Victoria Four Thirty

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This out-of-print 1937 novel was recommended by Thomas of The Readers podcast. A delight! A dozen characters board the 4:30 train at Victoria station, Europe-bound. The decorous prose doesn't suit the darkest plot lines, but this is a compelling read. Should be a film. Should still be in print.

shawnmooney My full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1607459057 8y

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shawnmooney

Victoria Four Thirty | Cecil Roberts

Clare_Riley @shawnmooney - as a Brit, this is still in common usage by me at least!! It's a funny old language, isn't it! 8y

shawnmooney @Clare_Riley Thank you! It does feel at times as if we are divided by a common language across the pond, hey? So interesting! 8y

Verity I would use it like that too "he paid off the cabbie" or even "she paid off the waitresses and sent them home for the day" 8y

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Megabooks Yes, @shawnmooney , as an American, I don't use it that way either. Interesting catch! 8y

shawnmooney Interesting @Verity - where or you from and / or where did you grow up? This topic is so interesting to me! And @Ebooksandcooks good to know I'm not totally crazy! 8y

BestOfFates I agree, I would never say that - the closest I'd come is "I paid him off" referring to the cab driver, but even that has the insinuation to me that I'm paying for his complicity in a crime! 8y

shawnmooney @BestOfFates I agree. To pay someone off has another meaning, to bribe someone, but I don't think North Americans have ever used it to talk about the simple transaction of paying a taxi fare the way we'd use it to say we'd paid off all of our outstanding debt with Visa or the phone company. 8y

Carol Agree. Unless it's a debt or bribe I'd just say he paid the fare. 8y

Verity @shawnmooney I'm a Brit too - Midlands originally and now, but have lived up north and in Essex and work in London, so I've no idea where I've picked it up or if it's regional! I love language differences in action! 8y

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shawnmooney

Victoria Four Thirty | Cecil Roberts

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shawnmooney

Victoria Four Thirty | Cecil Roberts

ramyasbookshelf 'One did not marry an American woman, she married you and soon tired of it' 😂😂😂 8y

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shawnmooney

Victoria Four Thirty | Cecil Roberts

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shawnmooney

Victoria Four Thirty | Cecil Roberts

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shawnmooney

Victoria Four Thirty | Cecil Roberts

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shawnmooney

Victoria Four Thirty | Cecil Roberts

Mr. Gregoropoulos, a restauranteur, goes to the markets...

ForestAvenuePress How fun! Sounds like it's in my wheelhouse! 9y

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shawnmooney

Victoria Four Thirty | Cecil Roberts

This is how a novelist – to my mind, so far, a gay or maybe closeted gay male novelist – conceived of a bride's self-talk the day of her wedding…in his 1937 novel.

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shawnmooney

Victoria Four Thirty | Cecil Roberts

I started reading this, the first of four out-of-print books I intend to read in 2016, last evening. The opening paragraphs certainly got my gay male brain to focus! :-)

Orbeck33 🔥🔥🔥 9y

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shawnmooney

Victoria Four Thirty | Cecil Roberts

Thomas of The Readers podcast recently recommended this out-of-print 1937 novel, and I do/read everything he tells me. I got one of the last affordable copies with a dust jacket online. It's in my TBR pipeline for May, and I've decided to read at least four out-of-print books a year from now on.

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