Slightly Foxed #82: 'Spaced Out'

by Gail Pirkis (Editor), Hazel Wood (Editor)

Genres: Nonfiction, Literature, Essays, Journal

96 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2024

Reviews

[Noits · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another gem.

[Jeannette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was especially charmed by the description of the Book of British Birds and shocked at the brutality of Godden’s children’s book The Doll’s House.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took advantage of a half-price offer to buy this back issue of Slightly Foxed magazine. I was attracted by its reviews of such classics as "The Right Stuff", "Three Men in a Boat" and "Beau Geste". However, when I read these reviews , I realised these books were not for me. In fact, I was disappointed by most of the reviews in this issue. I did find the "Baburnama", Ann Bridges' "Peking Picnic" and Salley Vickers' "The Other Side of You" interesting but not enough to read them and was ready to review this issue badly. However my reward came at the very end with Trevor Millum's review of Frances Hodgson Burnett's "My Robin". I have read my treasured copy of "The Secret Garden" many times in my life since I was given a beautifully illustrated hardback copy when I was a small boy. To find she had written a book about the robin in the story (a real bird) came as a revelation. Not only have I managed to source a first edition of the book, but I have ordered Trevor Millum's own account of his father and grandfather's gardening lives, the latter being the inspiration for the gardener, Ben Weatherstaff, in "The Secret Garden". I very much look forward to reading both books.

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather below par edition of Slightly Foxed, featuring rather too many books that are well out of print and difficult or prohibitively expensive to get hold of, and one renowned for its ‘unreadability’.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy the many old titles that are brought to light by reading Slightly Foxed Quarterlies. Two of my favorites in this edition are, the book, My Robin, by Frances Hodgson Burnett and the book, "The Living Soil, by Lady Eve Balfour.

[Marie-Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable mix of recommendations from enthusiastic folk.