Persephoneclub

I loved this book. I can identify with both ladies—Mrs. Willoughby and her lists, and Mrs. Fowler “dipping into” her books. I just don‘t know how Belle got so many men to marry her. 🤷‍♀️

This is my first Richmal Crompton, but it definitely won‘t be my last.

#PersephoneClub

rubyslippersreads @quietjenn @Caryl @sisilia @daena @LeahBergen @JenlovesJT47 @elkeOriginal @Gissy @Aimeesue @Tamra 6d

rubyslippersreads @Teresereading @andrew61 @Cathythoughts @Bookbuyingaddict @julieclair @willaful @CarolynM 6d

LeahBergen Me, too! I keep intending to read more of her novels. 6d

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tpixie I like that expression “dipping into books”! 📚 5d

JenlovesJT47 I am so far behind on most of my buddy reads, hoping to catch up soon! 5d

CarolynM I read and loved a few of her Just William books in childhood. I definitely want to read more of her adult books now. 5d

60 likes6 comments

quietjenn

Family Roundabout | Richmal Crompton

pick

Realizing that I never posted about the #PersephoneClub book this month, which I quite liked a lot, despite being populated with so many unlikable people 😂. But it was so compelling and, as others have observed, such a strong picture of a particular time and class. I'll certainly read more Crompton in the future.

LeahBergen Your model looks a tad cranky. 😆 2w

dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 2w

quietjenn @LeahBergen that's just Resting Dottie Face. Which is why she is 100% my familiar. 😹 1w

LeahBergen 😆😆 1w

rubyslippersreads I‘m late with my review too. 6d

53 likes5 comments

andrew61

Family Roundabout | Richmal Crompton

pick

I very much enjoyed this inter War story of two families and the widowed matriarchs who are very different with parenting styles that put each other at odds. The story of the impact on the children who, in the end, seem lost while the g/children appear to be a thriving new generation.
@quietjenn @Tamra @CarolynM @sisilia @Caryl @daena @elkeOriginal @Gissy @Aimeesue @Bookbuyingaddict @julieclair @willaful @LeahBergen #persephoneclub ⬇️

andrew61 I loved the authors brilliant characterisation of the individual family members albeit the men are all fairly pathetic. The end scenes of Mrs fowler and Mrs Willoughby reflecting on the fact they have missed on a lifetime of friendship because of their images of each other is very poignant. There is so much in this book that I enjoyed and it felt like the cazaler chronicles may have drawn inspiration from the tale. 3w

Cathythoughts Great review Andrew. Yes poignant that these two women missed a lifetime of friendship together, I‘ve seen this happen with in-laws in families… such a loss at the end of the day. They had so many loved ones in common. 3w

LeahBergen Great review, Andrew! 3w

Bookbuyingaddict Great 👍 review I‘m just finishing it now as I type : it has been my favourite ❤️ Persephone since high wages , and yes hadn‘t thought about it but compares beautifully to the wonderful cazalet chronicles. I do love a good family drama 🎭 Iv just realised it‘s one of my favourite troupes 😆 it‘s a 5star read from me- I wish some one would drown Bella 😆 in a vat of tea 🫖 3w

49 likes4 comments

CarolynM

Family Roundabout | Richmal Crompton

pick

#PersephoneClub

I feel a bit guilty for enjoying this story so much since pretty much all the characters were unhappy one way or another. All those unhappy marriages! Did no one ever marry someone they actually liked? Widowed Mrs Fowler was the only one who seemed mostly contented, but even she was tinged with sadness about absent sons. Belle was quite a character - I thought she could be a grown up Violet Elizabeth from the Just William books 😆

rubyslippersreads, quietjenn, Caryl, sisilia, daena, LeahBergen, JenlovesJT47, elkeOriginal, Gissy, Aimeesue, Tamra, Teresereading, andrew61, Cathythoughts, Bookbuyingaddict, julieclair, willaful

LeahBergen What a great review! I didn‘t get the Just William link but it was probably too much of an interval between my readings. 😆😆 3w

CarolynM @LeahBergen Belle was just the sort of woman I could imagine as a child threatening to “thcream and thcream and thcream til I‘m thick!” in order to get her own way🤣 3w

BarbaraBB Great review. 3w

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Cathythoughts Great review! All those unhappy marriages were sad to see. The way they were written was very insightful though. 3w

Cathythoughts I did love Mrs. Willoughby‘s inclusiveness of distant relatives , and her kindness behind her ‘ Sargeant Major‘ style of leading her family. It also made me look at my own role in my family and how much, and how, I move within its orbit… (edited) 3w

andrew61 Great review. The bit at the end when Mrs fowler and Mrs Willoughby are playing bridge and regretting their feelings towards each other was very moving. I felt I needed a book on each character particularly the g/c Jessica and Gillian. Reminded me a lot of the cazalet chronicles 3w

LeahBergen @CarolynM Haha, yes!! 😆 3w

MaureenMc @andrew61 Ooh, Cazalet Chronicles comparison! *stacked* 3w

rubyslippersreads I wanted to smack Belle, and I wanted to tell Cynthia to snap out of her mooning over Arnold. 6d

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Cathythoughts

Family Roundabout | Richmal Crompton

pick

I enjoyed our two widowed matriarchs , and both with five children. Helen was probably my favourite character. The title aptly describes family life and history repeating itself. It reminded me of Joni Mitchell‘s song The Circle Game. Great choice @CarolynM #PersephoneClub

LeahBergen Oh, you finished! I really enjoyed my time with these families, too. 4w

rwmg I was well into adulthood before I discovered Richmal Compton was a woman 4w

Cathythoughts @LeahBergen Yes, a very enjoyable read. ❤️ 4w

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Cathythoughts @rwmg Yes, I got a bit of a surprise when I looked up the author 👍🏻😁 4w

andrew61 As Just William was one of my earliest reading experiences I am really enjoying this as well Cathy. The family scenes and characters evoke the Brown family and that middle class England feel. 4w

Cathythoughts @andrew61 I never read Just William… a gap in my education. But this is enjoyable … 👍🏻 4w

Tamra I am not very far in and enjoying it - feels like I‘m a bit of a nosey fly on the wall. 😆 4w

sarahbarnes I love that song. ♥️ Great review. This sounds lovely. 4w

Cathythoughts @Tamra I know ! We are getting all the info … love it 😂 4w

Cathythoughts @sarahbarnes Thanks X Yes , I love Joni Mitchell ❤️ 4w

CarolynM Lovely review. The repeating patterns were quite sad in this story, I thought. Maybe I was too young to judge, but I always thought the Brown family were happy @andrew61 3w

andrew61 @CarolynM I think it was those first scenes in the fowler household of them sitting in the sunshine having afternoon tea, I expected William to pop out of the bushes looking suitably mudded to pop his older brother and sisters pomposity. Definitely enjoying this pick although the fate of the children seems quite sad. 3w

71 likes12 comments

Cathythoughts

Family Roundabout | Richmal Crompton

New books arrived today ❤️
First up will be our Persephone read for February. #Persephoneclub

Lesliereadsalot Olive will be one of the most interesting people you‘ll ever meet. 1mo

Cathythoughts @Lesliereadsalot Very good 😁 1mo

Ruthiella I‘m interested to observe your journey into Strout‘s slightly connected universe of characters. 1mo

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Cathythoughts @Ruthiella I‘m looking forward to it 😁 1mo

DrSabrinaMoldenReads Agree with you @Ruthiella I LOVE Olive !! 1mo

LeahBergen Lovely! 👏 1mo

squirrelbrain You‘ll love Olive! And the Shafak is amazing too. 1mo

Cathythoughts @DrSabrinaMoldenReads I‘m looking forward to getting to know her 👍🏻 1mo

Cathythoughts @LeahBergen Thanks Leah 😘 1mo

Cathythoughts @squirrelbrain Oh great 😊 👏🏻 1mo

81 likes10 comments

Caryl

BookSpinBingo | Untitled

My bookshelf is ready for a new month! February‘s #BookSpin pick is also the #PersephoneClub pick (yay!), and my #DoubleSpin pick is a genre I don‘t usually read. (My alma mater is hosting a book talk on romance novels, and this is one of the titles they‘ll be discussing.) Looking forward to both!

#BookSpinBINGO

TheAromaofBooks

LeahBergen Well, that was some good Persephone luck! 😄 1mo

TheAromaofBooks Yay!! Enjoy!!! 1mo

19 likes2 comments

LitsyEvents

Family Roundabout | Richmal Crompton

repost for @LeahBergen:

It‘s now February so that means it‘s time for one of our #PersephoneClub reads!

@CarolynM ‘s pick for us this month is Family Roundabout by Richmal Crompton. This is a casual buddy read; read and comment on each other‘s posts and reviews as you see them. We usually aim to finish by the middle of the month but that‘s not written in stone. 😉 And anyone is welcome to read along with us, of course!

LeahBergen Thanks for the repost! 1mo

38 likes1 comment

LeahBergen

Family Roundabout | Richmal Crompton

It‘s now February so that means it‘s time for one of our #PersephoneClub reads!

@CarolynM ‘s pick for us this month is Family Roundabout by Richmal Crompton. This is a casual buddy read; read and comment on each other‘s posts and reviews as you see them. We usually aim to finish by the middle of the month but that‘s not written in stone. 😉 And anyone is welcome to read along with us, of course!

rubyslippersreads, quietjenn, Caryl, sisilia, daena, LeahBergen, JenlovesJT47, elkeOriginal, Gissy, Aimeesue, Tamra, Teresereading, andrew61, Cathythoughts, Bookbuyingaddict, julieclair, willaful

Teresereading Still waiting for my copy to arrive 📚 1mo

LeahBergen @Teresereading I hope it arrives soon. 😀 1mo

daena Can‘t wait to get started. Waiting on my copy too! 1mo

See All 14 Comments

Tamra Off the shelf! Thank for your the reminder. 😊 1mo

julieclair Looking forward to it! 1mo

CarolynM Hope it‘s a good one🤞 1mo

Cathythoughts Thanks Leah, my copy was meant to arrive a couple of days ago. So I should have it Monday Looking forward to it ❤️ 1mo

LeahBergen @daena @Tamra @julieclair @CarolynM @Cathythoughts This is one I‘ve already read and really enjoyed. I hope you all like it, too! 1mo

Caryl I started it last night and I'm quite invested in the characters already! Great pick @CarolynM! (edited) 1mo

LeahBergen @Caryl I found that I was, too! 1mo

Teresereading My copy‘s arrived! 1mo

LeahBergen @Teresereading Yay! 👏 1mo

elkeOriginal Real life has really messed up my reading but I am still here and hope to catch up on our group reads (furrowed too) at some point📚 4w

LeahBergen @elkeOriginal No worries! My life is a bit that way, too, at the moment. As long as we check in with each other every so often … right? 😄 4w

54 likes14 comments

rubyslippersreads

Emmeline | Judith Rossner

Catching up on last month‘s #PersephoneClub book. I‘m fascinated by stories of the Lowell Mill girls, but this one is particularly bleak. It took me a long time to finish because my feelings of dread kept growing stronger and stronger, as did my anger at most of the characters. Poor Emmeline never had a chance.

rubyslippersreads @quietjenn @Caryl @sisilia @CarolynM @daena @LeahBergen @elkeOriginal @Gissy @Aimeesue @Tamra @andrew61 @Cathythoughts @Bookbuyingaddict @julieclair @willaful 2mo

LeahBergen Poor Emmeline, indeed. 😬 2mo

quietjenn I am very behind, but already not expecting a happy ending ... 2mo

See All 8 Comments

CarolynM So much to be angry about in this book! 2mo

Cathythoughts Great review. Tough book , Yes, a lot of feelings of dread. 2mo

Bookbuyingaddict Great 👍 review & totally agree , poor emmeline beauty was a curse all she craved was friendship & love ❤️ the women were jealous and awful to her whilst the men lusted or treated her as a pawn 😩certainly no sisterhood 👯‍♀️in this book ! Glad I read it though thank you 🙏 Leah x x x. X 2mo

rubyslippersreads @Bookbuyingaddict Even Matthew (before anyone knew who he really was) could be possessive and controlling. 2mo

rubyslippersreads @CarolynM @Cathythoughts Yes. Hard to find many likable characters. 2mo

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