Tea or Books? #101: Rachel explores Simon’s shelves

Rachel takes a look at Simon’s bookshelves – will she take any books away with her?? Way back in episode 70, I was in Rachel’s flat in London and took a look around her bookcases. We planned a return visit…

Rachel takes a look at Simon’s bookshelves – will she take any books away with her??

Way back in episode 70, I was in Rachel’s flat in London and took a look around her bookcases. We planned a return visit… and then the pandemic happened. But now travel and visiting is easier, we have finally got around to organising Rachel coming out to rural West Oxfordshire to look at my bookcases.

Trailing around with a mic was a bit tricky, so the sound isn’t perfect – but hopefully plenty to enjoy nonetheless.

You can support the podcast on Patreon – where, from this episode, you’ll get episodes a few days early! Find the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get podcasts – and you can get in touch at [email protected].

The (enormous number of!) books and authors we mention in this episode are:

A Natural History of Ghosts by Roger Clark

Contested Will by James Shapiro

A Woman of Passion: A Life of E. Nesbit by Julia Briggs

The Lark by E. Nesbit

The Life and Loves of E. Nesbit by Eleanor Fitzsimons

Five Windows by D.E. Stevenson

Four Gardens by Margery Sharp

Return to Cheltenham by Helen Ashton

The Half-Crown House by Helen Ashton

Jane Austen

Master Man by Ruby Ayres

Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker

Elizabeth Bowen

Illyrian Spring by Ann Spring

Her Son’s Wife by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

The Brimming Cup by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

The Deepening Stream by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

The Two Doctors by Elizabeth Cambridge

Susan and Joanna by Elizabeth Cambridge

Willa Cather

Children of the Archbishop by Norman Collins

London Belongs to Me by Norman Collins

The Double Heart by Lettice Cooper

Desirable Residence by Lettice Cooper

The Rising Tide by Margaret Deland

Will Shakespeare by Clemence Dane

Catchword and Claptrap by Rose Macaulay

Virginia Woolf

Tea Is So Intoxicating by Mary Essex

The Amorous Bicycle by Mary Essex

A Child in the Theatre by Rachel Ferguson

Alas, Poor Lady by Rachel Ferguson

The Brontes Went To Woolworths by Rachel Ferguson

The Matchmaker by Stella Gibbons

My American by Stella Gibbons

Miss Linsey and Pa by Stella Gibbons

Told In Winter by Jon Godden

Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden

Brief Candles by Aldous Huxley

The Honours Board by Pamela Hansford Johnson

An Error of Judgement by Pamela Hansford Johnson

The Unspeakable Skipton by Pamela Hansford Johnson

Love of Seven Dolls by Paul Gallico

Coronation by Paul Gallico

Too Many Ghosts by Paul Gallico

The Hand of Mary Constable by Paul Gallico

Stephen Leacock

The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins

Harriet by Elizabeth Jenkins

Honey by Elizabeth Jenkins

Robert and Helen by Elizabeth Jenkins

Herbert Jenkins

The World My Wilderness by Rose Macaulay

The Towers of Trebizond by Rose Macaulay

Dangerous Ages by Rose Macaulay

The Making of Bigot by Rose Macaulay

Mystery at Geneva by Rose Macaulay

What Not by Rose Macaulay

Told By An Idiot by Rose Macaulay

Summertime by Denis Mackail

We’re Here by Denis Mackail

Greenery Street by Denis Mackail

What Next? by Denis Mackail

Ian and Felicity by Denis Mackail

The House by William McElwee

The Heir by Vita Sackville-West

Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley

The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley

Safety Pins by Christopher Morley

Thunder on the Left by Christopher Morley

Where The Blue Begins by Christopher Morley

An Unexpected Guest by Bernadette Murphy

Beverley Nichols

The Shoreless Sea by Mollie Panter-Downes

The Storm Bird by Mollie Panter-Downes

My Husband Simon by Mollie Panter-Downes

The Priory by Dorothy Whipple

Bewildering Cares by Winifred Peck

A Clear Dawn by Winifred Peck

Housebound by Winifred Peck

Lavender and Old Lace by Myrtle Reed

The White Shield by Myrtle Reed

Cluny Brown by Margery Sharp

The Gipsy in the Parlour by Margery Sharp

D.E. Stevenson

Elizabeth Taylor

Gin and Ginger by Lady Kitty Vincent

Lipstick by Lady Kitty Vincent

The Benefactress by Elizabeth von Arnim

Princess Priscilla’s Fortnight by Elizabeth von Arnim

Father by Elizabeth von Arnim

The Happy Ending by Leo Walmsley

The Golden Waterwheel by Leo Walmsley

Love in the Sun by Leo Walmsley

The True Heart by Sylvia Townsend Warner

Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner

Swans on an Autumn River by Sylvia Townsend Warner

Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day by Winifred Watson

Fell Top by Winifred Watson

Some Must Watch by Ethel Lina White

The Wheel Turns by Ethel Lina White

The Dragon in Shallow Waters by Vita Sackville-West

The Hills Sleep On by Joanna Cannan

Three Lives by Lettice Cooper

The Thinking Reed by Rebecca West

Elizabeth Berridge

Margaret Drabble

The East Window by Margaret Morrison

There is a Tide by Agnes Logan

The Dogs Do Bark by Barbara Willard

The Gothic House by Jean Ross

The Visitors by Mary MacMinni es

A Lion, A Mouse and a Motor-Car by Dorothea Townshend

Sally on the Rocks by Winifred Boggs

O, The Brave Music by Dorothy Evelyn Smith

Faster! Faster! by E.M. Delafield

The War Workers by E.M. Delafield

Mrs Harter by E.M. Delafield

The Heel of Achilles by E.M. Delafield

Tension by E.M. Delafield

The Pelicans by E.M. Delafield

Frost at Morning by Richmal Crompton

Matty and the Dearingroydes by Richmal Crompton

This Little Art by Kate Briggs

Edith Olivier

A Fairy Leapt Upon My Knee by Bea Howe

David Garnett

Sylvia Townsend Warner

Pride of Place by Patience McElwee

Miss Elizabeth Bennet by A.A. Milne

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Infused: Adventures in Tea by Henrietta Lovell

Beware of Children by Verily Anderson

Spam Tomorrow by Verily Anderson

The Three Brontes by May Sinclair

The Three Sisters by May Sinclair

Katherine Mansfield

Mitford sisters

As It Was and World Without End by Helen Thomas

Edward Thomas

Love, Interrupted by Simon Thomas

Leaves in the Wind by Alpha of the Plough

Wintering by Katherine May

The Electricity of Every Living Thing by Katherine May

Oliver Sacks

Random Commentary by Dorothy Whipple

The Other Day by Dorothy Whipple