Category: literature

Lovestruck poets or DIY handymen? Romantic heroes take the Billy Bragg test
books · geeks · jane austen · literature · novels · poetry · reading · romance · romance novels · romantic hero · sexy geeks · writers

Lovestruck poets or DIY handymen? Romantic heroes take the Billy Bragg test

Helena Fairfax6 Comments

This week the brilliant Billy Bragg (see what I did with the poetic alliteration?) released a great new single.  It’s called Handyman Blues, and here’s the clever clip that goes with it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=2YmHtISRcz0 A group of ordinary blokes are sat around in B&Q feeling down because everyone expects them to be able to do DIY,…… Continue reading Lovestruck poets or DIY handymen? Romantic heroes take the Billy Bragg test

gone with the wind, etiquette, ball, charity, scarlett o'hara, rhett butler Etiquette, flirting and hidden passions: all the thrill of the Regency ballroom
books · georgette heyer · literature · novels · pride and prejudice · Regency · romance · romance novels · Uncategorized · war and peace · writers

Etiquette, flirting and hidden passions: all the thrill of the Regency ballroom

Helena Fairfax12 Comments

Yay, it’s Friday!  Tonight I’m going to sit down with a big bar of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk and a glass of wine, and I’m going to watch a programme I’ve been looking forward to for ages.  It’s called Pride and Prejudice: Having a Ball.  The programme recreates in full the dramatic events of the Netherfield…… Continue reading Etiquette, flirting and hidden passions: all the thrill of the Regency ballroom

romance, romance novels, helena fairfax, books reading Are novels less joyful and more scary? A scientific study seems to think so
books · cultural differences · language · literature · novels · writing

Are novels less joyful and more scary? A scientific study seems to think so

Helena Fairfax4 Comments

Why do people read novels?  Surely one of the main reasons – and I know it is for me – is to be swept up in the characters’ emotions. Now a study by three British universities (Bristol, Durham and Sheffield) has thrown up an incredible fact: books are exactly 14% less emotional in content today…… Continue reading Are novels less joyful and more scary? A scientific study seems to think so