Susan Scarlett Book Collection! ❤️

Happy Sunday Shelfie! 😍📚✨

Helllooo friends! I don't usually share Sunday Shelfies on my blog, but I am today! Yay! 🥳🎉

This photo only a shows a small portion of my bookshelves, but still…you can count that...right?

You might be able to catch a small glimpse of books by some of my favorite authors such as Rosamunde Pilcher, Ruby Ferguson, Margery Sharp, Louise Platt Hauck, and Maysie Greig on these shelves. (Also, a few by authors I'm excited about like Margaret Pedler and Anya Seton.)

I'm sure you already know that I'm a huge fan of Noel Streatfeild (check out my Noel Streatfeild Book Collection!), but I also ADORE her YA books written under the name Susan Scarlett 🥰 

I wanted to share my current book collection because I just added some gorgeous new vintage editions! Woo-hoo! (So much thanks and love to my parents, my sister Kim, and my in-laws for the birthday money! And, tons of love to Caro (@carosbookcase) for buying me Poppies in England and Ten Way Street! She is always incredibly generous and thoughtful! 🥰💕📚🎁)

 

[See my Susan Scarlett Instagram Post for better photos!]

 

Why Do I Love Susan Scarlett Books?

 

💖 Lively and fun to read

💖 Addictive 'gotta-get-to-the-end' stories

💖 Easy and enjoyable writing style

💖 At least one male and female character (not necessarily the main characters) to love

💖 Cozy details (especially about food and clothing)

💖 Light romances that don't leave you feeling over-emotional or sickly sweet

 

What I Find Frustrating about Susan Scarlett Books:

 

❊ Horribly annoying female characters who are lazy, self-centered and absolutely unlikable

❊ I find myself sometimes sighing (possibly loudly and deeply) when there is lack of communication between characters or if the ending feels like it was rushed and I have to go back and see if I'd missed something.

❊ Sometimes the characters' names get confusing because they're similar in some way and I have trouble keeping track of who's who. (Does this happen to you, too?) 

BOOK RATINGS:

The Man in the Dark 5🌟
Under the Rainbow 5🌟
Murder While You Work 4.75🌟
Sally-Ann 4.5🌟
Babbacombe’s 4.5🌟
Peter and Paul 4.5🌟
Summer Pudding 4.25🌟
Pirouette 4🌟
Clothes-Pegs 4🌟 

TBR:

Poppies Over England
Ten Way Street
Love in a Mist 

 

I adore my new vintage book collection but I love the covers on my Dean Street Press Furrowed Middlebrow editions more! 😜 (FUN FACT: I just counted and I only have 36 more DSP FM books to read! I've read 67/103 so far!) 

Do you love vintage editions OR modern reprints? (Or both?) 

Which cover do you like best? Let me know in the comments! 🤔

Happy Sunday, Beautiful Friends! ☀️💛🤗💛☀️ 

 

Noel Streatfeild Book Collection! ☺️💝📚

Happy March, Friends! 

I hope you're not sick of seeing another book collection post - lol! I couldn't resist sharing the (current) Noel Streatfeild books in my little home library. (Pssst...if you want to see my Susan Scarlett book collection, CLICK HERE! I'm almost done reading all 12 Dean Street Press Furrowed Middlebrow editions—woo!) 

There's something very special about Noel Streatfeild stories...they're heartfelt, family-rich, cozy, real, and full of authentic characters you feel like you know (or want to know). Sometimes I feel frustrated with the "baddies" (usually selfish, pompous, close-minded individuals), but things always seem to turn out alright—and that's why I love her books. 

I would love to say that I know a great deal about this lovely, spirited and incredibly talented author, but I only know the smallest amount (at the moment!) You should definitely check out her Wikipedia page to learn more about her fascinating life!

Today, Liz (@pony.books) and I are so excited to do a collab post on Instagram sharing all of our updated Noel Streatfeild treasures for Book Friday Friday!

I really loved my collab last year with Sue (@myownbookjourneys) last year, too! She has the BEST vintage editions—I'm still drooling over them in a serious way! 😍❤️📚

I also wanted to thank Beth of Small Home Comforts for inspiring me to keep reading more NS books this year! Her hashtag of #yearwithstreatfeild2026 is so fun and includes a wonderful variety of titles. I'm following along this year and I hope you will, too!

BOOK RATINGS:

(These are listed in the order that I read them. Only one book I've read as a child. The rest were read in my late 40s until now. Also, you can also find my full reviews of these books on Goodreads!) 

Ballet Shoes 5🌟 (child), 3.5🌟 (adult)
Saplings 3🌟
The Bell Family/Family Shoes 4🌟
A Vicarage Family 4.5🌟
Caldicott Place 3🌟
Apple Bough 4🌟
Noel Streatfeild's Christmas Stories 4🌟
The Growing Summer 3.5🌟
Thursday's Child 4🌟
New Town/New Shoes 4🌟
Noel Streatfeild's Holiday Stories 4🌟
Christmas with the Chrystals 3.5🌟
The House in Cornwall 4.5🌟
Skating Shoes 5🌟
Theatre Shoes 5🌟
Movie Shoes/The Painted Garden 3.75🌟 
The First Book of Ballet 4.75🌟
Dancing Shoes 4🌟 
Ballet Shoes for Anna 4.75🌟 

Aunt Clara 4.25🌟   

2026/2027 TBR: 

• Mothering Sunday
• Circus Shoes
• Tennis Shoes
• Party Shoes/Party Frock 
• The Children of Primrose Lane 
• The Gemma Series (two of the books gifted to me by Sue @myownbookjourneys!)
• By Special Request 
• The Years of Grace  
• Birthday Book

 

WISHLIST:

• Noel Streatfeild's Ballet Annual
• It Pays to Be Good
• The Winter is Past 
• Noel Streatfeild: A Biography 
• Judith
• Caroline England
• The Whicharts 
• I Ordered a Table for Six
• Tea by the Nursery Fire
• The Maitlands  
• Parson's Nine
• Grass in Piccadilly  

NOTE ON FIRST PHOTO IN POST: The photo in top left picture frame was printed out from the National Portrait Gallery website. (Photo by Bassano Ltd.) The photo in the lower right gold picture frame was printed out from Getty Images website. This photo features Noel Streatfeild as she autographs a copy of her book 'The Years of Grace' for actress Barbara Murray (1929 - 2014), circa 1950. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images.)

HELPFUL LINKS: 

•  Royal Literary Fund 
•  Story Mole 
•  Streatfeild: The Story of a Life by Susan Peak 
•  Books for Keeps
•  Persephone Books
•  Encyclopedia.com
•  Dean Street Press (for Susan Scarlett)

 NOEL STREATFEILD MOVIES:

• Ballet Shoes (2007)
• Ballet Shoes (1975)
• Thursday's Child (1972)
• The Growing Summer (1968)
• Aunt Clara (1954) 

Wishing you the most wonderful weekend, sweet friends! Let me know your favorite book(s) by Noel Streatfeild in the comments below! 💕❄️🤗❄️💕

Lovely Love Books 🥰💝✨❤️

Happy Valentine's Day, Friends! 😍💕💕

A wonderful Dean Street Press Furrowed Middlebrow book by Molly Clavering!

How has February been treating you so far? It's still pretty cold here in New Hampshire 🥶❄️ (single digits at night and highs of 30s during the day) and we've still got over a foot of snow on the lawn. Trying to go to the backyard compost area is a challenge because the snow is literally up to (or over!) my knees 😂 

I've been loving chatting with Liz (@pony.books) about our upcoming trip to London in April (yippeeee!), buddy reading vintage YA and romances with Andrea (@sorrythankyou79) and talking to Gina (@gina.stanyer.books) about our planners/traveler's journals and all things cozy! 

Stories for Lovers by the British Library Women Writers Collection!

On Saturday, Ian and I are planning on going to our favorite local coffee shop (Sunny Cafe!), watching a show together (Downton Abbey...again!) and maybe getting Thai for dinner (yumm!). I'm sure Ian will also want to spend some time with his new-to-him pinball machine, Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man (Did I ever mention that Ian has an arcade/pinball/movie room in our house? See end of post for a photo of his pinball machine. Let me know if you want me to share a video or more photos of his arcade room!) and I'll probably knit on my Harry Potter-themed scarves while re-watching a favorite movie. 

Full of poignant short stories of so many lovely British Women Writers!

What are YOUR plans for V-Day this year? ☺️💓🎁 

Okay...onto the BOOKS! 

Here are all of the books in my collection that have "LOVE" in the title! I know I post a lot of these subject/season themed collections, but it's definitely a passion of mine - lol. Do you like having books organized by theme or season? I also like to organize my bookshelves by author or genre (vintage middle grade, children's, holiday, etc.). So...for now...here are my love books with ratings—I will add links to my reviews on Goodreads soon!

Beautiful Emma Bridgewater mug from Gina and Lovepop card from Ian!

LOVE BOOKS & RATINGS:  

💝 Love Comes Home by Molly Clavering 4🌟
💝 Stories for Lovers by British Library Women Writers 4.25🌟
💝 How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry 4.5🌟
💝 Paris—And My Love by Mary Burchell 4🌟

Lovely vintage Harlequin romances by Mary Burchell and some of my vintage makeup collection!

💝 The Love Child by Edith Oliver 4🌟
💝 Love by Elizabeth von Arnim 4.5🌟
💝 Loves Music, Loves to Dance by Mary Higgins Clark 4.5🌟
💝 Love by Susan Branch 5🌟

Susan Branch books never fail to make me happy!

Best book everrrr! It's one of my all-time favorite books!

💝 No Fond Return of Love by Barbara Pym 3🌟
💝 The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford 4🌟
💝 Book Love by Debbie Tung 5🌟

Such a sweetly illustrated book about book love!

💝 Love is in the Earth by Melody 4🌟
💝 Caitlin Love Trilogy by Francine Pascal 4🌟
💝 The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman 5🌟
💝 A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott 5🌟
💝 The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love by Joan Medlicott 3🌟
💝 Paris in Love by Eloisa James 5🌟
💝 Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert 3🌟
💝 Love Over Scotland by Alexander McCall Smith 4🌟
💝 Peony in Love by Lisa See 3🌟
💝 Live with the Things You Love by Mary Randolph Carter 2🌟
💝 No Lovelier Spring by Lida Larrimore 3.5🌟

Lida Larrimore's vintage romances are so thoughtful!

The cutest book in the whole world!!

💝 Raggedy Ann: A Thank You, Please and I Love You Book by Norah Smaridge 5🌟
💝 Come Back to Me, Beloved by Kathleen Norris 5🌟

A 5🌟 Kathleen Norris novel - sooo perfect! A buddy read with Gina Stanyer.

💝 French Girl in Love by Maysie Greig 3.5🌟
💝 Odds on Love by Maysie Greig 4🌟
💝 The Laurel Bush: An Old-Fashioned Love Story by Dinah M. Craik 4.5🌟
💝 Love and Friendship by Jane Austen 3.5🌟
💝 The Book of My Beloveds by Esmerelda Little Flame 5🌟

I have poetry in this lovely book! Available on Amazon! 

💝 A Fine Romance: Falling In Love with the English Countryside by Susan Branch 5🌟
💝 Enid Blyton's Nature Lover's Book 3.5🌟
💝 Learning To Love Yourself by Gay Hendricks 4🌟
💝 The Last Letter from Your Lover by JoJo Moyes 5🌟
💝 The Demon Lover by Victoria Holt 3🌟
💝 The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold 4🌟
💝 Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith 3🌟
💝 Sweet Valley High books by Francine Pascal (too many to list with love in the title - lol!) generally all 3-4🌟

Love-titled books on a pink bamboo lace shawl that I knit myself!

LOVE BOOK TBR:   

Here is a list of all the books I'm hoping to read within the next year or less. Any favorite books listed here? See above photo to see some of the covers!

Photo from Dean Street Press Ltd. website. 

❤️ Love in a Mist by Susan Scarlett
❤️ First Love by Gay Head    
❤️ Look Back with Love by Dodie Smith
❤️ All for Love by Tasha Tudor
❤️ The Lovely Day by Dorothy Evelyn Smith  
❤️ The Long Love by Pearl S. Buck
❤️ How to Love by Thich Nhat Hanh  
❤️ The Love Child by Fiona Hill
❤️ A World of Love by Elizabeth Bowen
❤️ Love for Lydia by H.E. Bates 

I would LOVE to know your favorite books with "love" in the title or any books that just give you that loving feeling 😊💓 

Wishing you the most wonderful Valentine's Day (no matter who you're with or even if you've taken a self-care day of your own!) and sending lots and lots of love from meeeeee! 

As always, I'll try to keep this list updated as the months (or years!) go by. If you ever use my list for anything fun, please tag me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or anywhere on social media. You can also email me: babsbelovedbooks at gmail dot com! ☺️✨🌸 

Ian's new-to-him 1980s pinball machine is so cool!

Ian playing his new Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man pinball! 

Favorite 25 Books of 2025! 🤩🎉📚🌈

Happy New Year, Friends!! 😍💕✨

I'm just under the wire for posting my 25 Favorite Books of 2025 before the end of January—whew! 

Before I go right into my post, I thought I'd share some of the lovely things happening in my life right now:

💙 Organizing the details of my April trip with Liz/Raspberry Tart to visit London for the first time! (Ahhh! 🤯 So excited! 🥳)
💙 Planning my trip to the BFF Sticker Club Camp in September with the BFF Sticker Group! (Yay!! 🤩🌈💫)
💙 Currently adoring White Holiday by Viola Bayley (a Children's Press edition 🥰) 
💙 Re-watching Downton Abbey with Ian
💙 Movie and knitting dates with Caro ☺️🧡 (Check out her 2025 favorite books!)
💙 Re-listening to A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie audiobook
💙 Setting up my cork B6 Traveler's Journal for 2026 with inserts for books read, my planner, to-do list and sketchbook.
💙 Trying not to collect too many Calico Critter figurines...but it's hard! 😂
💙 Reading as many winter vintage books as possible (and loving it!)  

Okay...FINALLY onto books!

This was another fantastic reading year with 240 BOOKS under my book belt. Woo-hoo! 

If you'd like to see some of more of My Favorite Books From Past Years, here are links to my Instagram posts:

24 Favs in 2024 

23 Favs in 2023 

22 Favs in 2022

21 Favs in 2021 

Here are the books that brought me the MOST HAPPINESS last year 🥰 

All were 5🌟 ratings and books that I will 100% read again! 

REPUBLISHED BOOKS:
🌟 The Man in the Dark
🌟 Under the Rainbow
🌟 At School with the Stanhopes
🌟 Mothers and Daughters
🌟 The Pink House
🌟 The Strange House

VINTAGE BOOKS:
🌟 A Flute on Mayferry Street
🌟 Pink Sugar
🌟 Taken By the Hand 
🌟 Rochester’s Wife
🌟 Silver Slippers

VINTAGE CHILDREN'S BOOKS:
🌟 Elizabeth of the Garret Theatre
🌟 Black Forest Summer
🌟 All Because of Gina
🌟 The Vine Clad Hill
🌟 It's Nice To Be Me
🌟 Guinea Pig Podge
🌟 The April Baby’s Book of Tunes
🌟 In the Closed Room

NON-FICTION BOOKS:
🌟 A Sense of Seasons
🌟 The Joy of the Snow
🌟 The Book of Stillmeadow
🌟 Audrey at Home
🌟 A Thousand Feasts
🌟 Just Being Audrey

BONUS!!! BEST CONTEMPORARY BOOKS:
🌟 The World at Home by Ginny Kubitz Moyer
🌟 Emma M. Lion Series (especially Volumes 4 & 5) by Beth Brower
🌟 The Rocking of the Ocean by Barbara Matteson 

FAVORITE VINTAGE AUTHORS OF THE YEAR:
💓 Agatha Christie
💓 Gladys Taber
💓 Jean Hersey
💓 O. Douglas
💓 Gwendoline Courtney
💓 D.E. Stevenson
💓 Susan Scarlett
💓 Elizabeth Goudge
💓 Mabel Esther Allan

Do you see any favorite books or authors in this list? 

What was YOUR favorite book of 2025? 🤩🌟 Comment your favs below...I'm dying to know! 

Much love and many warm hugs! 💕❄️🤗❄️💕 

Dynamic Duo for Dean Street December! 😍📚🎄❤️✨

Happy Furrowed Middlebrow Friday and Happy Dean Street Press December 2025! 🥳💜✨

What could be better than spending the most lovely and cozy moments of December snuggled up with a cup of tea and a snack by a warm, crackling fire with a Dean Street Press's Furrowed Middlebrow book? (hint: nothing!)

So many thanks to Liz Dexter at Adventures in Reading for hosting another wonderful wintery month of DSP books! Yippee! ☺️📘❄️💙

Ian's SPAM socks (with container) and his 33-year-old can of unopened SPAM! 

Spam Tomorrow by Verily Anderson 

RATING: 4.5🌟 

A non-stop roller coaster of activity on the home front! 

This wartime memoir by Verily Anderson grabbed me from the very first page until the (wonderfully satisfying) last sentence. At first, I thought that Ms. Anderson's writing was all-over-the-place and it really had my head reeling...BUT...once I got into the rhythm and pace of her thoughts and writing style, it was a JOY to read. 

To me, the life of Verily, her family, her friends (and then later with her husband, Donald) reminds me of these other titles:

❊ The humor, flurry, excitement and coziness of the Mrs. Tim series by D.E. Stevenson
❊ A smidge of the satirical and amusing novels, The Benefactress and The Caravaners, by Elizabeth von Arnim
❊ With a touch of Susan Scarlett's slightly silly and irreverent (but also touching) romance novels. 

Once I got used to the author's writing style (maybe 30% in?), I flew through the rest of the memoir and I didn't want it to end. There's so much to love, lots to laugh about and also a little bit to frustrate in Spam Tomorrow. 

If you love wartime memoirs, quirky personalities, unbelievably wacky situations and an underlining theme of real life and honest feelings/reactions during the war, this book is for you! I really enjoyed it!

Murder While You Work by Susan Scarlett

RATING: 4.75🌟 

Oooh! This was SO good! I had no idea that Susan Scarlett wrote a murder mystery! 😱

This story had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. It has the perfect blend of coziness, Susan Scarlett/Noel Streatfeild's sparkling writing and intrigue. It was so hard to put down. Wow!

The only reason why I didn't give it a full five stars is because Judy (who I really liked overall) was almost entirely clueless to the affections of a certain war-time colleague. It seems to me that the author wrote her character to be very clever, positive, attractive and observant...but, in this one aspect, she is totally blind to the words and actions of this man. I had such a hard time believing this fact that it frustrated me and I had to bump it down a half star. 😭

But, aside from that, it was AMAZING! I would absolutely re-read this Susan Scarlett novel and...who knows...I might end up changing it to a five star story in the end. 

Highly recommended! One of my Top 3 Susan Scarlett favs! 

I also plan on re-reading Miss Plum and Miss Penny by one of my favorite authors, Dorothy Evelyn Smith this month! It's another Christmas-y favorite of mine! 😍❤️📚🎄

NOTE: 

Current Favorite Teas: Organic lemon balm, Simpson & Vale's Literary Teas in Goldilocks and the Three Bears or Louisa May Alcott (thoughtful and delicious gifts from Christie @felines_and_flowers!)

Current Favorite Snacks: Gladys Taber's homemade cranberry walnut tea bread, Fine & Raw dark chocolate or oyster crackers

Now, I can't even imagine December without a Dean Street Press book in my hand! I think I already have 2-3 DSP titles in mind for next year. Do you have any suggestions for me? 

What are your favorite drinks or snacks to enjoy while reading? Let me know in the comments below! 

If I can't manage to share another blog post this month, I want to wish all of you the most joyful, healing and peaceful holiday and New Year!! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog, comment, like my posts on Instagram/Facebook/Goodreads and for always being so caring, supportive and encouraging! It was also so exciting to grow from 1900 to almost 2400 followers on Instagram since early this year...thank you, thank you! 

All of my love, warmest hugs, and wishes for the most cozy and amazing reading for the rest of the year and 2026!! 🥰💕🤗❄️✨🎁💫❤️💚🎄

 

Peter and Paul by Susan Scarlett 👯‍♂️🏡❤️

Happy Furrowed Middlebrow Friday, Friends!

Reading Susan Scarlett books is definitely one of the joys of my reading life. The more titles I read, the more I'm addicted. Thank goodness that the awesomely amazing Dean Street Press republished all of Noel Streatfeild's books under this adorable pseudonym! Yay!

This week, I'm sharing another book rating and review—Peter and Paul! 

RATING: 4.5🌟 

For me, Peter and Paul is the Furrowed Middlebrow version of a Sweet Valley High book!

Peter and Paul reminded me so much of Jessica and Elizabeth from the Sweet Valley High by Francine Pascal. I used to love reading this YA series when I was young and this Susan Scarlett book absolutely brought back the same fun "twin vibes" drama that I used to get from this series.

I really enjoyed:

• The alternated settings of the upscale fashion/clothing store (where the twins work) and the country vicarage (their home)
• The fascinating characters in each location: a moral-minded (and very behind-the-times) vicar, a loving (but frazzled) mother, a jealous (and deviously clever) store manager—plus, lots of employee gossip and unfulfilled Hollywood dreams balanced with the helpful, quiet and caring Paul (Pauline) and slightly clueless (but handsome) fashion designer, David Bliss.

If it wasn't for my frustration over the selfish behavior of Peter (Petronella), I would have given this novel another half star. But, this is a theme that frequently upsets me and slightly spoils the enjoyment of the story overall. I know that there must be some sort of conflict in a YA novel like this, but it's one that bothers me more than I like. So, even though it was a great story, it's not quite a 5 star read for me. 

But, I'm still very excited to read the rest of the Susan Scarlett books! In general, they are a such a treat to read and I'm always very grateful to Dean Street Press Ltd. for republishing all of these charming books by Susan Scarlett/Noel Streatfeild! 

Many thanks to my dear friend, Gina (@gina.stanyer.books on IG and YouTube), for buddy reading this book with me! 

Stay tuned for a full SUMMER READING BOOK LIST in my next post! I've been slowly creating a list of all of the books in my collection with "summer" in the title (or a summer theme) and I'm looking forward to sharing these books with you! 

Hope you're having a wonderful summer so far and please let me know what you've been reading in July and August 🤩💛  As always, lots of love and many hugs!! I'm so grateful for your support (both here and on Instagram!) 💕🌸🤗🌸💕