Book Nook Cafe discussion

Persephone Books
Publisher of neglected fiction and non-fiction, mostly by women writers and mostly mid-20th century.

Here is their list of 100 books.

https://persephonebooks.co.uk/pages/b...

I feel as though i'm lost tonight. This is the list of the 100 books they published & are offering for sale? Or is this their list of the top 100 (actually, 153), which they just feel are neglected?

I cannot speak to most of them, which proves their point. Several of them are known for their short stories. Below, i list some authors i recognize, an asterisk indicates i've read the specific book listed.
--Susan Gaspell, who isn't on the GR author list, kinda making their point and Katherine Mansfield are primarily known for their short stories. Gaspell's "A Jury of Her Peers" is wonderful.
--Judith Viorst*
--Virginia Woolf* really? A Room of One’s Own?
--Frances Hodgson Burnett
--Mrs. Oliphant
--Enid Bagnold
--Judith Rossner
--Elizabeth von Arnim
--E M Forster
--Jan Struther*

So, you may consider these endorsements, of a sort, for the writer, but most of the titles are new to me.

Thanks for the list, Alias. While it's neat to see, it's disheartening to realize how few i recognized!

They have The Victorian Chaise Longue! I have been on the lookout for that for ages. I'm also pleased to see Dorothy Whipple, D E Stevenson and Mrs Oliphant on the list. I've wanted to try something by them for a while too. I've also got Mrs. Miniver on my list of books to look out for.

I've read
E M Delafield (not Consequences)
Richmal Crompton (The Just William books - I didn't know she also wrote adult books)
Silvia Townsend-Warner (who I can't find on Goodreads). I've read her "Lolly Willowes" and I'm pleased to see they have a different book in print.
F M Mayor (another not on Goodreads) - I read The Rector's Daughter and enjoyed it, although it was a long time ago and I can't remember much about it now.

See, this is the problem with Persphone books. They are just too tempting. I need to get my TBR under control, not add to it!

There are some German basics: Fontane and Feuchtwanger, the delightful Miss Pettigrew, and some I got to know via good reads, quite a lot unusual views around WWII part time back from the underworld is that the idea of Persephone?

Sophie wrote: "There are some German basics: Fontane and Feuchtwanger, the delightful Miss Pettigrew, and some I got to know via good reads, quite a lot unusual views around WWII part time back from the underworld is that the idea of Persephone?

Persephone specialises in overlooked books, especially by women writers, mostly from the first half of the 20th century, if I remember correctly. They'll publish any type of book - novels, short stories, memoirs, poetry and I've seen some gardening and cookery books on their list of books too.
I don't think they focus particularly on unusual views, or books from the underworld, but maybe those books are more likely to be overlooked than something more mainstream, so that's why Persephone has a fair few of those.

madrano wrote: "I feel as though i'm lost tonight. This is the list of the 100 books they published & are offering for sale? Or is this their list of the top 100 (actually, 153), which they just feel are neglected..."

They are a publisher. So, yes, I would imagine these books are in their catalogue. From their webpage, it seems their editions are special and are the type one might collect. I'm not sure.

I see Virginia Woolf on the list. I agree she is well known. How many people today have read her books, I couldn't say. A lot less then those picking up a Colleen Hoover or Freida McFadden. Maybe a list like this will widen their reading horizons or people who prefer more literary fiction will find authors or titles they aren't familiar with.

This is from their webpage
Welcome to Persephone Books
Persephone Books reprints neglected fiction and non-fiction, mostly by women writers and mostly dating from the mid-twentieth century. All of our 152 titles are intelligent, thought-provoking and beautifully written. As well as novels we publish short stories, diaries, memoirs, poetry, gardening books and cookery books; each title has an elegant grey jacket and a patterned endpaper, along with a matching bookmark.
https://persephonebooks.co.uk/

KeenReader wrote: See, this is the problem with Persphone books. They are just too tempting. I need to get my TBR under control, not add to it!


:)

KeenReader wrote: "They have The Victorian Chaise Longue! I have been on the lookout for that for ages. I'm also pleased to see Dorothy Whipple, D E Stevenson and [aut..."

How neat to read your enthusiasm for authors i do not know. Stevenson is totally unfamiliar to me. I'm glad this list has sparked some new-to-me names & tips.

Btw, after reading [book:Mrs. Miniver|15907]--Jan Struther, i followed it up with a biography of the author, The Real Mrs Miniver--Ysenda Maxtone Graham, written by her granddaughter. I liked it and learning how Struther's life was different & similar to Mrs. M's.

Sophie wrote: "There are some German basics: Fontane and Feuchtwanger, the delightful Miss Pettigrew, and some I got to know via good reads, quite a lot unusual views around WWII part time back from the underworl..."

Thanks for noting authors with whom you are familiar, Sophie. They are new to me, for the most part. Some of the novels pre-date WWII but some are also newer. Delightful mix.

madrano wrote: "...Btw, after reading Mrs. Miniver--Jan Struther, i followed it up with a biography of the author, The Real Mrs Miniver--Ysenda Maxtone Graham, written by her granddaughter. I liked it and learning how Struther's life was different & similar to Mrs. M's."

That sounds interesting. I'll add The Real Mrs Miniver to my TBR list.

Neat.

KeenReader wrote: "They have The Victorian Chaise Longue! I have been on the lookout for that for ages. I'm also pleased to see Dorothy Whipple, D E Stevenson and [aut..."

I've have Victorian chaise Longue on my TBR too...once again due to the podcast I listen to/am getting caught up on. They featured it a few years ago and it sounded really good!

You rascals! Now i've added it to my TBR, too. I'm all about Time Travelish novels. One from "back then" sounds neat.

Thank you, KeenReader & Denise.

madrano wrote: "You rascals! Now i've added it to my TBR, too. I'm all about Time Travelish novels. One from "back then" sounds neat.

Thank you, KeenReader & Denise."

*Putting on my best innocent "who, me?" look*

Yes, you, Sweet Tater!