chesilbeach Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple is a 1950s book republished by Persephone, who specialise in republishing forgotten 20th century novels (by primarily female authors). They are beautifully designed, high quality paperbacks, and I'm going to be trying to collect as many as I can! I came across them when I picked up a copy of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson last year, and since looking up their website and seeing their bookshop featured on Sky Arts "The Book Show", I've become an ardent fan of this small publisher. I loved Someone at a Distance, evidenced by the fact I read a 400 page novel in three sittings of about 5 hours in total. It's difficult to explain what it's about without giving anything about the plot away, but on the surface, it's a deceptively simple story of a marriage. It's compulsive reading, and by the end of the book you realise how much you know about all of the people, and you've become emotionally attached to them all, because they are all three dimensional, fully realised characters. The book is a fascinating look at an upper middle class family in the 1950s, but shows that society and our roles within it may evolve, but human emotions never change. I don't know if this sounds a bit snobby, but it's one of the books I would class as "literature" rather than just "fiction". I thought the writing was so simple in style, but so beautiful, that I will definitely be looking to find other books by Dorothy Whipple, although I suspect it will be either by Persephone (who have published four other of her books), or old copies in second-hand bookshops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceinwenn Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Sounds really good chesilbeach! Are they the books with the beautiful patterned covers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 Yes, their main collection have covers which are from fabric designs which would have been contemporary with the period when the book was written, or a time which was significant at the time, for example, their description of the cover of Someone At A Distance is: The 1950s linen furnishing fabric by Ashley Havinden is based on drawings done in the 1930s when Ellen furnished her house; it combines a menacing feel with a hint of the domestic. The copy of the book I have is from the Persephone Classics range, and has a painting called Pauline by Sir James Gunn on the front cover, with the fabric print on the inside cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kernow_reader Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Chesilbeach! These books are so pretty. Have you read "Miss Pettigrew Lives For a day" yet? i read it a wee while ago and really enjoyed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 Chesilbeach! These books are so pretty. Have you read "Miss Pettigrew Lives For a day"yet? i read it a wee while ago and really enjoyed it. Yes, I read it last summer, and absolutely loved it. It was such a fun and jolly book, and I read it on a day trip (train journey, coffee shop, lunch at the cafe etc. ). It was what made me look at the Persephone Books website in the first place, and I'm definitely going to go back for more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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