Mostly Persephone Books

The exciting life of Simon continues apace, as tomorrow I am off to Bath to look round the University library - and, since it is a mere stone's throw from Bristol (if you can throw a stone several miles, of course) I shall be visiting The Carbon Copy for the weekend. All go, here. In fact, my next lie-in looks to be sometime in 2009...

So I thought I'd flag up an exciting event for next week - on Tuesday night I shall be going to hear Nicola Beauman speak at Mostly Books, about Persephone Books. I've met Nicola quite a few times now, and it's always lovely to see her, and hear her eloquent and passionate explanation of the independent publishing house she set up. And it was at Mostly Books a while ago that I met Angela Young and Mary Cavanagh for the first time, and had a jolly nice time all in all. See this link for my report on it... If you can be in the vicinity of Abingdon next Tuesday, follow this link and come along (I hope tickets are left!) If you're already going, let me know....

A lot of people who read this blog have an obsession with Persephone which is akin to mine. Reprinting unjustly neglected books (often novels by women) from the first half of the twentieth century, they also produce the most beautiful objects. Uniform dove grey covers, concealing individually chosen endpapers appropriate to the book. I did some quick sums earlier, and I've read 23 of their books - which is about a third, so I have a long way to go!

Which is your favourite Persephone, oh Persphone readers? Mine would have to be the one which led me to them - Richmal Crompton's Family Roundabout. And then EM Delafield's Consequences, Dorothy Whipple's Someone at a Distance, Elizabeth Cambridge's Hostages to Fortune... oh, there are so many gems.