I had a post half-written - pictures in, links, too - and then it vanished, some glitch with re-sizing an image caused the whole thing to disappear! I'm vexed, but haven't the will to start it all over again, so I'll re-write it another day, and for now offer you a Friday afternoon 'ramble' instead, beginning with a link to a review of a book I haven't read.
I saw this piece by Ysenda Maxtone Graham in The Spectator and thought the book she's talking about, Wild Writing Granny by Mary Sheepshanks, sounded worth seeking out, only to discover that mainstream retailers don't appear to stock it. However, if after reading the review you're minded to get a copy, they are to be found in the Eton College online shop - so full marks to Eton (with whom the author is connected) for having it.
Ysenda Maxtone Graham is the granddaughter of Mrs. Miniver's creator Jan Struther, and I can recommend her biography of her grandmother, The Real Mrs. Miniver, which is about to be re-issued by Slightly Foxed (there's a brief anecdote from it here and an excerpt from the prologue here).
Retracing our steps for a moment, that 'literary crush' post from a couple of days ago has got a good response - from the ladies; gentlemen, it is fine for you to have one, too, though if it does turn out to be a female phenomenon, that's rather interesting, I think. And speaking of women, just for fun try this short quiz to find out which Jane Austen heroine you are - I wasn't surprised to learn that I am Elinor Dashwood.
