed middlebrow lit that's ok too. Wherever you thing is a good place to start :)
Blatantly Bookish So The Fountain Overflows is not specifically published by Furrowed Middlebrow but is definitely middlebrow literature from the same era. I will actually be reading landscape and sunlight one of the ones featured in this video this summer if you would prefer to read that together. Either way I'd love to do a Somer buddy Reed with you!
Enjoyable introduction to this author and series.
One slight quip- I wouldn’t say that Barbara Pym’s novels are at all cynical. They display a certain skepticism about ossified ways of thinking and being but also a great affection and faith in everyday traditional ways(the middle brow, I guess)
I would have to agree to disagree :)
Ooo how exciting! They sound like such a wonderful publisher and the quotes you read from those Elizabeth Fair books are hilarious! I may well contact them too!
Kate, one book you might really like is The Fortunate Miss East by Laurence Meynell. I stumbled across it, and it is now one of my favorite books, but hard to find!
I'm so thrilled about this series - Rachel and I talked about a couple of them, including an Elizabeth Fair, in a recent episode of 'Tea or Books?', and I can wholeheartedly recommend Ursula Orange and the brilliant novel The Lark by E Nesbit.
Kate lovely books. Have you visited the Furrowed Middlebrow blog? The owner Scott has documented so much about Middlebrow books and their authors. My favourite blog.
Alch E Thanks! Yes- it's awesome! That's the blog I referenced him writing about Elizabeth Fair.
Thank you so much for sharing
Ana - bb03aav You're so welcome!
Oh these look amazing. I would love have these paperback editions, but I can't wait so I just ordered them for my kindle! Yay!
Living Medium That's soooo exciting! I hope we both love her!
Great video, will check out the publisher now! Seaview House sound right out my street, I love stories set around the sea, it's a bit of a guilty pleasure for me :)
I love this publisher, I discovered them a little after their first publication of the Furrowed Middlebrow editions. I recently read the title, A Chelsea Concerto by Frances Faviell. A memoir about the London blitz. Really excited to see these editions being talked about in the book community. Your video was fabulous!
Catie Butler Yay!! Yeah, I've seen these around bookstagram but not booktube so I'm so excited I got to share.
These books sound amazing! What a cool concept for this publisher and those covers are to die for!
These sound great! Thanks for sharing😊. I have Mrs Pettigrew Lives For A Day ordered because you and a few other book tuners really love it. I'm excited to read it!!
Elizabeth Wooten That makes me so happy! I hope you enjoy it!
😊❤️
Hi Kate. Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention. I am really looking forward to reading these.
Mamey's Medley You're so welcome!
You look so good in black! The covers are lovely.
Shelley Lawrence Thank you! 😘
I hadn't heard the term "middlebrow" before, but I'm exited about these books! Some of my favorite authors wrote between 1910 and 1960, and I'm looking forward to finding more! Thanks for this video! :-)
Samantha Pajor That's wonderful, looking forward to us all checking out more of these authors together!
I bought two e-books, which were $1.99 each! I got Comes a Stranger by ER Punshon and The Man with the Dark Beard by Annie Haynes. So excited to read them! :-)
Samantha Pajor Awesome! I hope you love them!
Oh, these books sound SO lovely!!!! I'm really excited to hear your thoughts on these books!!
Life Between Words Thank you, Katie! I think you'd really like some!
Are they considered modern classics solely because they were published in the 1950's or where they huge hits of their day that have been forgotten? I love the sound of Elizabeth Fair's work as I love and understand British humour much better than I do American/Canadian humour. Thanks Kate for bringing these books to our attention.
PS. I just bought the book by E. Nesbit called The Lark from the series.. it sounds brilliant!
Mummah Bookworm
That's a good point - I guess I would count them as modern classics since they're coming back into print and have people still wanting to read them. Is there such a thing as a niche modern classic?
I just found this video from quite a while ago and was intrigued because I had never heard of Elizabeth Fair. I will definitely see if I can find these books. I was thinking as I listened that you might like "My Friends the Miss Boyds," by Jane Duncan. She wrote a number of books with the "My Friend(s) the..." title. I have only read two; "My Friends the Miss Boyds" and the next one. "Miss Boyds" I really enjoyed, but I think the next one was kind of meh.
These definitely sound interesting! I'll be checking them out and I'll look forward to seeing what you think of what you got.
Tinahgirl83 Awesome!
I love the name Furrowed Middlebrow! haha. So fun. How did you find out about this publisher?!? Thanks for letting us know. By the way, I love the wallpaper behind you! It's so pretty!
BooksAndJams Isn't it cute? I saw several people post about them on Instagram. I'm glad you like my background!
👍👍👍
Thank you for teaching me about "Furrowed Middlebrow" literature! It's something that I've never heard of before, and I can't wait to hear what you think of these! Do you think Elizabeth Goudge would be considered furrowed middlebrow? I've been dying to read her books along with Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and I Capture the Castle.
Blatantly Bookish Elizabeth Goudge would definitely be considered Furrowed Middlebrow! I can't wait to hear what you think about all of these modern classics!
Yay! I don't know when I'll get around to reading them, but I hope I do soon :)
Blatantly Bookish I know I'm just adding an additional book to your TBR but I'm planning on reading The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West this summer if you were interested in doing a buddy read.
Thank you Kate! A buddy read this summer sounds like the perfect way to get into Furrowed Middlebrow lit. The Fountain Overflows it is! And if you change your mind by then and are dying to read a different selection of furrowed middlebrow lit that's ok too. Wherever you thing is a good place to start :)
Blatantly Bookish So The Fountain Overflows is not specifically published by Furrowed Middlebrow but is definitely middlebrow literature from the same era. I will actually be reading landscape and sunlight one of the ones featured in this video this summer if you would prefer to read that together. Either way I'd love to do a Somer buddy Reed with you!
Have you read all of these and still recommend them? I’m looking into buying a few and wondered how people think of them.