I have found a new press to love. My first set of books (minus one straggler) from Persephone Books came yesterday. I'm afraid my photo doesn't really do much justice to the actual books. About Persephone:
"Persephone Books was created eight years ago to reprint neglected novels, short stories, biography and cookery and gardening books, mostly by women and mostly dating from the early to mid-twentieth century. Over the years Persephone has found its own niche in the publishing world and has ten thousand people on its mailing list."
Happily I am #10,001! Last week I received their current book catalogue, a copy of their most recent quarterly newsletter, and a bookmark. The catalogue and newsletter are nicely done--lavisly illustrated with blurbs of all their books to make you want them all! The books followed a couple of days later (it must be cheaper to send them individually as they came in separate mailers--the same happens with The Book Depository). Had someone told me they are plain books with no cover art I would not have been too thrilled, but you need to see them to appreciate them. They are stiff paperbacks with a plain grey paper dust jacket with only the title and logo on the front, and on the back the book number (I believe they are up to 70 titles)---really very elegant! Inside each book has a colorful endpaper each one distinct to the novel. Each book I ordered also came with a bookmark matching the endpaper (you can see them sticking out of each book) and one had a postcard as well. I am so impressed both by the title selection and the design that I am considering starting a standing order for the books! They will send out 2-3 books a quarter or a book a month. I've already decided I want them all, now it is just a matter of how to economically acquire them! The catch is that I have to read them before I order more. As for what I ordered (I took some of the suggestions from a recent post and had my own list to work from as well):
- Mariana (#2) by Monica Dickens --"the story of a young English girl's growth towards maturity in the 1930s."
- The Victorian Chaise-Longue (#6) by Marghanita Laski -- "a young married woman lies down on a chaise-longue and wakes to find herself imprisoned in the body of her alter ego ninety years before."
- Brook Evans (#26) by Susan Glaspell -- "describes the effectsof two lovers' brief happiness on succeeding generations."
- Journal (#69) by Katherine Mansfield (still waiting for this one to arrive) -- "compiled after Mansfield's death from fragments of diary entries, unposted letters, and scraps of writing."
They all look so good, I am not sure which one to read first. I think I will be dragging around the catalogue with me now for the next week mentally choosing more books. (And yes, I highly recommend them!).