This week’s topic for Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) is “Books with a High Page Count

The books I’ve listed here all have more than 800 pages. There are others that I read before I started blogging, but I’ve only included books that I’ve actually reviewed on my blog. Not surprisingly, most of them are classics.

1. Clarissa by Samuel Richardson (1536 pages) – I read this epistolary 18th century novel as part of a year-long group read and probably wouldn’t have made it to the end otherwise. I liked it overall but it was so repetitive!

2. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (1456 pages) – I loved the story but could have done without so many digressions. It’s one of the books on this list that I really think could have been a lot shorter!

3. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1440 pages) – This was another group read, although I abandoned the schedule after a while to finish it at my own pace. I enjoyed it, but liked the peace sections much better than the war!

4. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1312 pages) – This is one of my favourite books of all time, so I don’t mind the length at all and would have been happy for it to be even longer!

5. Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset (1168 pages) – This bleak but fascinating Norwegian classic is technically three separate books, but often packaged together in one volume. My edition was translated by Tiina Nunnally.

6. The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Penman (1080 pages) – This long, detailed and gripping account of the life of Richard III is one of my favourite historical novels.

7. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (1056 pages) – I read this slowly, over the course of a year, which suited its episodic structure. I found it much more entertaining than I’d expected.

8. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (1024 pages) – I’ve read a lot of very long Dickens novels, but decided to limit my list to one book per author. This is one I remember enjoying.

9. The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye (964 pages) – Another of my favourite historical novels, set in 19th century India and following the story of a British orphan raised as a Hindu.

10. Go Tell the Bees that I am Gone by Diana Gabaldon (930 pages) – I loved the first three or four books in the Outlander series, but I feel that the more recent ones have been getting weaker as they get longer and longer! Still looking forward to book ten, though.

Honourable mentions: The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope (928 pages), Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson (922 pages), The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel (912 pages) Paris by Edward Rutherfurd (848 pages), The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (832 pages).

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Have you read any of these? What are the longest books you’ve read? Laura is hosting Doorstoppers in December later this year, if any of these books appeal – but better get started now!

This week’s topic for Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) is Books with Honorifics in the Title (“…an honorific is a form of address conveying esteem, courtesy or respect. These can be titles prefixing a person’s name, e.g.: Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms., Mx., Sir, Dame, Dr., Cllr, Lady, or Lord, or other titles or positions that can appear as a form of address without the person’s name, as in Mr. President, General, Captain, Father, Doctor, or Earl.”) (Submitted by Joanne @ Portobello Book Blog)

I noticed that I’ve reviewed exactly ten books with the word Mrs in the title, so decided to just stick to those for this week’s post. They are listed below:

1. The Other Side of Mrs Wood by Lucy Barker – The story of a successful medium in 19th century London who gets more than she bargained for when she takes on a new apprentice!

2. The Autobiography of Mrs Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin – A fictional memoir of the American circus performer Lavinia Warren.

3. Mrs Poe by Lynn Cullen – This novel explores the relationship between Edgar Allan Poe and the poet Frances Sargent Osgood.

4. The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar – Set in Georgian England, this book begins with a captain selling his ship in exchange for a mermaid!

5. Mrs England by Stacey Halls – A children’s nurse takes a new position with a family in Yorkshire and quickly sense that something is not quite right.

6. The Trouble with Mrs Montgomery Hurst by Katie Lumsden – A small, quiet community in 1840s England is shaken up by the arrival of Mr Montgomery Hurst’s new wife.

7. Mrs Engels by Gavin McCrea – A fictional look at the life of Lizzie Burns, common law wife of the German philosopher Friedrich Engels.

8. Good Evening, Mrs Craven by Mollie Panter-Downes – A collection of short stories written between 1939 and 1944 and giving some insights into Britain during the Second World War.

9. Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce – The first in the Emmy Lake series, about a young woman who becomes an advice columnist in wartime London.

10. Mrs Whistler by Matthew Plampin – A fictional account of the life of Maud Franklin, the model and muse of the artist James McNeill Whistler

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Have you read any of these? Which other books with ‘Mrs’ in the title have you read?

This week’s topic for Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) is “Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2025”.

These are not technically my ‘most anticipated’ books, as I already listed some of those in my recent Historical Musings post just a few weeks ago. However, I only included historical fiction in that post. The ten books listed below are some more books I’m hoping to read and are from a range of genres.

1. The Killer Question by Janice Hallett – I’ve enjoyed all of Janice Hallett’s books, although I know her unusual style isn’t for everyone. This new one sounds great!

2. Rainforest by Michelle Paver – I was unaware that Michelle Paver had a new book coming out until I saw this one on NetGalley. I enjoyed her last one, Wakenhyrst.

3. The Shapeshifter’s Daughter by Sally Magnusson – I’ve read all of Magnusson’s previous adult novels but this one, based on the Norse myth of Hel of the underworld, sounds completely different.

4. The Token by Sharon Bolton – I don’t read a lot of contemporary crime but a new Sharon Bolton book is always something I look forward to!

5. Miss Winter in the Library with a Knife by Martin Edwards – I’m hoping this murder mystery will be as entertaining as it sounds.

6. No Friend to This House by Natalie Haynes – Yes, it’s another Greek retelling, but Natalie Haynes is an author I’ve particularly enjoyed in the past, so I’m sure this reimagining of the Jason and Medea story will be a good one!

7. The Clock House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji – I loved one of this author’s books (The Labyrinth House Murders) and disliked another (The Decagon House Murders) so I’m curious to see what this one will be like!

8. Queens at War by Alison Weir – I haven’t read all of the earlier books in Weir’s non-fiction series about medieval queens of England, but this one covers some of my favourite periods – the Hundred Years’ War and the Wars of the Roses.

9. Murder at the Black Cat Cafe by Seishi Yokomizo – The latest book in the Kosuke Kindaichi series to be translated into English. I’ve enjoyed all of the others but this one sounds a bit different.

10. The Twelve Days of Christmas by Susan Stokes-Chapman – I’ve only read a short story by Stokes-Chapman but would like to try one of her novels.

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Are you interested in any of these? Which other books being published in the second half of the year are you planning to read?

This week’s topic for Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) is “Animal Companions (These animals can be real or fantasy!)”

The ten books I’ve listed below are all books I’ve read and reviewed on my blog and feature a range of different animal and bird companions.

1. Nighteyes in the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb – The wolf Nighteyes is much more than just a companion to FitzChivalry Farseer in Hobb’s epic fantasy series, but to say any more would be a spoiler!

2. Bob in Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie – Poor Bob the dog gets the blame when his mistress falls down the stairs in the night. It’s up to Poirot to find another explanation!

3. Cuthbert in The Bells of Westminster by Leonora Nattrass – Cuthbert, Susan Bell’s talking parrot who lives in the Deanery of Westminister Abbey, is the star of this historical mystery set in 1774.

4. Cafall in The Grey King by Susan Cooper – In this fourth book in the Dark is Rising sequence inspired by Arthurian legend, Cafall, a sheepdog with silver eyes, is the friend and companion of Bran Davies.

5. Solovey in The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden – The magical horse Solovey is a companion to Vasya, the heroine of this excellent fantasy trilogy set in a version of medieval Russia.

6. The dolphin in This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart – Not exactly a ‘companion’, but the dolphin in this book forms a bond with Lucy, our narrator, and becomes an important character in the story.

7. Flush in Flush by Virginia Woolf – I loved this short novel written from the perspective of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s cocker spaniel.

8. Rocinante in Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes – An eccentric gentleman of La Mancha, inspired by tales of romance and chivalry, renames himself Don Quixote and sets out in search of adventure mounted on his trusty steed, Rocinante!

9. The lion in Circe by Madeline Miller – In this beautifully written Greek mythology retelling, the witch Circe is banished to the island of Aiaia where a female lion becomes her closest companion.

10. Behemoth in The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov – My tenth and final animal companion is Behemoth, the demonic black cat who is part of the devil’s entourage in this weird and wonderful Russian classic.

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Have you read any of these? Can you think of any other books with animal companions?

This week’s topic for Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) is “Books that feature travel”.

This will be an easy topic for those of you who read a lot of non-fiction travel books, but as I don’t I’ve had to stick to fictional travel instead. Here are ten novels that feature people going on a journey, pilgrimage or voyage of some kind. I’ve tried to include several different genres and different methods of travel!

1. Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome – J, Harris and George go on a bicycle tour through Germany’s Black Forest in this lesser known sequel to Three Men in a Boat.

2. The English Girl by Katherine Webb – A young Englishwoman travels to Oman in the 1950s, where she meets a female explorer who crosses the Empty Quarter desert.

3. Wonder Cruise by Ursula Bloom – A single woman in her thirties wins some money and decides to spend it on a Mediterranean cruise, the first time she’s ever been abroad.

4. To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey – Colonel Allen Forrester leads a (fictional) expedition up Alaska’s Wolverine River to chart previously unmapped territory.

5. The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks – A dystopian novel in which a group of passengers embark on a four thousand mile train journey aboard the Trans-Siberian Express.

6. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce – A man sets out on foot from his home in Devon to visit a dying friend in a hospice five hundred miles away.

7. Strangers in Company by Jane Aiken Hodge – Marian Frenche is on a tour of major Greek archaeological sites when a series of accidents begins to befall members of the party.

8. A Fatal Crossing by Tom Hindle – A murder mystery set on a cruise liner crossing the Atlantic in 1924.

9. Pawn in Frankincense by Dorothy Dunnett – Francis Crawford of Lymond travels across Europe and North Africa in search of a child who may or may not be his son.

10. Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne – The ultimate travel novel, in which Phileas Fogg attempts to circumnavigate the world in just eighty days.

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Have you read any of these? Which other books featuring travel have you enjoyed?

This week’s topic for Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) is “Books with the Word “[Insert Word Here]” in the Title”. I picked the word House as I’ve reviewed a lot more than ten books with that word in the title, which meant I had plenty to choose from and could cover a range of genres.

1. The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne – Published in 1922, this is Milne’s only detective novel (although he did also write a spoof, Four Days’ Wonder). It’s a lot of fun and I wish he had written more of them!

2. This House is Haunted by John Boyne – A wonderfully entertaining and atmospheric ghost story set in Victorian England and featuring a governess who takes a position at a house which appears to be haunted.

3. The Valentine House by Emma Henderson – This dual time period novel is set in the French Alps and follows several generations of the Valentine family from 1914 to 1976.

4. The Labyrinth House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji – An imaginative Japanese crime novel set in a house built in a labyrinth design and inspired by the Minotaur myth. I enjoyed this much more than The Decagon House Murders by the same author (which could also have been on this list).

5. The Professor’s House by Willa Cather – Moving house causes Professor Godfrey St Peter to reflect on his life and his memories of a former student. This was my first Willa Cather book and I found it slow but beautifully written.

6. A House of Pomegranates by Oscar Wilde – A collection of four fairy tales by Oscar Wilde. Although each one has a moral, they are also very entertaining! The stories are quite dark in places (like many fairy tales), but I think they’re suitable for both children and adults.

7. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett – The story of a brother and sister and their connection to the house in Philadelphia where they grew up. I hadn’t expected to enjoy this as much as I did!

8. Great House by Nicole Krauss – A novel made up of four separate stories, linked by an antique writing desk that once belonged to a Chilean poet. The desk touches the lives of each of the main characters in some way and you need to read all four stories to fully understand how they are connected.

9. The House by the Sea by Louise Douglas – Our narrator inherits a house in Sicily and intends to sell it until she discovers it’s hiding some intriguing secrets. This book combines mystery and romance with some beautiful descriptive writing.

10. The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier – This time travel novel is set in the author’s beloved Cornwall and moves between the 1960s and the 14th century. I love du Maurier and this is one of my favourites.

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Have you read any of these? Which other books with House in the title have you read?