Category: Book Corner

A little cheer on a gloomy day

Victoria Sturgess has a clutch of comic classics to remind us that misfortune, misunderstanding and absurdity make great entertainment Let us use the coming of...

Cake, candles and consequences

Victoria Sturgess from Black Pug Books says birthdays in literature reveal love, vanity and the unsettling truths that lurk beneath the celebration Continuing the personal...

Family forger who faced the noose found in the ‘R’ box

It was a cardboard archive box in a London library that stopped Rachael Rowe in her tracks.‘I pulled out this packet of papers labelled...

Love, loss and the books between

Victoria Sturgess from Black Pug Books lets personal grief open a wider reflection on why literature has always returned to an uneasy pairing I thought...

£10,000 Sherborne Prize for Travel Writing unveils 2026 shortlist

The prestigious new Sherborne Prize for Travel Writing, launched with a remarkable £10,000 award, has revealed its first-ever shortlist – a six-strong line-up that...

Confessions – from Pepys to Mole

In her first Book Corner column for The BV, Victoria Sturgess from Black Pug Books in Wimborne takes us from war to wit in...

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Rescuing Blackberry

Rescued Shetland pony Blackberry may be small, but overcame neglect to rule as the farm’s feisty leader with a big personality beloved by all Blackberry...

How Dorset Became One of England’s Finest Food Counties

There are counties in England with a food reputation that precedes them: Yorkshire for its puddings, Cornwall for its pasties, Kent for its orchards....