The Christmas/New Year holiday offers an opportunity to enjoy another treasure from my recent visit to ‘Slightly Foxed,’ a second-hand bookshop in Berwick.

‘The Pickwick Papers’ is a Charles Dickens that I haven’t read before.

Apart from the brilliance of the writing and story-telling, the copy I bought (along with ‘The Picture Post Album’ – see December 15th, 2022 post) came with an instantly recognisable Quentin Blake cover.

It dates from about 1971, the year Britain went decimal, as the price sticker has both 13 shillings and 65 pence.

Blake, now 90 and still active as an artist and illustrator, has an informative website that is well worth a visit.

http://www.quentinblake.com