Katherine Rundell

This is the story of Feo, a near feral child who lives in the back-of-beyond in pre-revolutionary Russia with her mother. They 'wild' domesticated wolves that have grown up to be utterly unsuitable as pets. When her mother defies the evil General Rakov from the Imperial Army, she is whisked away to prison, and it falls to Feo and Ilya, who deserts from the army, to save her. Theirs is a savage and difficult life. Russian snow is cold, Russian forests are dangerous. Wolves are dangerous - unless you know how to handle them, as Feo does. This is a rattling good yarn, in the tradition of all good fairy tales. Children and animals can outwit adults, Good Will Prevail, and the innocent will get to live happily ever after. Deliciously, wittily written, this would make a perfect present for a 10 year old and the 10 year old's parents. I hope so. I know a 10 year old who'll be getting this for Christmas.… (mere)

There are so very many gaps in knowledge about the facts of John Donne's life and work. Katherine Rundell has done a fine job in meshing what is known with what can reasonably be surmised and with an evaluation of the man. Born a Catholic, with all the dangers and limitations that presented, Donne early exhibited his dexterity with words and his sparkling intelligence. Initially successful in the law, an early and unwise marriage pitched him into prison, then penury. What with his wife producing twelve children, five of whom died in infancy, and being remote from the power-house that was London, his career stalled, though his creativity never did. Only when his wife died as a result of childbirth (to a still-born child) did his career finally take off as Dean of St. Paul's, and preacher extraordinaire. Rundell deftly deals with all this material, all the while offering a critique of Donne's often dazzling and dextrous use of words. Frequently misogynistic, it's his love poetry that we often remember him for. She argues that these frequently erotic poems were written not for his wife, but for the enjoyment of his male friends. He wrote treatises and sermons too, and it would have increased my enjoyment of this book more if Rundell had quoted more extensively from his writing, rather than have me scurrying off to find the relevant texts. Nevertheless, Rundell conveys her enthusiasm for Donne well, with her own verbal dexterity, her excitement, and her scholarship.… (mere)