Rob Spence
@spencro.bsky.social
Former Eng Lit academic. I have written
about Ford Madox Ford, Louis de Bernieres, Wyndham Lewis, Penelope Fitzgerald, Robert Nye, but mainly about Anthony Burgess, a fellow Mancunian. robspence.org.uk Reviews at shinynewbooks.co.uk
victorcrabbe on Insta
about Ford Madox Ford, Louis de Bernieres, Wyndham Lewis, Penelope Fitzgerald, Robert Nye, but mainly about Anthony Burgess, a fellow Mancunian. robspence.org.uk Reviews at shinynewbooks.co.uk
victorcrabbe on Insta
I'm having another go at this.
Tarr
Chatterton
Miss Garnet's Angel
Tarr
Chatterton
Miss Garnet's Angel
December 9, 2025 at 11:27 PM
I'm having another go at this.
Tarr
Chatterton
Miss Garnet's Angel
Tarr
Chatterton
Miss Garnet's Angel
I read David Copperfield first (should have read it decades ago) as preparation for Demon. Kingsolver is original, but the parallels are striking. I learned a huge amount from reading Demon Copperhead. Kingsolver shows there isn't that much difference between 19th c England and late 20th c USA.
December 9, 2025 at 10:11 PM
I read David Copperfield first (should have read it decades ago) as preparation for Demon. Kingsolver is original, but the parallels are striking. I learned a huge amount from reading Demon Copperhead. Kingsolver shows there isn't that much difference between 19th c England and late 20th c USA.
A great book, which I read recently. Though not as great as David Copperfield.
December 9, 2025 at 10:01 PM
A great book, which I read recently. Though not as great as David Copperfield.
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy
Life and Death of Harriett Frean
Falstaff
Life and Death of Harriett Frean
Falstaff
December 9, 2025 at 9:23 PM
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy
Life and Death of Harriett Frean
Falstaff
Life and Death of Harriett Frean
Falstaff
Sentient being or entity:
December 8, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Sentient being or entity:
Rodent: a neglected classic.
December 8, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Rodent: a neglected classic.
Dog: the obvious one-
December 8, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Dog: the obvious one-
Mythological creature: does Satan count?
December 8, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Mythological creature: does Satan count?
So, given a decent card is now at least £2, and overseas post is now £3.40, I've just spent over £50 sending 8 cards to Europe and the USA, with no notion of whether they'll arrive on time. Digital next year...(2/2)
December 8, 2025 at 5:01 PM
So, given a decent card is now at least £2, and overseas post is now £3.40, I've just spent over £50 sending 8 cards to Europe and the USA, with no notion of whether they'll arrive on time. Digital next year...(2/2)
I think everyone has to take a photo there. Mine is from August this year.
December 2, 2025 at 8:04 PM
I think everyone has to take a photo there. Mine is from August this year.
Sorry! I did say… Enjoy it tomorrow. Deferred gratification!
November 30, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Sorry! I did say… Enjoy it tomorrow. Deferred gratification!
A la Morte Subite. Not open on Sundays though, apparently. alamortsubite.com/en
à la mort subite — Beer Hall in Bruxelles | à la mort subite
One of the oldest cafés in the Belgian capital is waiting to welcome you. Jacques Brel was a regular here, as were so many other artists, writers, actors and those who just loved a cosy café.
We're i...
alamortsubite.com
November 30, 2025 at 6:32 PM
A la Morte Subite. Not open on Sundays though, apparently. alamortsubite.com/en
I was hoping for Party MacPartyface.
November 30, 2025 at 6:19 PM
I was hoping for Party MacPartyface.
Once a week for me in the early seventies, assuming I could find a phone box that hadn't been vandalised.
November 30, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Once a week for me in the early seventies, assuming I could find a phone box that hadn't been vandalised.
Zizek seems to be proud of the "pithier" version: www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2025/1...
How the left misread Gramsci
We are living in the Italian Marxist thinker's interregnum
www.newstatesman.com
November 30, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Zizek seems to be proud of the "pithier" version: www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2025/1...
Manchester's opened on November 7th...🙄
November 29, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Manchester's opened on November 7th...🙄
I was thinking about this recently, considering how time passes quickly when you’re old. I just turned 71, so a year is a tiny proportion of my life. But two years to a six year old is a third of their existence.
November 28, 2025 at 7:58 PM
I was thinking about this recently, considering how time passes quickly when you’re old. I just turned 71, so a year is a tiny proportion of my life. But two years to a six year old is a third of their existence.
My mother was refused hire purchase on some domestic appliance in the late sixties, because the shop needed her husband’s signature. She was 40 years old and had her own bank account.
November 28, 2025 at 7:48 PM
My mother was refused hire purchase on some domestic appliance in the late sixties, because the shop needed her husband’s signature. She was 40 years old and had her own bank account.
I bought this on publication. Still reads well, fifty years on.
November 28, 2025 at 4:20 PM
I bought this on publication. Still reads well, fifty years on.
I got an email from them yesterday, wanting to "keep in touch" because I used the airport wifi last time I was there. I declined.
November 28, 2025 at 9:10 AM
I got an email from them yesterday, wanting to "keep in touch" because I used the airport wifi last time I was there. I declined.