Now, the thing is, while I’ve not been able to read as much during the last months of the MA, I’ve still been accumulating books at the same ridiculous rate. Here’s a selection of my most recent purchases/review copies:

The Dead Man’s Message – Florence Marryat
This is the first book from Catherine’s new publishing empire, Victorian Secrets, and she kindly sent me a copy to review on the blog. A sensation tale of a vivisectionist dying and entering the spirit world and being forced to account for his actions on earth. I am reliably informed that Marryat was somewhat big on spiritualism, so this should be an interesting read, even for someone who is an atheist with a capital Dawkins.

The Booker Prize Shortlist
After a handy tip-off from LitLove, I snagged a brilliant bargain: all six Booker Shortlisted novels for £35 from The Book People. That’s a real coup, especially given the size of a few of the books (hello Mantel and Byatt, I’m looking at you). I do already have two of the novels (Sarah Waters and JM Coetzee) so I think I might do a blog giveaway for those. Watch this space.

The Regeneration Trilogy – Pat Barker
A series I’ve been meaning to read for years, but I spotted the three of them for the princely sum of £4.99 while I was on The Book People website yesterday. I couldn’t say no.

Dead of Winter – PJ Parrish
A review copy from Pocket Books, received randomly a couple of weeks ago. While I probably wouldn’t have gone out and bought it myself, I do like some good crime fiction, as regular readers might remember. This was recently reviewed by Eve’s Alexandria.

Novel About My Wife – Emily Perkins
I won a copy of this novel about a doomed relationship, called ‘a frightening tale of delusion’ by the Sunday Times. Sounds right up my street.

Eleanor Marx: Vol. 1 Family Life, Vol. 2 The Crowded Years – Yvonne Kapp
A two volume biography of a woman who is, for my money, one of the most interesting figures of the nineteenth-century. She was the youngest daughter of Karl Marx who bacame a socialist activist, and had a fairly catastrophic relationship with Edward Aveling, which ended with her committing suicide at the age of 43.