I broke down. Not only did I start reading one of the Persephone Books that I ordered a while back, but I placed an order for four more titles. If you own or have read any Persephone Books most likely you will understand the temptations of these books and how hard it is to avoid them! When I initially ordered a few titles I told myself I had to read what I purchased before I could order any more. I guess I was rationalizing ordering more by starting one now. In any case it is a win-win situation as I get to read a good book and order yet more Persephones! I'm just trying not to think of that postage charge...(thanks to Nutmeg, however, for letting me know that The Book Depository actually carries Persephone titles--I thought you had to order direct--and they have that wonderful free shipping).
I read Marghanita Laski's The Victorian Chaise-Longue earlier this year. It was nice and creepy. While I would hesitate to call the Laski "delightful", I get the feeling that many of Persephone's titles are going to delightful indeed. I decided to read Monica Dickens's Mariana. Monica is the great granddaughter of Charles Dickens. Mariana is described as:
"the story of a young English girl's growth towards maturity in the 1930s.We see Mary at school in Kensington and on holiday in Somerset; her attempt at drama school; her year in Paris learning dressmaking and getting engaged to the wrong man; her time as a secretary and companion; and her romance with Sam. We chose this book because we wanted to publish a novel like Dusty Answer, I Capture the Castle or The Pursuit of Love, about a girl a girl encountering life and love, which is also funny, readable and perceptive; it is a 'hot-water bottle' novel, one to curl up with on the sofa on a wet Sunday afternoon. But it is more than this. As Harriet Lane remarks in her Preface: 'It is Mariana's artlessness, its enthusiasm, its attention to tiny, telling domestic detail that makes it so appealing to modern readers'."
I am not terribly far into the book, but I am enjoying it so far. I think I am going to have to look for some of Monica Dickens's other works as well. By the way I have read both I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, which I loved, and The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford, which I liked very much. I guess I will have to dig out my copy of Dusty Answer by Rosamond Lehmann to read as well, since they are all similar reads.
As for what I am getting? I might even get the books by the end of the week--I love being able to look forward to good mail! I ordered Every Eye by Isobel English (Muriel Spark called her an exceptionally talented young novelist), A House in the Country by Jocelyn Playfair, Greenery Street by Denis Mackail and Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary by Ruby Ferguson. I wanted to order Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson as I have heard so many good things about it, but unfortunately at the time they were reprinting the book. I see that they have it back in stock now, and they have also added two new titles to their list this spring. More temptations. By the way, I can't remember who mentioned this to me, but Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is being made into a movie. They are filming it currently and it is due out sometime in 2008.