April book reviews

Three novels this month, one of which I actually bought myself rather than relying on my usual free NetGalley source.

A mixed bag in subject matter and tone but all excellent. I’ve enjoyed these books very much.

Some taut thrillers to look forward to next month, along with some highfalutin literary offerings, among them There Are Rivers In The Sky by Elif Shafak, which has been recommended by a friend.

The News From Dublin by Colm Tobin *****

(Literary fiction, short stories – 304 pages. First published 31 March 2026)

A collection of short stories of varying lengths from Colm Tobin is worth several hours of anyone’s time.

He writes so beautifully about life, love and families in a way that few authors can manage to pull off – no obvious plot, with beginning, middle and end, just a very satisfying insight into the lives and worlds of the people he inhabits.

Thoughtful, nuanced and unputdownable. It felt like I was eavesdropping on private conversations, getting to know more and more about the main character and those around them as I read on.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of this lovely book.

Kendal Acts Up by Ros Huxley ****

(Romcom – 341 pages. Published July 2025)

Forty-something orphan Kendal Tudge, down on her luck and out of sync with working life in London, inherits a flat by the sea in Dorset.

Could a move down to the Jurassic Coast be the answer to all her (many) prayers? It could be – but there’s one big problem. Her late Uncle Clem’s home is a warden-controlled flat and residents have to be over sixty to live there.

So when she decides to lie about her age, Kendal’s transformative journey begins. Can she shed her irresponsible, intolerant and hedonistic skin to become a better person and live in contentment alongside her older peers?

Or will she be found out and castigated for her deceit?

Throw in a good looking warden by the name of Gary, some eccentric neighbours and new-found friends, this rom-com will have you laughing out loud and rooting for Kendal all the way.

I’m a bit biased, because I know the author, but this debut novel deserves to be read more widely. Heck, it could even become a great little television series, with Kendal Tudge as the unlikely heroine.

A well-written and ingeniously plotted debut. Let’s hope there’s much more to come.

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout *****

(Literary fiction – 224 pages. Expected publication 5 May 2026)

I am hugely in love with Elizabeth Strout and her style of writing. I adored Olive Kitteridge and Olive Again although I was not so keen on Lucy Barton until the pandemic when along came Lucy By The Sea.

Her latest novel, The Things We Never Say, introuces us to Artie Dam, a thoughful, kind and decent history teacher in his late fifties. Artie is married with one-grown up son. He is popular (in the main) with his students but finds himself increasingly out of step with a baffling world and the people around him.

Artie makes a devastating, personal discovery, having already felt, intuitively, that things are off with his life.

Set against a backdrop of divisive and an unbelievable direction in US politics, The Things We Never Say is bang up-to-date, with fears for the future and bafflement at how the world has got to where it is.

Strout writes quietly, yet beautifully, about melancholic situations which often lie beneath the veneer of ordinary, everday life in a small town.

The Things We Never Say reminded me of Stoner, the 1965 novel by John Williams – deep and impactful and with a quiet, unassuming teacher at its heart.

For me, this is Strout’s best novel yet.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance review copy of this novel. It will stay with me for a long time.

Let’s See What The Earth Has To Say

Today is Earth Day, an annual event aimed at supporting the environment.

But is it the day when individuals and companies can declare their love for the earth while ‘greenwashing’ their personal and corporate credentials?

Lordy, the problems facing the planet are massive and what can we, as little people, do to make a difference?

Well, we can cut down our consumption and go for renewables where possible. But all that is fraught with problems, paradoxes and gobbledygook. One man’s electric car utopia is another person’s complex environmental footprint.

Back during covid times, it was a terrible period for many. But some of us were living our best lives in glorious weather and with no vapour trails in the sky nor traffic on the roads.

Here’s a video by my friend Emma Gale, from her debut single Let’s See What The Earth Has To Say, written in and inspired by lockdown.

Back then we were all kind to each other, knowing our daily lives had changed massively.

But that love for one another didn’t last very long. Humans became angrier and nastier as a species, led by self-serving, arrogant politicians, many of whom were in it for their own gain.

We became cynical and mean about everything.

And still it continues. Callous and flippant put-downs, lies and an insatiable desire for personal wealth have become common currency for world leaders.

So, on Earth Day, how can we put our fragile planet at the forefront of everything we do?

Protest and lobby when and where we can (and when it’s safe to do so) but not through futile, silly arguments with acolytes of megalomaniacs. That way insanity lies.

The only thing I can suggest is to immerse ourselves in the natural world and and get out in the garden to plant and nurture something in peat-free compost. And teach our children (they could teach us a thing or two for sure) the importance of kindness, courtesy and care for others.

Earth Day feels so massive. But it’s about baby steps, small big things to make – and be – the change.

It’s the best we can do.

See you later in the week.

Love, Maddie x

In memory of Queen Elizabeth II

Her Majesty the Queen during a visit to HMS Ocean in Devonport in 2015.
Picture: Wikimedia Commons

It’s the late Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday today. She would have been one hundred years old.

There is a series of events in the UK marking this milestone, including an exhibition of hundreds of garments and related items belonging to Her Majesty.

I don’t think many of us think of the late Queen as a style icon, not in the way, say, of Princess Diana, whose leggy frame and passion for fashion sparked real trends.

Who can forget Di’s Emanuel ‘meringue’ wedding dress and its extra long train, which could indeed have had its own long train (like The Flying Scotsman) to transport it end-to-end?

Or the dazzling, figure-huggingly flattering and chic dresses she wore much later on?

When I picture the late Queen, I think of the block colour coats and matching hats from the 1960s and 70s, which on special occasions were de rigeur for women of my mother and mother-in-law’s generation. This is not surprising because they were both the same age as the Queen.

I’m guilty as the rest at underestimating the influence and effect the Queen’s choice of clothing had on generations of women.

5 June 1961 Buckingham Palace: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip host Queen’s Dinner for President and Mrs. Kennedy. U. S. Department of State photograph in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston.

HRH worked closely with favourite designers such as Norman Hartnell and Hardy Amies. There’s a fascinating article on The Independent’s website about our longest reigning monarch’s relationship with fashion and how the look she created was not at all accidental.

You can read it here. Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style is at the King’s Gallery. Buckingham Palace, until 18 October.

The Queen died in September 2022 aged 96. She was the country’s longest-reigning monarch, chalking up an incredible 70 years.

As well as the exhibition, there are other things taking place to commemorate her life.

According to the BBC, today The King and Queen Camilla will visit the British Museum to view plans for the Queen Elizabeth II national memorial in St James Park in London designed by architect Sir Norman Foster.

Later in the day, they will host a reception at Buckingham Palace where guests will be presented with birthday cards by the King.

The Princess Royal will honour her mother by officially opening the Queen Elizabeth II Garden in Regent’s Park, London.

Buckingham Palace has also announced that award-winning historian Dr Anna Keay will write the the late monarch’s official authorised biography.

It’s fitting that these things are happening in honour of a woman who – whatever your views on the monarchy – had a great sense of duty and was devoted to her role.

A lasting legacy – and to my mind, the best way of celebrating this remarkable woman – is the creation of a new charity, The Queen Elizabeth Trust, which will focus on restoring shared spaces in communities.

The charity aims to develop and transform underused buildings and green spaces, as well as ensure that communities have the skills and training needed to organise local events, says the BBC.

Three cheers for that.

Here’s a very informative video produced to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. It draws on a rich selection of records held at The National Archives, including photographs, letters, and speeches, this film looks back at Elizabeth II’s extraordinary life and reign.

The Red Dress Project

Kirsty Macleod and The Red Dress when it was completed in 2023.
Picture by Mark Pickthall

I’m thrilled to be involved in a local heritage project bringing the magnificent Red Dress to Bridport, Dorset, next summer.

It doesn’t happen until 31 July – 15 August 2027 but it’s such a coup to have secured it.

The town won’t know what’s hit it – believe me, the place will be absolutely buzzing with people coming to see this extraordinary creation which tells the stories of ordinary women – often vulnerable or living in poverty- through embroidery.

The Red Dress Project was conceived by British artist Kirstie Macleod as a collaborative artwork showcasing the creativity of women globally.

Since its inception, women from all walks of life—craftswomen, textile artists, volunteers, and community members—have contributed their skills, creating a dress that tells countless personal and cultural stories through embroidery, patchwork, and textile art.

I was contacted about it by an old friend, for whom I used to model at vintage fashion shows (the 1950s was my favourite era), who wondered if I could help with the publicity.

She didn’t have to ask me twice. It’s such an incredible project – a beautiful piece of art with the most amazing back story and stories, bringing disparate groups of women together from all over the world to create something truly stunning and inspirational.

I’ve written about the project for this month’s Marshwood Vale Magazine – you can read the article here.

Animal Magic

Back in the day, when the telly was our babysitter while Mum and Dad were doing the milking, my older brother would frequently beat me up.

He would whack me with cushions, laugh at my preoccupation with Peter Tork from The Monkees and generally make fun of me.

He’ll deny all of it now, of course, but I distinctly remember telling him, in all earnestness: ‘If a policeman said I was allowed to kill you, I’d do it.’

A few years later, he was fighting for his life after a dreadful scooter accident, and I’m ashamed to say my first, fleeting thought was ‘ooh, maybe I can have his bedroom’, which is terrible, but that’s how it is with children.

We’ve patched up our differences now, which is just as well.

But one of the things we did enjoy together was sitting down on a weekday night (was it a Wednesday?) to watch Animal Magic with Johnny Morris.

A Facebook friend posted about this children’s programme recently, which jogged my memory.

Gosh, I loved that show. As soon as the theme tune started, we were transfixed. Johnny Morris’s voices for the animals were brilliant. This anthropomorphic treatment of animals fell out of fashion latterly but, I think, as children it gave us a real empathy for the creatures in Johnny’s zoo.

We know now that captivity is not right for wild animals. All those cages and confined spaces and humans lining up to gawp and stare.

But Morris was an environmentalist and his kindness shone through, and the nation’s love for animals flourished as a result.

When I was seven, I wanted to be a zookeeper when I grew up, solely because of Johnny Morris and Animal Magic. This yearning went on a for a couple of years before I declared at nine or ten that I wanted to be a journalist on the strength of seeing the screwball comedy film His Girl Friday.

And I never got to muck out the lion or wash the elephant.

Animal Magic was staple fodder for my generation. It went on from 1962 to 1983. Classic stuff.

Wikipedia tells me: ‘The signature tune, “Las Vegas”, performed by Group Forty Orchestra, was written by Laurie Johnson for KPM in 1960.[3][4] It more recently featured as the theme music for BBC Two comedy W1A (2014–2017). Around 1980, the original orchestral version was replaced by a funk arrangement (featuring an electric guitar with a wah wah pedal).’

I know which one I prefer!