Which Persephone are you reading now?

After the wonderful Persephone Tea in NYC last month, it's been "Persephone on My Mind" and because I was in a bit of duldrums in reading (way too occupied with work & such), I finally picked up one of the volumes purchased at the Tea by Monica Dickens titled Mariana (No. 2) and have been so warmly drawn into her gentle observations and humour, it is the perfect antidote to the 21st Century and this crazy pace of living!

I've begun one of the latest books - House-bound by Winifred Peck - read 3 chapters last night before I went to sleep last night, and enjoyed it. It was a bit difficult getting straight who was who at the start as Rose's family situation is a little complex and I was tired. But now I have got into it, I am enjoying it. Peck writes very clearly and Rose is a sympathetic heroine. Has anyone else got it?! I can't believe I am the only one as LT claims.

I've finished House-bound (No 72) by Winifred Peck and I enjoyed it. It is a bit darker and sadder than I had anticipated. I thought it would be a humorous look at how a middle-class lady copes without servants. However, it is more than that, it is about a difficult family set-up, about life on the Home Front, about loss and change etc. There were a couple of things I wasn't too happy with, but to say any more would spoil it, I think, so I won't. Looking forward to hearing what others think of it.

I began The Shuttle (No 71) this afternoon. One chapter in, and it promises to be good. It is a very thick book and it says it is abridged! Heavens!

I'm STILL reading Mariana as I've been busy and out-of-town and all that. When I get the chance, however, it is such a beautiful and transporting read.

aluvalibri just read The Shuttle. I'm surprised we haven't seen her here yet!!

You mention me...and here I am! Yes, I read The Shuttle and thoroughly enjoyed it. I have a 1907 edition, so mine is not abridged. It reads very easily and quickly, so you will not feel the "weight" of its (is it over 500?) pages.
The villain is very authentic, so much so that I often found myself calling him names while reading (to the amazement and amusement of my family, I must add).
I am not going to say anything about the plot, I do not want to spoil anybody's pleasure in reading it.
I still have not touched The making of a Marchioness....been sidetracked by my multiple piles of TBRs. And by the way, bleuroses, yesterday, in the mail, I got three more Viragos.....

:-))

She's here alright and buying every darn VIRAGO in sight!!

eh eh eh eh......;-)

Took a break from the Shuttle - not in the mood for it - but flew through The making of a marchioness which I loved. I will post it to my mother tomorrow, I think she will love it too. Reading other stuff at the moment but I have 4 other Persephones waiting to be read... and an old edition of The Victorian Chaise-Longe as well. Lots of summer reading.

I have just finished The Priory - which I loved!! Highly recommended.

I'm reading The Fortnight in September by R.C. Sherriff. It's the absolute perfect book for the beach!

Just finished The Making of a Marchioness and just about to start Mariana

Just starting Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple and loving it.

I've just read Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and Greenery Street - both very good reads, not too taxing and amusing in their different ways. I read them while travelling, and I found them ideal as they did not demand too much concentration and they lent themselves to dipping in and out. Of the two, I would prefer Miss Pettigrew...

I just re-read Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and also The Home-Maker recently. Miss Pettigrew is charming, of course, but I have to recommend The Homemaker too. It has stayed with me since I originally read it last year and I found it just as moving this time round. It's about a woman who prefers working to being a stay-at-home mother, and a father who prefers being the care-giver to working - and all at a time when such an arrangement was simply not acceptable except as necessity. It is very clear on how prevailing social convention simply may not be the best thing for all concerned, and the themes are still relevant.

Have been tearing through Persephones lately, but at the moment I am reading Saplings. Oh it is wonderful! I had no idea that Noel Streatfield wrote books for adults until I saw her name on the Persephone catalogue.

Just finished Miss Pettigrew yesterday and I am looking forward to The Victorian Chaise Longue this weekend.

#14 I love The Home-Maker, too. When I first read it I guess I was surprised to find those themes in a book written so long ago! I also like The Deepening Stream, The Brimming Cup (there is a Virago edition) and Bonfire by Canfield Fisher.

I just finished Consequences; it is by far the most serious Delafield I've read (which isn't much, just the Provincial Lady books and Thank Heaven Fasting) but it is an excellent book.

Not only was it enjoyable to read, but I knew that upon the close, I could start considering my next order!

I'm currently half through An Interrupted Life: the Diaries and Letters of Etty Hillesum 1941-43 and loving it, I don't think I will want this book to end, while at the same time I want to keep reading. Definately one that will be picked up and read again reasonably quickly I think.

I just finished The Victorian Chaise-Longue which I also enjoyed.

I just started The Shuttle, and so far I'm really enjoying it ... except for the fact that Frances Hodgson Burnett has used the word "ingenuous" six times in the first 30 pages. Is that really necessary?

I'm nearly half-way through Mariana and am already dreading the end. I don't want it to be over!! It's so incredibly good! This just might replace Miss Pettigrew as my new favourite Persephone book. Gasp!

I discovered that the local college library owns four Persephones (#1, 2, 3, and 6), and I just checked out and started to read The Victorian Chaise Longue. Not the same as getting my own copy with a nice bookmark inside, but also less expensive. I think I'll check out Mariana next.

I have just finished The children who lived in a Barn - sweet, charming little story - perfect Sunday afternoon read.

I am just beginning part two of The Making of a Marchioness - delightful!

Rob...brilliant luck in the richness of your local library. I, too, prefer to own my edition, but it isn't always possible. The backside of owning (and I KNOW the following applies to many of us) as Anthony Burgess said "The possession of a book becomes a substitute for reading it." So perhaps, the lending library keeps us on track!

Good for you, Marise! I recently received "The Shuttle" from a dear LT friend but haven't started it. Seems I've been lost in other time zones!

The Shuttle is a good read, too, bleuroses, enjoy!!

I've read The Home-Maker just this morning, and it was brilliant. By far my favourite Persephone so far ( I've only read four of them ). It sometimes read like a fairy tale for grown-ups and sometimes as an anthem to empathy, which just the good ideas and a superb way of combining everyday life and moments of great discovery ( the egg scene is positively excellent ). What a great book, I absolutely loved it.

I have finished The Closed Door and Other Stories just today and I'm really happy with my introduction to Dorothy Whipple : I loved each and every one of these short stories. Actually, I do not understand why she isn't more famous, they were really brilliant. Small victories in small lives, depicted with subtlety and intelligence. Can't wait to read more : what would you suggest I read next by her ?

Sibylle.Night, I am just 24 pages (just started it late last night) into Because of the Lockwoods by Dorothy Whipple, but it is really good so far! Not a Persephone, but I found a copy through BetterWorldBooks when I was ordering something else and thought I would take a chance. Its my introduction to Whipple!

I think I am going to want to read more by her, as well! That's one of the best things about Persephone and Virago for me: being introduced to these women who wrote such wonderful books and who are so unjustly neglected!!!

Sibylle and marise, I strongly recommend The Priory. The edition I have is not the Persephone, but when I read it I enjoyed it immensely.

I've just read The Far Cry by Emma Smith. Here's my review:

"25 Dec 2007 - from Matthew

I'm not sure what I thought of this strange novel. Ostensibly about a teenage girl travelling to India to be reunited with her half-sister, this is a very inward-focussed book, maybe reminiscent of the Dorothy Richardson Pilgrimage books, with great detail on the interior life of the heroine. But also there are some huge plot events, which impact in different ways. I loved some of the incidental characters; I'm not sure if I loved the book."

I'm now reading The Priory by Dorothy Whipple which is simply marvellous of course - a good old-fashioned, beautifully characterized page-turner of a read. I will be looking to get more of hers soon - which others do they do? I know Ali has one about some sisters...

I'm about to start Doreen by Barbara Noble. I'm reading it for the March theme read for the Girlybooks Group. Has anyone here read it?

I was editing my previous post and then it disappeared and then deleted it! Anyway, I'm reading The Shuttle and it raises my hackles! I'd like to push Nigel and his mother off a cliff! What fun to get so involved so quickly!!

I loved it too, bleu!!!
:-))

I'm reading Lady Rose and Mrs. Memmary and really enjoying it - it's my 2nd Persephone (Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day was my first), and I am completely hooked!! I just got The Far Cry, and I have a Dorothy Whipple on the way as well (I forget which one I decided to order!)

I loved The Shuttle too. I loved to hate the deliciously depraved Sir Nigel. I found myself hissing as I read about him! I can't remember now whether he had a cape, but in my imagination, he certainly should have had one. All in all a very satisfying bit of froth.

I have just started Dorothy Whipple's Someone at a Distance, but I have had to put it down as it is irritating me beyond belief. I'm sure it's probably me so I will try again later in the year when I am in a different frame of mind.

Finished The Shuttle which I thoroughly enjoyed. I don't recall a cape on that beast of a man Nigel, fabrile-heart. I do love your description.....a very satisfying bit of froth!"

In the middle of The Blank Wall by Elizabeth Sanxay Holding. Many thoughts about it but will wait until I've finished. I must say, though, that I think Lucia may have spent too much time in a room with yellow wallpaper!

I am in the middle of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and thoroughly enjoying it!
:-))

Aluvalibri, my copy (from amazon) is on it's way along with The Making of a Marchioness! Have you seen the film (Miss Pettigrew) yet?

No, not yet, but I WILL NOT MISS IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've read Mariana recently and I really liked it except for the antisemitism. I'm currently reading Hostages to Fortune and I absolutely adore it so far.

I just finished Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and highly recommend it. An excellent and uplifting read!!!

Miss Pettigrew arrived today (along with The Making of the Marchioness (not Persephone sadly, but still a charming paperback edition published by Elibron Classics.)

Looks my week is set!

Finished The Blank Wall and was amused. It's very readable and indeed, suspenseful and it has a happy ending! Miss Holding must have been influenced by Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper because so much of the Lucia's actions are results of her overactive mind left to itself without counsel.

On it's own, it's a fine story; however, reading directly after "The Shuttle", I was only mildly interested.

Reading Miss Pettigrew! Saw the movie over the weekend and loved it! Already I see differences between the two, but the film still captures the essence of this delightful story. Amy Adams delivers another star turn!

At the moment I'm reading The Gardener's Nightcap by Muriel Stuart. Since I'm spending a lot of time in the garden these days I thought it would be a good one to read. I read a little bit at night before bed and it's very poetic and refreshing :)

Ah bleuroses, I have ordered Miss Pettigrew. I decided to see the movie first (I just saw it tonight in fact) so I wouldn't resent it for being different and it was delightful.

I was wanting an excuse to get a Persephone book and trying to figure out if any were carried by Amazon or American booksellers so I am greatful to the film for making at least one title more widely available. But I made the mistake of going to their website and I have already made a wishlist.

I am SO curious about Marjory Fleming. Has anyone read it?

I've just finished Good Evening, Mrs Craven, and am now about to start on Minnie's Room. It's a Mollie Panter-Downes week!

I've just finished Consequences today. It's not a cheerful book at all but it's beautifully written and efficient. She makes a very good point, in my opinion. I'll be starting Saplings tomorrow.

I've finished Saplings and it's my favourite Persephone so far : it's a wonderful story, not really happy (actually not happy at all) but beautifully written and an amazing character study. I recommend it warmly.

Sibylle, I'm so glad you enjoyed Saplings. It was one of the Persephones I bought and read during my year in England, and I loved it, too. It was the kind of book that made me love and feel for the characters so much, especially Laurel, that I wanted to get inside the story myself and personally set things right.

Aww - Saplings is great, isn't it - one of my favourites, I think.

Ali's just read Doreen and I'm restraining myself and keeping They Were Sisters till its rightful place in my TBR shelf queue!

Oooh! Coincidentally, I just started Saplings last night! I was very tired, though, so only managed the first page. But I can't wait to go to bed tonight to really get into it.

I've finished Good Evening, Mrs Craven and Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, both were excellent.

I have just started to read Mis Pettigrew Lives for a Day. The film has just been released in our cinemas.

Thank you for the good review Sibylle. With all the favorable notice, I'm going to have to get on the Miss Pettigrew bandwagon—or is it a chorus line?—before too long!:)

I have just finished part one of The Making of a Marchioness and I am completely captivated!

I've just been reading Every Eye by Isobel English, which I thought was great - reminiscent of Muriel Spark and Olivia Manning, both friends of hers it seems. I hope very much to read more by her. Also finished the volume of Dorothy Whipple short stories, The Closed Door - enjoyable but not brilliant. Did anyone see the recent article about Virago in The Guardian, in which Carmen Callil referred to the "Whipple line" - she couldn't get on with Dorothy's works and used her as a benchmark for the type of books and writing Virago would not publish. Rather harsh when you think what they did publish ...

Catalpa, I loved The Closed Door. I think the 'Whipple line' refers to the line below which nothing much happens ? I'm not sure. All Persephones are very quiet novels - they're not epic, that's for sure. It's been a while since I've read it but if I remember correctly the main theme was young women's happiness being crushed by their parents/relatives, when you see the consequences on the girls' lives... I don't call that the kind of stories where "nothing much happens", it's about where to find happiness and how to keep it no matter what because there's only one life and it's made to be lived to the full.
At least, that's my opinion of the book (and my opinion on life in general, which might explain why I loved the stories so much ) :)

Hi Sybille, the 'Whipple line' seemed from the article to refer to both substandard plotting and prose. Dorothy Whipple's prose, while obviously not avant-garde, is much superior to somebody like Rebecca West, to my mind. I've certainly enjoyed her work, especially Someone at a Distance, vastly more than The Return of the Soldier! I think the non-epic qualities of the Persephone works are their great strength and source of interest.

#62> catalpa, have you read The fountain overflows or Cousin Rosamund by Rebecca West? If you have not, I suggest you do, they are wonderful. By the way, I quite enjoy Dorothy Whipple as well. The Priory is an excellent read.

catalpa, I second Paola's recommendation of The Fountain Overflows and Cousin Rosamund. I like both Whipple (I only have one) and West, but not for the same reasons. I think I do have a J Susann line, however, below which I will not sink!

OK, I'll give Rebecca West another go one day! I've never read Jacqueline Susann - if Persephone is still going in thirty years' time, they will probably rediscover Valley of the Dolls.

My next read will be William - an Englishman. Has anyone read this?

The last Persephone Book I read was Frances Hodgson Burnett's THE SHUTTLE, which I bought at the Persephone tea party in NY. I enjoyed it very much, althouh I understand it's an abridged edition and can see why the editors had to cut away.

The heroine is this rather flawless, beautiful, dynamic creature, and maybe she's even more perfect, more invincible in the original version? If anyone has read the original, uncut novel, please let me know.

#67> Ortolan, I was at the tea party in NY too!

That tea party was fun and I enjoyed the talk by Anne Sebba- I later bought her biography of Jennie Jerome for my mother for Christmas! I wish there's another Persephone convention in NYC soon.

I'm flying through Greenery Street and finding it quite amusing and fun.

Finished William - an Englishman. A sad book about the horrors of war experienced by William during WWI, and how his views changed during this time. I enjoyed (if that's the right word) reading this book.

I've just finished The Young Pretenders written by Edith Henrietta Fowler. It was such a lovely read ! It's a children's book that's both very funny and terribly sweet. I loved it and I recommend it warmly.

I have read Every Eye this week by isobel English which I enjoyed. It's about an Englishwoman who reflects on her past life while on holiday in Ibiza with her husband.

Just finished my first persephone Mariana by Monica Dickens. I enjoyed it and look forward to choosing my next!

The one I've read most recently was Bricks and Mortar by Helen Ashton. I wouldn't say it was one of my favourite Persephones, but I did enjoy it. Without being an overly sad book, it left me feeling a bit down, if that makes any sense.

I've just gulped down They Were Sisters, the one I bought on my trip to London to the NEW Persephone shop - I had a day off and indulged myself with it. I've posted a review. Whipple is marvellous.

I just finished An Interrupted Life: the diaries and letters of Etty Hillesum. The best book I've read in a long time...this year certainly. What a powerful account of the holocaust and one strong woman throughout. I want to re-read it again right away.

I've got a week off this next week and I'm going to treat myself to a go with Few Eggs and No Oranges, which I bought ages ago, couldn't bring myself to read (it was just after we moved up from London and a few months after 7/7) but now I've read a few more WW2 memoirs, I'm ready for it...

What with that and the 2nd Forsyte Trilogy, AND the Olympics, I'm going to have a GREAT week off!

Lyzzybee, you're recommend of They Were Sisters has made me put it on my list of must have persephones...Few Eggs and No Oranges is on the list too. Let us know what you think of it.

Just started A Very Great Profession by Nicola Beauman.

#80
I'm curious, are there a lot of names you hadn't heard of before ? I was told it was more of a bibliography of recommendations than serious study and analysis.

#81. It's much more than just a bibliography of recommendations. I recognise most of the works she mentions although, as yet, I have not read many of them. In fact apart from Virginia Woolf I have only read a few books by woman from this period in our history. Beauman has used different themes for her chapter headings (eg. feminism, sex, psychoanalysis, love) and used each one as a basis for discussing the ways in which women's lives and ideas, particularly the middle-classes, have changed since the Victorian era. She has used examples from books, mainly by women, in her discussion.

I have 3 more chapters to read and so far I have found this book to be a good starting point for further reading of women's lives during this period.

I just finished It's hard to be hip over thirty by Judith Viorst, another fabulous find in the oxfam books! I sat down and read this poetry collection (it actually includes People and other aggravations as well) like a novel. The poems are approachable and witty.

What??? You lucky whatsit! I have only ever found one Persephone in a charity shop... and it was one I already had! That is a great one, isn't it - I've given it to a couple of friends and read some of it each time!

You certainly don't find ANY Persephone in ANY used bookstore here, in the US!!!!
If someone has, it was because of a particularly fortuitous and auspicious circumstance!

It's a really really good oxfam books-the best! Just up the road from their new little shop. If you're ever on portobello road...

Aluvalibri, when I was in Vancouver in July, I found a copy of the Persephone edition of Cheerful Weather for the Wedding by Julia Strachey at a used bookstore and immediately asked the owner, "do you have any other books by this publisher?" and oh well, it was the only one.

The novel is piquant and funny, but very short. I saved it for the airplane ride and finished it by the time the drinks cart came around. I was glad to only pay Canadian $9 for it.

Lucky you, Ortolan!
:-))

After my current read which I will finish after I get off the computer : ) - I will start The Shuttle : )

I am just about to start Mariana by Monica Dickens.

First Chapter of Mariana had me reaching for the tissues.

Just finished Chapter 3 - Mariana is recalling her childhood - loving it!

I have started Few Eggs and No Oranges and really enjoying it so far. I bought it in 2004!!!! Ali will be shocked that I have gone against my "read books in the order I acquired them apart from BookCrossing rings" policy but there is a reason I delayed it this long!

Back in 2004 I was still living in Central London. Security was getting tighter and tighter, the police had guns, and coming out of your house to go to work of a morning and finding a policeman with a gun outside your front door can be... unsettling. There were security helicopters figure-of-eighting between the City of London and Buckingham Palace all night long, and there was an air of tension which would (partly) lead to our leaving London and of course would culminate in the terrible events of 7/7.

In that context, reading a book about WWII and the Blitz, however much there was a local interest in it being about Birmingham and London, was just too much for me. I did start it (see, Ali!) but I couldn't continue (and the bit I read up to wasn't even that bad!)

Since then we have moved, feel safer, and I've read quite a few WWII books and diaries. I promised myself that I could pick it off the shelf once my post-Hay TBR was back down to manageable proportions. That has happened, and here I am, reading it and I'm fine so far.

Oops - bit of a long post for me! I'll let you know what I thought of it once I've finished it...

I have finished Mariana by Monica Dickens - delightful read.

As so many of you have recommended Dorothy Whipple my next book is Someone at a Distance

Someone at a Distance - My first Whipple book - enjoying it immensely - it won't be my last.

Mariana was my first persephone! I'm a bit sentimental. ;) I have They were Sisters waiting patiently for me on the shelf. I've not read any Dorothy Whipple yet.

I'm very sentimental too and I get very nostalgic for 'the old days' i.e any time when life moved at a slower pace than it does today. My children say I'm old-fashioned!

I belong to that old-fashioned club, too, englishrose60! So glad you are liking the Dorothy Whipple!

Another one here for the "Old-fashioned club"!!!!

It's so good to know that I'm not alone!

Finished Fidelity by Susan Glaspell - a very engrossing story of Ruth's return to the small town she had left 11 years earlier with a married man, and how their actions had affected the 'society' they had left behind, especially their families.

Now reading Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson.

Finished Miss Pettigrew, a delightful, fun read.

Just finished The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding. How do I love persephone books...let me count the ways...this is my fourth persephone and I loved it too! What a great suspense novel and I'm not a great reader of them. Why have I never heard of her before? I wonder what else she wrote? I wonder what my next persephone will be?

I have heard praise for Elizabeth Sanxay Holding elsewhere on LT and now my curiousity is really peaked!

I'm reading Mariana by Monica Dickens which I see started off this thread.

It's lovely so far. I adore Uncle Geoffrey who gets a bit squiffy and proposes to inappropriate women. I think his phrase 'gives me the pip' is great - from now on I shall use it for all things that annoy me!

They Were Sisters
by Dorothy Whipple
I've got two sisters and I always like deciding who plays who when reading books about sisters...but yikes! Who would want to be any of these sisters? Except maybe poor Lucy? Good grief! And that Geoffrey fellow, what a nasty character he was. I do like to think if I had been one of these sisters I would've been the one to stand up to him and tell him where to go.

I found a copy of They Were Sisters in Oxfam yesterday, and it's right at the top of the TBR. I hope I get on with it better than Someone at a Distance...

>106 woollenstuff: I hope you do too! I have that one TBR, and I want to hear only good things about it.

I finished The Fortnight in September this afternoon--what a lovely story! I bought it last fall during the little promotion Persephone had for it and haven't been in the appropriate mood until now.

Instead of being a tedious recollection of the events of a holiday, it was a touching, in-depth look at a family. Parts were reassuring, as it was nice to know other people worry obsessively about trivial things!

>108 Sarahsponda:, Sarahsponda I loved The Fortnight in September too. I recently watched some archive footage of Bognor Regis during its heyday, and was reminded of how much I enjoyed the novel.

>107 christiguc:, Christina, we shall have to compare notes :)

I'm still waiting for a special offer as I've decided I can no longer afford Persephone books full price. I just wish we knew when, it's so tempting.

I'm taking a trip to the Kensington Shop in late October - I am going by coach which is £10 and taking some wish lists with me plus picking up some on other people's behalfs, so if I get more than 5 books I'll save the coach fare in the postage I've saved.

If that makes sense.

Anyone care to meet me there or nearby for lunch? I should be coming on Oct 29...

>112 LyzzyBee: Lyzzy - that sounds like a lovely idea, I'm free on the 29th.

I WANT TO COME TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But I can't.......:-((

>111 Sibylle.Night: I am in the same situation. But sometimes I can find older, non-Persephone editions that are affordable.

>112 LyzzyBee:, 113 Pea green with envy here in the US!

Wish I could, but I am unable to join you! Have fun!

Drat! The 29th, if all goes to plan, is moving day for me! That'll be the day the movers descend to pack all of our stuff (my precious books) and put them in a container and ship them overseas. I'm choosing a pile of books to take with me to see me through until our worldly goods finally make it to their destination (about two months it was last time). I suppose I could always leave the other half to sort everything out and sneak off for tea and persephone...perhaps there's still hope of a persephone rendezvous! ;)

I've just finished reading A Very Great Profession written by Nicola Beauman. I had my doubts at first as I don't always agree with the philosophy behind Persephone (I'm much more a Virago girl) so I knew I wouldn't agree with everything Nicola would be saying in this book, and I was right. However it was a compelling read even though the beginning was quite bizarre to say the least. I feel she only found out what was she really here to explore halfway through the book (in a chapter dedicated to sex that was surprisingly well researched and interesting, surprisingly because again, the type of books Persephone reprints is so not interested in that particular aspect, but never mind). It didn't feel like literary criticism at times especially since she spends most of the book writing again what she's just quoted but in a different way (is she really analysing or just rephrasing ?). I liked the afterword and the introduction that replace it all in context (it was first published in the 80s), and it's always exciting to write down new names (although not that many, she most of the time gives away the ending to prove her point and sometimes even only the ending so I didn't feel like reading the book since I didn't quite know why it ended up that way, also most of the books that sounded interesting have already been reprinted by Persephone). All in all, a pretty good read, albeit flawed, much like Persephone itself.

I've just finished Miss Ranskill Comes Home. It's a desert island adventure with a difference. It is quietly subversive, sensitively satirical and unashamed of its conformist ending. It is quirky and comforting all at the same time. Perfect fireside reading.

Just finished Few Eggs and No Oranges by Vere Hodgson. I learned that her original manuscript is actually in Kensington Library where I worked (I guess in Local Studies). I enjoyed reading through it. My favorite bit was the very last entry...says so much about the english.

"I was very amused at the rescinding of the bill against Gloom and Despondency. Now it is not against the law to be gloomy or despondent. So great was our danger in certain years that we were forbidden to look miserable. Now we can be as unhappy as we please!"

I'm so happy to have found a Persephone group (through the Virago one)! I have recently developed a passionate love for the beautiful, dove-grey books. About six months I bought Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (the Persephone classics edition) and was enchanted and in September I ordered The Victorian Chaise-longue, which I enjoyed but didn't love as much I expected I would.
After moving to London six weeks ago I visited the shop (the original) two days after some of you ladies on the 29th! I bought Someone at a Distance, Mariana and The Young Pretenders and have so many more on my wish-list! I'm undecided which of those three to read first... I also wish I'd bought The Making of a Marchioness, Saplings, A Very Great Profession, They Were Sisters, Family Roundabout, Greenery Street and the list goes on & on!

Saplings is one of my favourite books, Bunny, I hope you'll enjoy it when you buy it. Let's hope Persephone will reprint some more of Noel's adult work some day. I also really liked The Young Pretenders :)

I just received Noel Streatfeild's Aunt Clara in the mail the other day. I have not started it yet. I am saving it for the right occasion. I have started Dodie Smith's The New Moon with the Old. Thus far, I am sorry to report that I really do not like it. It has none of the charm of I Capture the Castle and all the reactionary stereotypes about women. In short, thus far, it is proving to be a really frilly girly book. As for Stella Gibbons' The Bachelor - I think quite a few Persephone readers would enjoy it. In fact, it seems to be just the sort of book Persephone would publish. I gave it three stars. I would probably have given it four in my younger days.

I think Saplings may have to be a Christmas gift to myself :).
I would love to read some more Dodie Smith and Stella Gibbons; I've only read I Capture the Castle and Cold Comfort Farm so far but I see on Amazon that Virago are publishing Gibbons' Nightingale Wood in April!

I read Miss Pettigrew last week and enjoyed it a lot more than the movie.

I thought the movie wasn't eccentric enough and the end was a bit sirupy. I enjoyed it a great deal though, and I'm saving up to buy the DVD.

I am currently reading Someone at a Distance and LOVING it.

I started Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski last night and loved the first chapter.

#127 - bunnyb, I just started Someone at a Distance this morning and, only 20 pages in, I'm completely smitten with Dorothy Whipple. It's wonderful!

I too am thoroughly smitten with Dorothy Whipple, miss_read! I'm looking forward to purchasing her other Persephones.

I'm seventy or so pages into The Shuttle (after receiving it from my Virago Secret Santa last night) and enjoying it.
I hope to read Mariana over Christmas.

I've just finished Someone at a Distance and have been blubbering like a baby!

Next up is Alas, Poor Lady which, from the description on the Persephone website, sounds like a good tie-in with a fantastic nonfiction book I read earlier this year, Singled Out: How Two Million Women Survived Without Men After the First World War by Virginia Nicholson. My copy is packed away, but I know the book mentions some Persephone (and Virago) authors who fell into the "surplus women" category, Winifred Holtby among them. I recommend it if anyone's interested in the subject!

I've clearly been a good girl this year, because among my Christmas presents was Round About a Pound a Week, which I'm now halfway through. It's fascinating, if saddening, and probaby a good moral corrective to the excesses of Christmas Day. It reminds me a lot of David Widgery's Some Lives - the same problems prevailed in 1980s Tower Hamlets. The beautiful endpapers are taken from a sampler and an example of high quality darning.

My delightful Christmas read was Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day by Winifred Watson. Loved it.

Well I now have The Shuttle, The New House and A House In The Country on my TBR as well as the architect one that I bought myself when I went to the shop (and I will have Miss Buncle for my bday in Jan... i think I will break into one of them even though that's reading them out of order - I am home alone for 2 days now, so no-one will know!!!

I do now : )

Oooh don't you *dare* read Miss Buncle till my birthday!!!!! (or if you do, don't tell me!)

>134 LyzzyBee:, Lyzzy you have some excellent titles in your tbr. I purchased Miss Buncle when we met up and I read it in one sitting. If you have any left over Christmas chocolates I suggest you save some for when you read it; it's pure froth and feel good factor rolled into one!

I've started Bricks and Mortar and ooh, it's wonderful so far!

I've just finished Alas, Poor Lady and shed quite a few tears over poor Grace. But I did love the book.

Starting Round About a Pound a Week right now !

>139 miss_read: Oh it's so utterly bleak! For me it's right next to E. M. Delafield's Consequences (which I have recently finished). Both authors proving that they can turn their hand to writing humorously and tragically.

>141 woollenstuff: oh gosh yes, COnsequences - so unlike her other books but so very well done.

I've finished Bricks and Mortar and posted my review. Really loved this bittersweet novel in which nothing much happens but a great atmosphere is invoked. Anyone else here read it?

I've read it, LyzzyBee! That's one of my favourite things about a lot of Persephones - nothing much happens, but you don't mind one bit. The Fortnight in September and Greenery Street come to mind.

Actually this one reminded me of Fortnight in September which I read in non-Persephone so can't really justify getting in Persephone now. Lovely book.

Did you enjoy it?

I finished Round About a Pound a Week, which was very interesting and humbling. I wish they had included a chart with what these figures would mean today, but I managed to get a pretty good idea of what it was worth in the end (which isn't much !)
Pember Reeves writes beautifully and it never felt tedious, it's quite cleverly organized, too. I love her ideas and as the Persephone website says, it is definitely "relevant to today's Britain". The preface did say that it hadn't changed much since it was published, it's appalling.

I am now starting The Children Who Lived in a Barn by Eleanor Graham.

I read The Shuttle over Christmas and really enjoyed it. I also received A Very Great Profession but saving that for a little bit.

#145: Did I enjoy which one, LyzzyBee? Fortnight in September or Bricks and Mortar? I know I enjoyed both, but Fortnight is one of my all-time favourites, so that one would definitely be my pick of the two.

Sorry - I meant Bricks and Mortar as I haven't seen any other reviews of it! Yes, Fortnight is great isn't it!

I finished The Children Who Lived in a Barn, it was terrifying and unrealistic at times but a good read in the end.
I'm now starting Greenery Street by Denis Mackail.

Thanks to a dear friend's Christmas gift, I could order three Persephones.
I desperately wanted Greenery Street but, since it is currently being reprinted, I had to choose another one.
Interestingly enough, I picked The Children Who Lived in a Barn (Sibylle, we appear to have the same tastes), along with The Runaway and Cheerful Weather for the Wedding.
It was an extremely difficult choice, as I wanted them all!

I never really "choose" Persephones, I just put 3 titles randomly in my basket. Can't decide anyway so what's the point of pretending.
Same goes for Viragos, I put the first three that come to mind without even looking at the summary.

Thank you to everyone who recommended Mariana - I've just finished it and found it quite delightful!

#152 I find it difficult to choose which Persephones to buy too (whether it be in the shop or online) and find myself going back and forward for a considerably long time so I resort to impulse. I intend to read them all anyway so I may as well buy them as and when the mood takes me.

I've just finished Greenery Street by Denis Mackail. I don't think I've ever read a book as annoying as this one. It was excrutiating having to go back to it to finish it nonetheless because I paid for it. I've been very disappointed in Persephone quite a few times and I think this was the straw that breaks the camel's back : I'll finish the Persephones I've already paid for but I will not buy any more Persephones from now on unless they reprint a Noel Streatfeild title.
Also, the next time I go to the UK, I'll sell the ones I don't think are worth keeping (quite a few, out of 23, I only want to keep 7). I'm so over them.

Now starting The Fortnight in September by RC Sherriff.

Oh, I'm so sorry, Sibylle! Greenery Street is one of my very favourites! What was it that you didn't like about it?

Too light, there was nothing of substance in it. I wanted to slap Felicity first for being so stupid and Ian second for being stupid enough to follow her in her thoughts when he had better ones at first. I don't know if you remember two arguments in particular : a political one about a petition and Felicity spending more than she earns. That was dreadful, the more I talk about it, the more dreadful it sounds.
I wish they had died at the end of the book but obviously that didn't happen. I've never met a more annoying couple, and the narrator seemed to agree with it all too.
Oh, that was so bad ! I'm not even sure I want to read another Persephone right now, I'm so angry with them.

And to think that I want to read that book......I still wish I could have got it, though......

Sibylle,

I am curious. Which seven Persephones do you want to keep? I ask because I have ambiguous feelings about their publication choices.

Oh what a shame - I loved Greenery St so much that I was given the sequel last Christmas - and loved that too!

Just out of interest, which other ones have disappointed you?

I'll list the 7 titles I'll keep here and you can find the ones I'd very much like to sell by browsing my library using the "persephone" tag (which is bound to disappear from my library anyway, I won't be collecting them, 23 is enough to have an idea of their taste) :

Saplings by Noel Streatfeild, which is one of my favourite books, not just "one of my favourite Persephones".
The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson (I'm torn for that one but I'll keep it anyway 'cause in the end the pros definitely win)
The Children Who Lived in a Barn by Eleanor Graham : not a masterpiece but I enjoyed some parts of it.
The Young Pretenders - Edith Henrietta Fowler : will be keeping it, it was a funny book.
The Closed Door and Other Stories - Dorothy Whipple : so different from the novel I read by her (Distance), very good stories
Round About a Pound a Week - Maud Pember Reeves

Which reminds me - I don't want anything to do with Persephone anymore so I'm leaving this group. See you all (I hope, I love chatting with every single one of you) on the Virago board :)

#160 - LyzzyBee, I didn't know there was a sequel! Thank you so much for letting me know!

I'm so sorry Sibylle is leaving this group. :(

So far, I've read only one Persephone that I haven't enjoyed - The Shuttle. Otherwise, I've honestly loved them all! I think perhaps Sibylle feels about Persephones the way that I feel about Viragos. I've read some brilliant VMCs, but the fact that they're published by Virago isn't enough of a guarantee for me that I'll enjoy them.

> Miss_read - it is lovely but it's not in Persephone and hard to find - I got mine from Abe Books months after putting an alert on the site to warn me if one came up. I did see someone else had bought another Mackail too so they are out there...

I'm sorry Sibylle is leaving too; although I haven't been part of the group long, I've enjoyed what she's had to say.

miss_read, I really enjoyed The Shuttle! Tiffin gave it to me for my Secret Santa gift. I adore Frances Hodgson Burnett and really looking forward to reading The Making of a Marchioness at some point.

I think it would make for an exceptional successful publishing house that was able to cater to everyone AND have all of their books enjoyed by everyone; taste of any kind, let alone in books, is subjective. I think if Sibylle has only enjoyed 7/23 Persephones then no, Persephones are not for her as something obviously isn't gelling but I don't think that Persephone can please everyone. So far, I've only read 4 Persephones and enjoyed 3 of them (I was disappointed by The Victorian Chaise-Longue although I didn't dislike it) and 75% success rate so far isn't bad... certainly compared to the amount of Viragos I have read and wasn't blown away by.

>164 bunnyb: buunyb, it just goes to show: I loved The Shuttle and The Victorian Chaise-Longue! In fact, I was just mesmerized by the latter and couldn't put it down.

Persephone has sparked my interest in women writers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the same way Virago has, but I can't say I like every book I read from either publisher. I am not keeping statistics. (I can't say I like every book by my favorite authors for that matter.) But the cost of Persephone books in the US is prohibitive, and I certainly have more Viragos on the shelf for that reason alone.

I am now reading Fugitive's Return by Susan Glaspell, a Persephone author, but this is an original 1929 edition. Not really far enough into it to comment, yet, but will soon.

eta: I will miss Sibylle, too. :(

bunnyb - I too *loved* The Making of a Marchioness, so it's not an issue with Frances Hodgson Burnett - in fact, I usually enjoy her. There was just something about The Shuttle that I couldn't get past. Looking back at some notes I jotted down after reading it, I think I had a problem with the flatness of the characters.

You're right, though. Of course, it's impossible for any publishing house to please everyone all the time. For me, however, Persephone comes pretty damned close! :)

They do come close... it's the whole package though; I find it hard to dislike books that are so pretty! I think it's a matter of managing expectations though; my reading likes are so diverse and yet can be so unpredictable that I doubt I will like all of the Persephones I've yet to read. I think it would be unrealistic to expect that I would like them all.

I think the cost is a huge factor though and thank goodness for collecting VMCs, which I can pick up in a secondhand shop for a fraction of the price! I can understand the disappointment of a Persephone being more profound because they are more of a "treat", monetary wise.

Ooo what an interesting turn of events. Far from being uncritical of PB myself, I am still sorry that you are so disenchanted with their list Sibylle. I am fascinated by the conditions that have given rise to a publishing house that has proved there is financial and cultural value in reprinting ' forgotten twentieth century mostly women writers'. Whether or not individual titles are or are not classics is something that I'm sure we could debate endlessly. I'm off to read Tony Bennett's Formalism and Marxism if only to remind myself about why reading literature, particularly that produced by women in the twentieth century is just as important as more obviously socio/political novels written by men during the same era.

To coin the phrase from the up coming discussion at PB, 'Women's Fiction: -Interior or inferior?' do we need to remind ourselves that what the Virago and PB lists prove, if nothing else, is that most women's sphere of experience during that period was primarily domestic, so criticism of the works could usefully go beyond the aesthetic in order to consider the ways in which these writers were contributing to a broader understanding. I'm not suggesting that there was or is a grand narrative, but seen as a body of works they are far more interesting.

>167 bunnyb: - bunnyb, I've found quite a lot of Persephones on Amazon Marketplace for anywhere from £2 to £5 each!

#169> That is an axcellent price indeed! Unfortunately, for us poor folks across the pond, when you add postage the price becomes exhorbitant.
:-(

Well I myself think it's a bit silly to make a publishing house a be all and end all of your taste/expectations. I support virago and persephone press merely for their general vision. An added extra is finding a few more books here and there that I really enjoy. I also am one to choose each book from the catalogue descriptions, so I haven't really been disappointed. My first, Mariana, was bought on a whim my first visit to the shop. I admit, I wasn't especially impressed, but I still liked the idea, persephone's marvelous packaging, and their catalogue was a piece of work. So I carefully have chosen all others and have found an inordinate amount to be enjoyable. I took a look at Sibylle's cataloged persephones and found strangely that we only shared a few in common. Some of those I have yet to read. Hope I don't end up hating them too!

#160> Lyzzy, what is the sequel to Greenery Street?
Denis Mackail is the son of one of my favourite authors: Angela Thirkell.

aluvalibri - I think I knew that ... but I must have forgotten as it came (once again) as a surprise to me! Oh, dear. The memory's the first thing to go! Or, in my case, the third - after knees and eyesight.

Tales from Greenery Street and it's just as lovely if you liked the first one.

Amazon says that Angela Thirkell is his sister but I'd never heard of either before so I am completely clueless!

I am looking forward to reading Greenery Street simply because it depicts the first year of a couple's life together in London and my boyfriend and I moved to London together four months ago.

#miss_read, I'll need to keep my eye open for them on the marketplace - unless you beat me to them all! I managed to obtain the Persephone Classics edition of Someone at a Distance through the marketplace for a very good price.

Well, bunnyb, if you do your shopping now, you should be OK! I'm on a very strict budget and, alas, that means no book-shopping at the moment. :(

No, I too am only a very strict no book or pizza or wine or any other fun things budget :(. Sniff.

Lyzzy, I thought so. I saw a copy on Amazon, but it is very expensive...sigh....and I don't even have Greenery Street yet, because it is being reprinted. I will patiently wait.
:-))

P.S. I apologize for misleading you. I just checked Wikipedia and yes, bunnyb is right, Angela Thirkell was his sister, not mother.

As an aside: how long do the reprintings usually last? I notice The Making of a Marchioness is also reprinting. Then again, I'm not buying anything for a while...

Mmmmm, that is an interesting observation, bunny.
When I asked, the lady at Persephone told me about eight weeks.

Well, maybe it's just as well that they are currently unavailable and unable to tempt me; although there are other dove-grey covers which will do that just fine in the absence...

I've just made another (amusing, to me) observation - the Persephone Classics cover of Mariana is the same as a Penguin Classic edition of Colette's Ripening Seed, that I also own; I knew it was familiar for some reason.

I have the orange Penguin edition of Mariana, which I still have to read btw.

So far, I've only bought Mariana (discounted at the Book Depository and with free postage to Australia). I did read Miss Pettigrew but it was a library copy. The Persephone website mentions that books similar to these two are The Making of a Marchioness, Greenery Street and Miss Buncle's Book, which they say "can be recommended unreservedly to anyone looking for something undemanding, fun and absorbing that is also well-written and intelligent". So, I guess these will be the next ones I will purchase.

I positively yearn for Miss Buncle! If and when we ever emerge from this horrid austerity, that'll be the very first thing I buy!

My library has a copy of Miss Buncle, but alas, it's a large print edition, of which I'm not usually a fan. Maybe I'll give it a shot....

I just started Lady Rose and Mrs. Memmary, thoughtful birthday gift from a darling friend. I think the next will be The Victorian Chaise-Longue, which was one of the great books I got from my Secret Santa.
:-))

Hope you enjoy The Victorian Chaise-Longue :-))

I am sure I will, Valerie dear!

I started reading A Very Great Profession last night and so far I am enjoying it; I find it interesting and an easier read than I anticipated.

bunnyb, I enjoyed A Very Great Profession too and like you found it an easy read and most interesting.

After a long absence from Persephones, I'm starting The Young Pretenders, which is delightful so far. It was a gift from my wonderful Virago Secret Santa! I was glad to see (while catching up on 64 messages on this thread that piled up in my absence) that it was one of the Persephones that Sibylle decided to keep!

After finishing Lady Rose and Mrs. Memmary, a delightful if melancholic story, I am now reading The Runaway**. I like it a lot, and I am enjoying the almost absurd plot and characters. But then, I do love children's books!

**wrong touchstone

I loved "The Runaway". ** I'm glad though that I read it in a happy frame of mind though - otherwise I would have have been somewhat irritated at the irrationality of at least one of the characters!

A lovely bonus to "The Runaway" was that it lead me to a lovely book of Gwen Raverat's woodcuts in the library, and that in turn lead me to her childhood memoir Period Piece, which looks wonderful.

** no touchstone - maybe we need to buy and catalogue a few copies to make one appear?!

Fleur, Period Piece is fabulous!

> 192, 193

There you are: The Runaway

Did you know that, if you click on (others) below the default touchstone, you can get list of other possible titles? Then you just click on the appropriate one. (Note: if you go back into your post to edit, you will have to re-set the touchstone.)

(I hope that made sense.)

Yes, Bernadette, I knew it. However, for some kind of mysterious reason, once I clicked on 'others', the page did not want to load!

#193 > Jane, I have Period Piece but, right now, it is lost in one of the TBR mountains (or boxes). I will have to organize a search party.

Here's my review of The Young Pretenders.

Read it and found it quite interesting. Left my comment.
:-))

Mariana was my first Persephone book! It was given to my by a friend of my mother's when I was in hospital. She heard I'd been re-reading One Fine Day by Mollie Panter-Downes which was one of her all-time favourites, and so thought I would enjoy another. Needless to say, I did!

I thought it was gaspingly good, and my enjoyment was all the more enhanced by the beautiful Persephone binding. It sent my off on a chase for more and re-introduced my to the joys of reading at a troubled time in my life.

I have just finished my fourth Persephone, Someone At A Distance by Dorothy Whipple. I have been saving this for a some time, and then read it almost all in one go yesterday! Delicious, as always, and glorious introduction to the Persephone prima donna, Ms Whipple.

I read Greenery Street. Have been hoarding it for awhile (as I have been all my persephones because I'm not in london anymore and cannot just 'pop round' to get them). It wasn't my favorite persephone, but still enjoyable in that "I have absolutely nothing in common with these people" sort of way. I liked that it was indeed a little like reading a play.

I'm reading Family Roundabout.

I just read Daddy's Gone a-hunting by Penelope Mortimer which I really enjoyed although it's a little melancholy.

I re-read Little Boy Lost last weekend. I read it as a teen after seeing the truly terrible Bing Crosby movie. How the casting director came up with Bing is beyond me as the hero is a withdrawn British intellectual. I loved the book as a teen and I still loved it after a space of 40 years.

I own one grey cover. I thought originally that the American publisher came up with the idea of the beautiful picture covers. I did not realise they were re-issues from England. My grey I got second hand in beautiful condition, the rest I've had to buy full price.

#203 - oh I loved Little boy lost - I read it with a tear in my eye - very poignant I thought. I can't imagine Bing in that role either. - : )

I know Heaven-Ali! What were they thinking! I presume it was because there are a lot of nuns in the book and Crosby was usually cast in anything that required a Catholic actor.

This week I looked for the movie to see how bad it really was. Not available anywhere convenient. I remember him singing to the 'Little Boy Lost' (hopefully that is just me being fanciful) and to be fair the film was made after he began seeking more serious acting roles, but...

Just another example of why it is always best to read the book first.

I started to read Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary earlier and I'm finding it delightful; I agree with aluvalibri who said that it is like "an old-fashioned lace", which is a very apt description so far.

I read Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary on Sunday - it is a charming read - perfect lazy Sunday stuff.

I am about to start An Interrupted Life: The Diaries and Letters of Etty Hillesum 1941-43 as part of my 999 Challenge.

Oops - and I forgot to post here that I just read The Shuttle.

I am getting over a bad cold and OH is getting it - so I think I'll be hunkering down in the house and reading some more of my Persephone hoard this weekend!

Oh, englishrose, I loved An Interrupted Life. I hope you enjoy it! I just finished Cheerful Weather for the Wedding.

I just started Miss Buncle. Only about 20 pages in and I'm already smitten!

How did you like Cheerful Weather, hjelliot?

Ooh, that was fun - I just read through all the posts in this thread to see if anyone else had read the one I've just finished. And I know I could have done Ctrl-F to find any mention, but it was nice just reading through!

Anyway, I'm *still* recovering from this darn virus, and poor Matthew has it too, so we've had a *very* quiet weekend. And today I read The New House which was a real classic nothing-much-happens-on-the-surface Persephone which I will enjoy wholeheartedly the next time I read it, knowing nothing bad happens to the cat and kitten!

Well, Cheerful Weather for the Wedding was short. I read the introduction first where she absolutely heaped praises upon Julia Strachey. Perhaps it raised expectations too high? I didn't find it funny and I didn't think it flowed smoothly. But I would read it again and give it a second chance. Maybe I wasn't giving it my full attention and missed something.