Charlotte Beale

Mar 13, 2024 | charlottebeale.substack.com | Charlotte Beale

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan AikenSome of you might have read this as a kid. It’s the first in a series of twelve books by Joan Aiken. Arecent article in the Times (in a great column where they revisit old books) reminded me of it. It is brilliant! Aiken is a born storyteller, if ever there were. The pages turn themselves.

Mar 10, 2024 | madintheuk.com | Charlotte Beale

On 10 March, the Mail on Sunday put Charles Spencer’s story about being sexually abused at boarding school on its front page. Spencer is the brother of the late Diana, Princess of Wales. Inside the paper were extracts from Spencer’s book, A Very Private School, about his time at Maidwell Hall, where he boarded from eight to 13. When he was 11, a female assistant matron who was 19 or 20, and who was already abusing boys in her care, began abusing him.

Mar 1, 2024 | charlottebeale.substack.com | Jasna Russo |Charlotte Beale

1.     Meet Berta Ruck. You won’t regret it. It’s 1970, she’s 92, and she’s talking about being a young woman in Victorian Britain. (By this point, she’s a prolific romantic novelist, having published more than 90 books.) From 1:35:2. I went to hear the psychoanalyst Adam Phillips talk about, among other things, giving up, which is the subject of his latest book. (Extracts from On Giving Up in The Guardian here and LRB here.

Mar 1, 2024 | charlottebeale.substack.com | Charlotte Beale

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Feb 22, 2024 | charlottebeale.substack.com | Charlotte Beale |Elif Batuman

Here are nine things I’ve recently read, watched and attended, and heartily enjoyed! 1.     Free Play by Stephen NachmanovitchThis book is exceptional. It is the best thing I have ever read on playing and creating. It’s not even specifically about writing – the author is a musician – but it is both magical and utterly grounded – and it’s already having an effect on my writing practice.