Tennis + Two Old Books + One New Book

What a fantastic final at Roland Garros in France yesterday. Amazing tennis, two finalists, Spain versus Italy, both born this century - frightening thought - and as the commentators said we could be watching them in finals for another 10 years or even more. Both fluent in English as all young people in Europe seem to be now and they both seem nicer than moany Djokovic. I was pleased to see Andre Agassi there presenting the cup - a favourite of mine from the 90's and early 2,000s.

( The Tour of France Cycling is only on Channel 4 for this year and then that's also lost to Discovery+ & TNT)

Last week  I read two books from my shelves while waiting for my library books to travel to Stowmarket.

'The Habit of Widowhood' by Robert Barnard is a book of short crime stories published in 1996  by this prolific writer (1936 - 2013). I've read many of his crime novels written all through the 70's, 80's and 90s.

These 17 short stories are all murders or crimes involving husbands, wives or lovers, who find a way to murder and all really well written.

'The Far Country' by Nevil Shute (1899- 1961) was written in 1952. This was really a re-read, if it's counted as that, considering I read it 50+ years ago!

He wrote many books between the 1920's and 1960's and they were well known and popular at that time and for many years and are still reprinted occasionally .  Nevil Shute settled in Australia after the war and many of his books are set, or partially set there. 

In Australia the Dorman family have just received their best ever cheque for the years wool production. Jane Dorman had moved away from England several years previously when she met her Australian husband during the war. Jane writes regularly to her Aunt in England, the only person who had supported her marriage and emigration. When she realises her Aunt seems to be very poor she sends money. The money arrives too late for Aunt Ethel- who has been too proud to ask for help but she manages to pass the money onto her Granddaughter Jennifer so that she can visit Australia. The differences between dull, drab post war London and new bright Australia are well described and a good look at that period of history.

The new book was one of the library books. Susie Dent ' Guilty by Definition' . This is such a clever and well written story set in the offices of the Clarendon English Dictionary offices in Oxford, ( No doubt based on her work at the Oxford English Dictionary).

(For anyone  who doesn't know, Susie Dent is well known as a Lexicographer in this country she has been on the daily words and number  quiz programme Countdown for 30 years. She has written many non fiction books about language.)

In this book, her first novel, a cryptic anonymous coded letter arrives at the offices and seems to have a connection to Dictionary compiler Martha's sister Charlie who disappeared from Oxford 10 years earlier. More letters and postcards arrive sent to anyone who knew Charlie and even some who didn't. The team use their knowledge of the history of words to decipher the letters.

The book mentions all sorts of unusual and unknown words and their origins and makes for a really good story.

Her second novel in the 'Linguistic Mystery' series will be published in 2026.

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