Pulp Fiction: sex sells
Welcome to our new series on pulp fiction - the literature, not the film. To end LGBTQ+ History Month, today we're looking at gay, bisexual, trans, and particularly lesbian pulps.…
Librarians Recommend 2020
It's a new year and we've been looking back on all the books we read in 2020. With online literature festivals (including Richmond LitFest), a huge September-October publishing boom, a…
Banned Books Week 2020
This week is Banned Books Week 2020! Banned Books Week is an initiative spearheaded by the American Library Association (ALA) that occurs every year to highlight the importance of the…
Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1835-1915) – [Local History Notes: 21]
One of the most popular and prolific novelists of her day and the virtual founder of a new school of ‘sensational’ fiction, Miss Mary Elizabeth Braddon was born at Frith…
Charles Dickens and Richmond – [Local History Notes: 20]
Estella in Great Expectations (1861) states: ‘Our lesson is that there are two Richmonds, one in Surrey and one in Yorkshire, and that mine is the Surrey Richmond.' As early…
R D Blackmore (1825-1900) – [Local History Notes: 19]
R D Blackmore Richard Doddridge Blackmore was born on 7 June 1825 in Longworth, Berkshire, where his father, John Blackmore, was Curate-in-charge of the parish. Only a few months after…
Richmond Read-along 100
Welcome to the 100th day of the Richmond Read-along! This will be the last of our daily Read-alongs; we hope you enjoyed reading them as much as we enjoyed producing…
Richmond Read-along 99
Welcome back to the Richmond Read-along! Today's short story is from William Sydney Porter, who wrote under the pseudonym O. Henry. An American short story writer, his vignettes were featured…
Richmond Read-along 98
Welcome back to the Richmond Read-along! Today's poem is from Robert Herrick. His father's death during his childhood was hugely impactful on the young Herrick; his poetry is often preoccupied…
Richmond Read-along 97
Welcome back to the Richmond Read-along! Today we are reading a short story from Aldous Huxley, best known for his dystopian novel "Brave New World." Born in Godalming to a…