Julia Jackson
Julia Jackson is the assistant manager of Readings Carlton
Review — 2 Feb 2021
The Imitator by Rebecca Starford
In writing this review I simply can’t ignore the fact that 2021 will mark the 70th anniversary of the defections of Soviet agents Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean across the…
Review — 1 Oct 2020
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
All southpaws can attest to our brilliance: take Albert Einstein or Marie Curie – both brilliant lefties. See also, Leonardo da Vinci. I might be biased here, but combine that…
Review — 2 Aug 2020
Body Count by Paddy Manning
As I write this review, I’m conscious of that we’re about to clock twelve months since the onset of the fires in New South Wales that would get out of…
Review — 6 Sep 2020
The Morbids by Ewa Ramsey
About a month or so ago, our head book buyer Alison Huber flagged this book with me, saying that it was something I might like. Oh yeah, I thought…
Review — 2 Aug 2020
The Ratline by Philippe Sands
The good news for 2020 is that Philippe Sands has finally written a follow-up to his enormously successful Baillie Gifford Prizewinning book, East West Street! Didn’t read that one…
Review — 23 Feb 2020
We Were Never Friends by Margaret Bearman
I approached this book curiously, thinking, ‘Why George Coates?’ The George Coates I know of was a distinguished war artist, who worked in London and Paris, where he met, and…
Review — 23 Feb 2020
The Salt Madonna by Catherine Noske
On the tiny fictional island of Chesil, something is not right. The presence of Mulvey, the overbearing magnate at the top of the hill, looms over the dwindling community, increasingly…
Review — 19 Aug 2019
The Anarchy by William Dalrymple
Given the dastardly activities of some of our massive corporations of today, the antics containedwithin William Dalrymple’s latest offering shouldn’t really come as a huge shock to readers. I say…
Review — 22 Jul 2019
Nobber by Oisín Fagan
The year is 1348, and it’s a deadly one. Quite literally. As with pretty much everywhere else, thePlague (or Black Death) has ravaged the Irish landscape, decimating the population. The…
Review — 22 Apr 2019
The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal
In this unusual, yet confidently written debut, Elizabeth Macneal transports the reader to London, 1851. The London of Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray and Wilkie Collins, where the finishing touches…