Good evening and welcome to the sleepy bookshelf.

This season we are exploring a previously unknown novel to me.

Jill by E.A. Dilwyn, about an unconventional, adventurous heroine.

Jill, like her author, is a strong character, who has an openly homosexual relationship,

which is so rare to find in novels of this time, and important for us to celebrate this gene.

Elizabeth Amy Dilwyn was a Welsh author, born near Swansea in 1845, to a prominent family.

She wrote six novels in her time, finally taking over and making a success of her father's business

after his passing. She never legally married of her father's business after his passing.

She never legally married after her first fiancé died, but she later considered herself

to be wife to her partner, Olive.

She was deeply involved with the women's suffragette movement, though she did reject their more violent tactics.

She was known as a pioneer to her friends,

presenting an unorthodox appearance and insisting on smoking cigars.

She died in 1935, age 90.

We know our listeners are as unique as our novels and lucky for you, our bookshelf is varied with lots of different types of stories to lull you into a deep sleep.

The following is a preview to give you an idea of what to expect from this season.

Jill is a novel about an adventurous young heroine from a good family

who seeks to reject the social norms of her rank

in order to chase the adventure she so deeply craves.

It is a fast-paced story, taking us to different countries, exploring society above and below stairs,

from the point of view of this unusually selfish, ruthless and sometimes cynical protagonist.

We hope you will join us for this season, however, if you decide that Jill isn't your cup of tea,

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