THE CONJURING OF AMERICA: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine, and 400 Years of Black Women’s Magic Lindsey Stewart Legacy/Hachette, 2025 I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Stewart carefully builds up the history of Black Women’s Magic from its African roots to the Americas and Caribbean, through the years of enslavement and then the Great Migration, right…
Tag: book reviews
Review: The Conjure Man Dies
Rudolph Fisher’s 1932 novel The Conjure Man Dies evokes both the Harlem Renaissance and Golden Age mysteries as well as embodying in important ways the more authentic voice of the streets that Dashiell Hammett had begun to make sing. Of course Fisher’s voice remains distinct from all of these: a polymath who studied to be…
Witches, Devils & Theatre of Cruelty
I was talking with Chloë about keeping track of reading, which I do badly, my memory palace not being what it used to be when life was more regularly paced. I bought this novel by Jane Parkhurst (Nancy Smith?) back when I was first diving into Isobel Gowdie a few years ago, but this one…
Review: Trance by Appointment – Gertrude Trevelyan
TRANCE BY APPOINTMENT Gertrude Trevelyan Boilerhouse Press Trance by Appointment is the story of Jean, an otherwise ordinary working-class London girl. But Jean has what her mother calls “the Sight.” She sees what no one else can: the future. At first, under the patient guidance of Madame Eva, she learns to control this talent and begins…
Irreverent #Tarot 7: The Lady & The Beast
A super quick recommendation for Deja Whitehouse’s THE LADY & THE BEAST on Lady Freida Harris, Aleister Crowley, and the making of the Thoth tarot (which can be seen at the Warburg Tarot exhibit or link below to my walkthrough.). Yes, it’s an expensive book but discounts are out there (follow Deja on IG) but…
Letty Lynton: Marie Belloc-Lowndes (1931)
On holiday so I am reading novels and watching fun things and yes, I was curious about the novel which (allegedly) inspired the film since they seemed a bit different — also there was that whole plagiarism case with the play that inspired the film Dishonoured Lady (1947) (again, I can only guess allegedly!). Having…
Spook Racket: Psychic Mafia
Oddly enough in the seemingly endless line of grifters and con artists in and around the spook racket, I had not read this volume. I first ran across the BBC radio series on it — part of their ongoing fascination with grifters like Anna Delvey. Lamar tells his story (with Spraggett’s help) with relish, albeit…
Out Soon: Man of the World – Paul D. Brazill
MAN OF THE WORLD Paul D.Brazill Out April 17 from All Due Respect Books but you can pre-order it now. It’s always good news to hear that Mr B has a new book out. I even got my grubby mitts on an advanced copy so read ’em and weep, folks — I already have! Read…
HB Muriel: Re-Reading The Abbess of Crewe
THE ABBESS OF CREWE It is Muriel Spark’s birthday and I just re-read this so it seems apropos to write about it, too. I just re-read it for the obvious reason that it was inspired by the shenanigans of an impeached president and now we have another impeached ‘president’ who proves just as mendacious and…
Review: Radio Girls
RADIO GIRLS Sarah-Jane Stratford The Great War is over, and change is in the air, in this novel that brings to life the exciting days of early British radio …and one woman who finds her voice while working alongside the brilliant women and men of the BBC London, 1926. ‘If we have the sense to…