chesilbeach Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 (edited) On the whole, particularly now I read mostly ebooks, I don't notice the publisher of the books I read, but there is one that stands out for me, both from their catalogue and their asthetic - Persephone Books. Persephone specialise in rediscovering novels and non-fiction from twentieth century (mostly) women writers, that are either written about women or for women. The striking simplicity of the covers that adorn their books make them stand out from the crowd; a simple dove grey cover with a cream label containing the title and author, opens up to display beautiful end papers which are prints of fabrics or wallpapers which were contemporary at the time the book was originally published. In addition to these editions, 10 of their bestselling books are published in their Classics section, and have been given covers showing a work of art, again with early twentieth century pieces, and the fabric print end papers. Their catalogue so far is made up of 96 books of which I've read four so far, and am just starting my fifth today. I've bought most of my copies from independent bookshops, but Persephone have their own bookshop in London, and also provide a mail order service through their website. They have recently started making some of their books available in ebook format, although even I, who dotes on my Kindle, won't be buying these, as these books are pieces to treasure and want to own the whole catalogue eventually. Having had a break from reading them for a while, coming back to their books reminded me of how beautiful their editions are, both the simplicity of the covers and the clear typeface and layout, and I thought I'd post something about them. I know I haven't read that many of the books yet, but I have yet to find one I haven't enjoyed, and I'm planning on a starting a challenge to read the entire collection in the future. Edited September 2, 2012 by chesilbeach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Butter Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Persephone are based in Lamb's Conduit Street, in Holborn, and they're run by a very nice lady. I was over that way a couple of weeks ago, and the shop had a window display based around their edition of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, with copies of the book also in a range of languages, including French, Italian, German, Spanish and what may (or may not!) have been Chinese. She very kindly let me take some photos, which I'll get round to putting up on my Facebook page eventually. It's a lovely little shop, well worth a visit if you're in London, and all in all a very worthwhile publisher which is worthy of support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day was my first encounter with their books, and it was so wonderful, encouraged me to seek out more. A visit to their shop is top of my list of things to do the next time we go to London, but unfortunately, I have no idea when it will be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Butter Posted May 7, 2012 Share Posted May 7, 2012 It's taken a very long while, Claire, but I've eventually got round to putting up my photos on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150403345513858.453797.563888857&type=3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted September 2, 2012 Author Share Posted September 2, 2012 Sorry, I've only just spotted your reply with the photos. I don't have a facebook account and I can't see the photos unfortunately, but I definitely plan to visit next time I'm in London. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ummlilia Posted March 29, 2013 Share Posted March 29, 2013 I first heard of these books on a blog, savidgereads, and he has challenged himself to read all Persephone's catalogue.. (he's called it The Persephone Project) As for me, I love the presentation of these books, the grey jackets..a whole shelf of these would look so cool.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted March 29, 2013 Author Share Posted March 29, 2013 I've started that challenge myself! I've a few on the shelf waiting to be read, and I'm partway through Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski at the moment which is book number 28, and the sixth book of the catalogue that I've read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueK Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 I was given "Good Evening Mrs Craven" by Molly Panter-Downes for Christmas (Persephone). I haven't really sat down to read it yet, just picked it up but I'm looking forward to reading it properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted March 30, 2013 Author Share Posted March 30, 2013 I've read that one, Sue, and it's lovely. Lots of humour which made me chuckle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 There are a couple of their books I really want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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