I did say that I would be looking for more of Denis Mackail's work. I didn't really expect it would be so easy to find something right away, however. I'm amazed sometimes what I find on the shelves at the library where I work (though perhaps I shouldn't be!). There are all sorts of treasures waiting patiently for the right reader to come along. According to the date due slip, this poor book has not been checked out since 1947! I feel like I'm rescuing books sometimes when I pull an old, faded one off the shelves. It's a pity to think of the wonderful stories that have been forgotten in favor of all those new, shiny books (am guilty of this myself though)! I think I need to browse more often and see what else I can discover in those "P" call number ranges (i.e. the fiction section).
I came across a wonderful website dedicated to Denis Mackail and his work. It's a veritable treasure trove of information. Mackail wrote 36 books and countless short stories, and as they are nearly all out of print it's next to impossible to find out what they were about without doing a little bit of research (and even then discerning what the contents are about can be sketchy). However, this site includes an extensive descriptive bibliography, which should be very helpful in my search for more of his books. I now know what The Square Circle, the book my library owns, is about:
"Tiverton Square: we first meet it in August, when it is largely deserted of its regular complement of inhabitants, giving us a chance to admire its architecture and history. Through the remainder of a ten month period however it teems with Londoners and we follow the lives of the young and the old, the upstairs and the downstairs of its most conspicuous residents. Not everyone has a happy time of it, but this is real life after all."
It sounds like another nostalgic, idyllic read, so I have added it to my bedside pile.
It's thanks to smaller publishers like Persephone Books and now Bloomsbury Publishing, which is launching their own list of "lost classics" that these neglected books are being brought back into the light and attention of an entirely new generation of readers. Along these lines you might be interested in reading this article on the forthcoming "Bloomsbury Group", which someone in my online reading group shared. I've heard that Bloomsbury USA will also be doing this series and are looking for American authors to publish, which I was excited to hear about. I'm not sure when they'll be available on this side of the Atlantic, but as this is a topic I'm interested in, I'll be keeping a close eye on things.
I think I'll continue rescuing forgotten library books in the meantime, perhaps finding some of my own 'lost classics' along the way. First, though, The Square Circle awaits me.