But what are Persephone Books I hear you cry - not heard of them, then let me tell you.
Persephone prints mainly neglected fiction and non-fiction by women, for women and about women. The titles are chosen to appeal to busy women who rarely have time to spend in ever-larger bookshops and who would like to have access to a list of books designed to be neither too literary nor too commercial. The books are guaranteed to be readable, thought-provoking and impossible to forget.
They have a shop in Lamb's Conduit Street in London, and will also supply books by mail order. Do check out their lovely website here. One day, I will enter their premises and stroke the books in all their glory.
Their books are all packaged in the same way, with a beautiful dove-grey cover, and then the surprise is inside with a vintage fabric/wallpaper covering and matching bookmark, carefully chosen to match the period and contents of the book!
You can join their mailing list and they will send you a copy of their biannually and their catalogue (plus a bookmark)!
The books aren't cheap, they are currently £12 each, but they are so gorgeous that I think they are well worth the price. So far, I have 5 in my collection:
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| The inside of Miss Ranskill Comes Home |
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| The inside of The Journal of Katharine Mansfield |
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| Good Evening, Mrs Craven |
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| The inside of The Two Mrs Abbotts |
but my favourite of them all is this one
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| Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day |
Miss Pettigrew lives for a day describes the whirlwind adventure of Miss Pettigrew, a governess sent to a job interview at the wrong address who, over the course of twenty-four hours, receives an introduction to the glamorous lifestyle of nightclub singer Miss LaFosse. It's a wonderful book and one we chose for our book group - we've been meeting now for 8 years and it's by far, still our favourite read! It's also a wonderful film.
If you haven't heard of them yet, I urge you to give them a try. I don't think you will regret it!
Happy Reading
Miss Chapter x
Wow that is really interesting, I will need to request a catalogue from them then! xx
ReplyDeleteI love Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. I have read it twice. I think I shall read it again.
ReplyDeleteI shall definitely find the shop next time I am in Town.