Slightly Foxed #88: 'Pure Magic'

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

96 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 2025

Reviews

[Cindy Rollins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cozy edition and delightful.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent winter warmer edition of Slightly Foxed quarterly packed full of seasonal delights. There’s Sam Leith on T. H. White’s The Once and Future King which was a transformative book in my development as a young reader (I read it in my late teens and it opened my eyes to how humour, action and tragedy could, in the hands of a skilled author, sit happily side by side in a story unfolded over four volumes), there’s an insightful piece by Ned Vessey on Ulverton, one of my favourite books and one which has echoes in many books I’ve read subsequently, including Sarah Hall’s masterly Helm, subject of my most recent review on Goodreads, and then there are (among others) articles on P. D. James’s Adam Dalgliesh novels (which I’m now keen to rediscover), the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins which I first encountered many years ago in my sixth form days, Peter Ross’s brilliant book about Britain’s churches, Steeple Chasing, Nina Stibbe’s hilarious memoir, Love Nina and Benjamin Labatut’s When We Cease to Understand the World, which is a book I’ve heard a lot about lately and which I must get round to reading.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently treated myself to a year's subscription to 'Slightly Foxed' and have thoroughly enjoyed reading this, my first copy. The short review by each reviewer of their favourite book, some published a good many years ago, are entertaining and inspiring to read. They are a wonderful source of ideas for authors and books I might like to read, their random themes and subject matter challenging my assumptions about what interests me. Although they have not yet persuaded me to order a copy of any of the books reviewed so far, I have already added some to my 'want to read' list. I look forward to receiving future editions.

[D'face · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Winter 2025 edition of Slightly Foxed was a pleasant read but did not add to my TBR pile (which is just as well). It opens with TH White’s Once and Future King of which I have read Sword in the Stone which was excellent. A Slightly Foxed own publication on showgirls follows. Travelling north prompts another review followed by Weather in the Streets on having an affair. Ulverton a history of a village through the ages. The PD James books. The poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins. A guide to the church buildings of Britain. Nina Stibbe who answered an advertisement for a nanny and became a writer. A novel about Schrodinger and Heisenberg. A novel in the form of a cookbook which includes reference to death cap mushrooms which was very topical in Australia recently. An angry young man novel from the late 1950s. A psychological thriller set in Victorian England. A Countess Below Stairs sounds like an interesting book, a Russian countess comes to seek safety in England and becomes a housemaid with her own ideas. AJ Liebling on eating. Old colour photo books of the English countryside. Finding tickets, pressed flowers and letters inside second handbooks.

[Marie-Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another lovely saunter among other readers' recommendations. A joy.

[Gerard de Bruin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5* One of the best issues so far