Of Persephone Reading Week

I am very excited as today marks the beginning of Persephone Reading Week, co-hosted by Verity at The B Files and Claire at Paperback Reader.

As I mentioned a few days ago, I have three new Persephones to see me through the week, although sadly I'm not sure if my schedule will allow me to enjoy all three of them by the 9th of May. I currently have Miss Buncle's Book by D. E. Stevenson tucked into my bag to read over lunch or in other spare moments, and I hope to get on to at least one of my other two choices (To Bed With Grand Music and Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary) before the week is out. Miss Buncle's Book is the first D. E. Stevenson I've read, and if the first few chapters are anything to go by, it certainly won't be my last, as I'm loving it so far. The endpapers, based on a 1934 design by Vanessa Bell, are also charming:

I can't wait to check out posts by all the other people taking part in Persephone Reading Week, even if my wish list is likely to rocket sky high afterwards! Although I now have to get back to Sir W and his contemporaries, I am looking forward to returning to Silverstream and its inhabitants before long. I am already certain that -- in the words of Sir W in his 1600 essay 'Of Advise' -- Miss Buncle's Book will turn out to be (like so many Persephones),

'a sweete meditation, that may be often read ouer without tediousnesse'.

Of A Present from Persephone

A lovely parcel was waiting for me in my college pigeon hole (or 'pidge') the other day. Or rather, three lovely parcels, as I went into the post room to find a newly delivered stash of Persephone books. I had a Persephone book token from my aunt and uncle for Christmas, but only recently got around to exchanging it for some of those beautiful grey covers.

As always, the greatest difficulty was in deciding which ones I should choose from the many tempting options. So many of these neglected and rediscovered titles sound fascinating, but as I dithered, hovering my cursor over first one, and then another 'add to basket' box on the website, I was reassured by the thought that I've never yet been disappointed by anything that's come through the post from Lamb's Conduit Street.

In the end, I went for one Persephone I've been lusting after for a while: Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary by Ruby Ferguson, which sounds as if it is going to be quite as charming as the 1930s dress fabric used for its endpapers, which is filled with beautiful flowers and dancing couples:

Along with this, I plumped for two of Persephone's most recent publications, which I've been dying to read ever since they came out: Miss Buncle's Book by D. E. Stevenson, which sounds like great fun; and To Bed With Grand Music by Marghanita Laski. I enjoyed Laski's creepily atmospheric story The Victorian Chaise-Longue when I read it last year, and have heard fantastic things about To Bed With Grand Music. Happily, if I like it as much as I expect to, I have two other Laski titles published by Persephone -- Little Boy Lost and The Village -- to look forward to afterwards!

I'm particularly pleased to have received my Persephone parcels just now, as they've arrived nicely in time for this year's Persephone Reading Week, coming up in May:

Begun by Verity at The B Files last year, this year the reading week is being co-hosted by Verity and Claire at Paperback Reader. It's such a great way to spread the Persephone love and learn more about the various titles (to help streamline that wishlist), and I'm really looking forward to reading everyone's thoughts and sharing a few of my own. I love the way in which events like this really bring people together across the blogosphere. Indeed, we might say, along with Sir W in his 1600 essay 'Of Censuring', that we will be

'conuersing with bookes',

and I for one can't wait to begin!