iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

You might think you dont need to read a biography of Barbara Cartland - but maybe you do. @Matthew Sweet's book is hilarious, and fascinating, and is also a history of the 20th century clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/09/barb...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

Barbara Cartland: Give Pink a Chance

The Great Dictator by Matthew Sweet published 2026 Writing about the Royals for the I newspaper recently, I picked up Matthew Sweet’s...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Is E Phillips Oppenheim the King of Tosh? I consider myself the Queen of writing about Tosh so maybe I can judge. The Interloper is a splendid book aobut the high life, low morals, and an unexpected heir... clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/09/king...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

King of Tosh: E Phillips Oppenheim

The Interloper by E Phillips Oppenheim aka The Ex-Duke published1927 For clarity: I would say that I am the Queen o...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

the i newspaper asked me to turn my champagne socialist eye on books on the royals. I like an element of fairness and an element on gossip/bitchiness - these are my recommendations clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/09/look...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

Looking at Royal books for the I newspaper

I know my Royal books as only a confirmed Republican champagne socialist can. I read them all with a strong suspicious gaze, entrenche...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Why has nobody done a TV drama of Georgette Heyer's detective stories? They re funny, dramatic and have great clothes. Case in point: No Wind of Blame, with Vicky dressing to suit a different persona every day (sometimes several times a day) clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/09/clot...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

Clothes for poses, and a Heyer detective classic

I am back from my holidays, and also from doing another project - more soon. Thank you for continuing to look and comment while I was awa...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Anthony Berkeley writes good Golden Age detective stories - and his survive - but does he have a strange view of what constitues an old lady? Does anyone have worse examples of writers describing people (mostly women) in their 50s, or even 40s, as old? clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/09/how-...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

How Old is Old? The Anthony Berkeley Version

The Top Story Murder by Anthony Berkeley published 1931 I was in two minds on whether to do a blogpost on this one, and the main...

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Dean Street Press @deanstpress.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

"You must always take a stout tweed skirt, a pullover and a waterproof to Scotland, even when it seems very warm." A huge thank you to Clothes in Books for spotlighting Patricia Wentworth's classic standalone thriller, Fear by Night. She knew exactly how to spin a proper yarn!

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Patricia Wentworth is famous for her Miss Silver mysteries - but she wrote fun standalones too. This one features a remote Scottish loch, a young heiress trapped, and who-knows-what swimming around clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/09/fear...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

Fear by Night by Patricia Wentworth

Fear by Night by Patricia Wentworth published 1934 [There has been a problem with comments, now resolved. Let me know if there are ever is...

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Tipping My Fedora @tippingmyfedora.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Happy birthday to George Lazenby, who turns 87 today. To celebrate, I am joined on the podcast by Mark Dillon to discuss our favourite James Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Apple buff.ly/wDl4xnB Podbean buff.ly/wk2LnPK Spotify buff.ly/34bRrLu YouTube shorturl.at/Cj5rC

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Dean Street Press @deanstpress.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

We're so flattered to have our own F1 keyboard shortcut on your blog—that might be the highest praise a publisher could ask for! We adore Henrietta Clandon and are so proud of the four titles we brought back into print. It’s always a treat to read your vintage crime reviews!

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Lee Randall @leerandall.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

The Great Gladys!

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

We are still looking at dower houses on the blog, and readers are still commenting and sending in suggestions, so here's a few more: Georgette Heyer, John Le Carre and a GA special ('the full bingo line') from - who else? - Dean St Press clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/09/we-h...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

We haven't finished with Dower Houses

- yet more of them.... I should’ve known the blog readers would do me proud. I thought Dower Houses might be too obscure even for th...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

'An enjoyable farrago' could describe almost all Gladys Mitchell's Mrs Bradley books. This one is The Dancing Druids, and is great fun clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/08/the-...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

The Dancing Druids by Gladys Mitchell

The Dancing Druids by Gladys Mitchell published 1948 A most enjoyable farrago (words that can be used about most Mitchell books) b...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

after a recent post on dower houses, the ultimate book on the subject: Henry James' Spoils of Poynton, a huge delight and as exciting as any crime story clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/08/the-...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

The ultimate dower house issue: The Spoils of Poynton

The Spoils of Poynton by Henry James published 1896/7 Fleda Vetch. How would you picture this character? In a Patricia Wentworth...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

The ever-wonderful @lissakevans.bsky.social has produced a new book for young adults, and it is hilarious, and too good to keep for teens. Post about her schoolboy hero, and about great fictional schools in general. My Name is Mackenzie Bly * No it Isn't clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/08/a-ne...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

A New Favourite Schoolboy: not called MacKenzie Bly

Fictional schools: there’s a new one in town I recently did this post LIVING A LIFE IN BOOKS: HOLIDAYS on fictional h...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Indeed - lovely DSP publush Wentworth's Dower House Mystery, a kind of ur-text 😀

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Lissa Evans @lissakevans.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Fabulous, as usual (and I’m not just saying that because one of my books gets a mention!) Truly, it’s the best, and the best-written, book blog I know of.

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Sometimes I like to do a theme post on a topic you might not even know you were interested in. I will try to persuade you - Dower Houses, what they are and why they feature in books from Heyer to Drabble, Yonge to Henry James, Wentworth to Enid Blyton clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/08/do-y...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

Do you even know what a Dower House is?

DOWER HOUSES IN LITERATURE Sometimes when I do a theme post, I think 'will anyone else care?' But - I can’t be the only person who is in...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

A solid 1950s crime story: a husband-and-wife team investigatig dirty deeds in a Fleet St picture agency.... Henrietta Hamilton's Answer in the Negative, part of a new series of reprints by Penguin clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/08/answ...

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Answer in the Negative by Henrietta Hamilton

Answer in the Negative by Henrietta Hamilton published 1959 searching for secrets in the files.... The publishers Penguin Mi...

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Tipping My Fedora @tippingmyfedora.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

The protagonists of LAURA, REBECCA, THE THIRD MAN & VERTIGO may be both alive & dead. A quantum dream fit for Schroedinger? Moira Redmond @clothesinbooks.bsky.social helps me separate fact from fantasy. Apple buff.ly/wDl4xnB Podbean buff.ly/wk2LnPK Spotify buff.ly/34bRrLu YouTube shorturl.at/Cj5rC

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Tipping My Fedora @tippingmyfedora.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

That beacon of sartorial intelligence, Moira Redmond of @clothesinbooks.bsky.social, joins me to look at some of the fashions of 1944 as displayed in the mystery classic, LAURA. Apple buff.ly/wDl4xnB Podbean buff.ly/wk2LnPK Spotify buff.ly/34bRrLu YouTube shorturl.at/Cj5rC

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

More pioneer activities - in Western Massachussets and out on the prairie. Daniel Mason's North Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Long Winter. And a seance and whiffletrees clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/08/more...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

More on Pioneer Times: Daniel Mason & Laura Ingalls Wilder

North Woods by Daniel Mason published 2023 The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder published 1940 [ Excerpt from North Woods ] Ana...

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Tipping My Fedora @tippingmyfedora.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Did you know George Sanders played Waldo Lydecker in LAURA on TV in 1955 & again in 1968? shorturl.at/Iep2t Moira Redmond @clothesinbooks.bsky.social joins me for a bit of Fedora compare & contrast! Apple buff.ly/wDl4xnB Podbean buff.ly/wk2LnPK Spotify buff.ly/34bRrLu YouTube shorturl.at/Cj5rC

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Did Anne Boleyn have a stepmother? No, so why did people conjure up this imgainary person, whom they then libelled as being scandalous and low-class? An investigation on the blog clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/08/when...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

Anne Boleyn's Imaginary Stepmother (low class and scandalous)

Elizabeth Howard? The Concubine by Norah Lofts published 1963 The Lady in the Tower by Jean Plaidy published 1989 The Lives ...

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Tipping My Fedora @tippingmyfedora.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Given the scorching weather we're having, Moira Redmond of @clothesinbooks.bsky.social joins me in Waldo Lydecker's cool bath to find out what really happened to the eponymous New York socialite in LAURA Apple buff.ly/wDl4xnB Podbean buff.ly/wk2LnPK Spotify buff.ly/34bRrLu YouTube shorturl.at/Cj5rC

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

New substack newsletter, rounding up recent blogposts: ranging from noir film & podcast (h/t Sergio Angelini) to Ralph Lauren adverts, childhood reading, and what schoolgirls wore for PE clothesinbook.substack.com/p/a-tip-of-m...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Always a joy: I've been a guest on Sergio Angelini's podcast, Tipping My Fedora, to discuss Laura: the classic noir film based on the classic book by Vera Caspary clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/08/tipp...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

Tipping My Fedora: Vera, a classic film and book....

Vera by Laura Caspary book published 1943 film released 1944 My old friend Sergio Angelini has a wonderful podcast called Tippi...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Sergio and I had a great time discussing this....

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Tipping My Fedora @tippingmyfedora.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

On the podcast today I am joined by the impeccably attired Moira Redmond, she of the awesone Clothes in Books blog, @clothesinbooks.bsky.social, to explore the 1944 Film Noir classic, LAURA. Apple buff.ly/wDl4xnB Podbean buff.ly/wk2LnPK Spotify buff.ly/34bRrLu YouTube shorturl.at/Cj5rC

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

New York in the 1980s: it's been written about a lot, but this is one of the better versions. Story of My Life by Jay McInerney clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/08/stor...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

Story of My Life by Jay McInerney

Story of My Life by Jay McInerney published 1988 *** After a blog outage this week, a reminder that this would be a good time to si...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

New York in the 1980s: it's been written about a lot, but this is one of the better versions. Story of My Life by Jay McInerney clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/08/stor...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

Story of My Life by Jay McInerney

Story of My Life by Jay McInerney published 1988 *** After a blog outage this week, a reminder that this would be a good time to si...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

My blog, Clothes in Books, disappeared briefly, but is now BACK. More in my latest post, which is about a very obscure Gladys Mitchell book - a career novel about becoming a PE instructor. I take a look at the genre.... clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/08/back...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

Back from the brink, and choosing a career....

My blog disappeared from the web for close to 24 hours this week, which was a shock and a worry. Google removed it for breaking community ...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

A look at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953, through the eyes of Angela Thirkell. So plenty of snobbery and plenty of jokes. clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/08/a-co...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

A Coronation and a Question

What Did It Mean? by Angela Thirkell published 1954 This one was suggested when we were looking at books with question-marks in ...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Finishing off my look at Reginald Hill's Dalziel & Pascoe series - the last one was one of the very best, and we also get a chance to look at Reservoir Noir. What a great writer he was clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/07/from...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

From On Beulah Height to Midnight Fugue: Reginald Hill

On Beulah Height & Midnight Fugue by Reginald Hill published 1998 & 2009 I am working through Reginald Hill’s Dalziel and Pascoe b...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

We love a book-y theme on the blog, and today it is childhood reading, and stories of children caught reading the wrong book. And Peter Dickinson defending the right to NOT 'go out into that lovely sunshine' but to stay in reading comics.... clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/07/chil...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

Childhood reading and intellectual freedom

In the recent sunny weather in the UK I was reminded of a favourite quotation from revered author Peter Dickinson : “Nobody who has no...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

I've argued with you about this series over the years, but on a big birthday I'll be gracious - all fans should read and listen!

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

An unusual book from 1946 - is it a novel, is it crime? - and one that lingers in the mind. The story of a really monstrous mother; but what made her that way? The Late Mrs Prioleau by Monica Tindall @deanstpress.bsky.social h/t clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

The Late Mrs Prioleau by Monica Tindall

The Late Mrs Prioleau by Monica Tindall published 1946 daughter/daughter-in-law in mourning I wish I could remember how I ...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

The Late Mrs Prioleau by Monica Tindall

The Late Mrs Prioleau by Monica Tindall published 1946 daughter/daughter-in-law in mourning I wish I could remember how I ...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

More Becky Sharp than Little House on the Prairie: Caro Claire Burke's tradwife novel Yesteryear, is divisive: I (mostly) loved it, and found it thought-provoking, refreshing and funny clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/07/yest...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke published 2026 In my recent piece for the i newspaper on a new Netflix series Little House on...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

My new substack newsletter, topics and posts on grammar, fictional holidays, Little House on the Prairie, the word 'fancy', and what St Trinian's girls wore for PE clothesinbook.substack.com/p/the-best-f...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

I've been going through all Reginald Hill's Dalziel & Pascoe books, and now we've reached my favourite: Recalled to Life. A book to read and re-read, and watch out for Dalziel and the trenches of blood clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/07/reca...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

Recalled to Life: Dalziel & Pascoe Middle Years

Recalled to Life by Reginald Hill published 1992 I’ve worked my way through rereading all the Dalziel and Pascoe books – I expl...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Who has a heart to break? Elizabeth Bowen's Portia Death of the Heart gets short shrift from me, along with sidelines about Dismal Desmonds, and my own appearance in the New Scienties. it's all on the blog today clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/07/grow...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

Grow up Portia: The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen

The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen published 1938 This picture is Boredom, 1935 Alexander Deineka – I don’t believe Porti...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Which fictional holiday would you like to join in on? I'm looking at a cruise on the Nile, a fancy hotel with 50s shared bathrooms, and who is that suspicious man over there? Out watchword is: There may be murderers but no riff raff clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/07/livi...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

LIVING A LIFE IN BOOKS: HOLIDAYS

I have had some wonderful holidays in my life, and yet I am secretly always longing to jump into my favourite books and share a ho...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

I reread all the Reginald Hill Dalziel & Pascoe books - a series that changed dramatically along the way. Judging and rating the first 20 years here: clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/07/dalz...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

Dalziel & Pascoe, an Overview: the Early Years

I decided a while back to reread all Reginald Hill’s Dalziel and Pascoe books – partly because I’m trying to reduce the number of b...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

I've been wallowing in the prairies - no that's not a euphemism you don't understand, I've been watching and reading Little House on the Prairie and making comparisons, and considering vital aspects like the treatment of Native Americans, and Laura's hat clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/07/litt...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

Little House on the Prairie: Laura had me at the hat

There's been a short CiB hiatus while I attended an important family event, but now we are back in business with very important TV-watchin...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

A good old-fashioned detective story set in a minor public school during Old Boys weekend, including cricket match. totally lives up to that description: A Bullet for Rhino by Clifford Witting clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/07/a-bu...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

A Bullet for Rhino by Clifford Witting

A Bullet for Rhino by Clifford Witting published 1950 When I first became aware of the works of Clifford Witting a few years a...

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Clothes in Books @clothesinbooks.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

I'm filling in the gaps with my Gladys Mitchell reading - two from the 1940s today. And an important judgement on what is the most boring book ever written (not by Mitchell, obv) clothesinbooks.blogspot.com/2026/07/glad...

clothesinbooks.blogspot.com

Gladys Mitchell: My Father Sleeps & Brazen Tongue

My reading of Gladys Mitchel l had been blocked by my inability to get hold of Printer’s Error : I had read many of them, darting al...

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