Jennieworld Today

I think I may have mentioned that my mother owns a lot of books. And I mean a lot! Anyway, I read too quickly which means that I don’t want to read any of my own books because I can remember what happens in each of them - it isn’t that long since I last read most of them! So, I’ve taken to working my way through her collections in much the same way as you would work your way through the local library, except that her collection of books is much better because she has complete sets of lots of books which I enjoy reading, so I’ve got reading material enough for a few months yet! I’ve just finished reading the Whiteoak series by Mazo De La Roche, and I am now reading the “Performers” series by Claire Rayner. I’ve just started the third book of the saga, and it is quite a pageturner. I enjoy books which tell something of history from an individual’s point of view rather than just dry and dusty facts, and a lot of my mother’s books fit the bill nicely. This series, for example, displays medical history, from the ‘resurrectionists’ in the first book who dig up freshly buried bodies from churchyards to sell to surgeons so that they can practise and teach anatomy without having to use a living person, through ‘modern ideas’ of fresh air and cleanliness to help heal the sick, etc etc. So far I’d really recommend the books, if you are able to get hold of copies. The first book is Gower Street, and this and the following books are all named after locations in London.