“O Caledonia” teaches girls how to grow up
Elspeth Barker’s only novel is a celebration of obstinate individuality
She lies in a heap on the staircase of Auchnasaugh Castle, “twisted and slumped in bloody, murderous death”. Above her, a stained-glass window bears her family motto: Moriens sed Invictus, “dying but unconquered”.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “One of a kind”
Culture January 21st 2023
- New films in France tackle race, gender, exile and belonging
- “Pegasus” lifts the lid on a sophisticated piece of spyware
- A philosopher offers four case studies in failure
- “O Caledonia” teaches girls how to grow up
- In “Still Pictures” Janet Malcolm turns her pen on herself
- Translating the Bible is a vexed task, as a new book shows
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