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Articles by Melanie Gay

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About Melanie Gay

A former literary agent with three published novels of her own, Melanie retains her life-long love of the written word and recently mastered the Kindle. She is currently writing a historical novel set in 17th Century Britain and Holland. More Posts

The Rebecca Notebook and other memories /Daphne du Maurier

The Rebecca Notebook is an account of how Daphne du Maurier wrote her most famous novel and a series of reflections on her life late in her life. Rebecca, like most of her novels, has a pleasing structure as the story unfurls. Few can tell a story as well as Daphne du Maurier which accounts for [...]

November 13, 2016 // 0 Comments

Paris Spring/James Naughtie

Jim Naughtie is a versatile man. He has been a leading radio broadcaster for many years presenting the flagship Today programme, written a work on opera and hosted the BBC book club. At such an event I met him and  found him to be affable and engaging. As a keen reader of the espionage genre I [...]

October 26, 2016 // 0 Comments

Madrid: The History/Jules Stewart

One of the debates we have on the arts side of the Rust is kindle v book. It’s not either/or as many like me see the benefits of both. The kindle is transportable, downloadable and readable. Yet it has somehow taken some of the “connection” out of reading. Giving someone a [...]

October 9, 2016 // 0 Comments

The Flemish House/Georges Simenon

Georges Simenon is one of those authors many have heard of but less have read. Older readers will recalling actor Rupert Davies definitively in the role of the bulky French detective in his trademark raincoat and pipe. A good friend of mine and the Rust presented me with a copy of The Flemish [...]

September 13, 2016 // 0 Comments

The Unfortunate Englishman/John Lawton

One of the attractions of Amazon is their recommendations based on the premise that  if you enjoyed reading A, you might well enjoy reading B. Generally this works for me in one of the genres I most enjoy: the espionage novel. I was introduced to Charles Cumming who has brought espionage into the [...]

September 6, 2016 // 0 Comments

A Colder War/Charles Cummins

Charles Cummins eptomises the new generation of espionage writers. Himself recruited for MI6 he uses the techniques of surveillance and hacking that he presumably learned and implemented. This novel in the Thomas Kell series is set in modern Turkey. Kell, a MI6 operative in disgraced after an over [...]

August 3, 2016 // 0 Comments

War in Val d’Orcia/Iris Origo

A contemporary chronicle or journal is of considerable historical value as a primary source but has its disadvantages too in terms of authenticity and good writing. Iris Origo, an English born aristocratic wife of a landowner in Tuscany, has written an account of her times (1943-44) which were [...]

July 9, 2016 // 0 Comments

Beyond Menabilly

Finally we have weather dry enough to venture out of Pridmouth Cottage. It’s not exactly a burning summer’s day but at least it’s dry enough to take the coastal path to the Gribben. The Gribben is a red and white watchtower operating as a sea and landmark. Beacons were hung to [...]

June 15, 2016 // 0 Comments

On the Daphne du Maurier trail

It’s good to be back in Menabilly – the estate that Daphne do Maurier occupied for some 20 years and the inspiration for Rebecca, The Birds and Don’t Look Now. Yesterday I organised a trip to Fowey and Bodinnick to visit the places that shaped her life. Daphne du Maurier, whom I [...]

June 13, 2016 // 0 Comments

A Foreign Country/Charles Cumming

The espionage novel has taken on many forms and genres in the years I have read these with enthusiasm. As a child I loved Erskine Childers and John Buchan and each dare-devil adventurer normally from public school taking on international conspirators on his own. Then came Ian Fleming and James [...]

June 1, 2016 // 0 Comments

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