I was happy to assist when Bloomsbury contacted me along with other bloggers to ask if we had any suggestions about books that could happily be brought back into print.
Then put to the test of course every title eludes me and, though I managed to come up with a few, I'm not sure I was clever enough to suggest this one even though I'd written about it on here last year.
There was an unholy scramble to lay hands on a copy of The Brontes Went to Woolworths by Rachel Ferguson when that buzz was doing the rounds last year and likewise several others on the upcoming publications list for this new series, The Bloomsbury Group.
Bloomsbury have certainly done their homework and, whilst Persephone Books have been doing this for sometime, I feel sure there's room in the market for more, there must be an endless supply of titles and, despite the unrivaled beauty of a Persephone read, perhaps with a different look and a different appeal these titles will extend that market even further. So with recommends from authors, families, friends and bloggers alike, Bloomsbury have started finding more of those hidden gems and getting them out there.
They have a good track record with this too, I can't be the only one who never leaves one of those beautiful little Bloomsbury Classics on the shelves when they see one. The first two in this new series have just been published and along with the Rachel Ferguson there is a lovely edition of Henrietta's War by Joyce Dennys now available. This yet another book I failed to suggest even though I have a much-loved copy on my shelves, but luckily Cornflower must have done and has a quote on the back to prove it, whilst my quote sits on the reverse of The Brontes Went to Woolworths.
I wrote my thoughts about The Brontes Went to Woolworths here and looking back I can feel a little resurgence of interest in the middlebrow genre yet again and perhaps a return to my middlebrow corner before too long.
Apologies for seeming to be a bit bragacious, but who dares wins, lights under bushels, false modesty etc, here are my thoughts for the back cover,
'The family at its most eccentric and bohemian - a pure concoction of wonderful invention. What an extraordinary meeting I have just had with the Carnes.'
Whilst Cornflower writes this about Henrietta's War
' Warm and funny, but candid and telling too. A real delight.'
I must now confess these are books I have to read in time-limited doses to stop myself getting trapped in a huge wave of literary nostalgia.
I need no encouragement to go there as I'm sure you realize by now and Inner Child each month is filling that niche nicely, so I do have to break out and quickly get back to the realities
of the twenty-first century before I'm stuck in the past forever. Though my own past and life experiences constantly infiltrate my reading present that doesn't always feel like a place to stay put for my personal reading journey. I strive (and probably fail) to keep a balance but I do want that journey to be as much about the realities of the present, contemporary to the here and now, as those faded memories of the past.
But that's just me and what I have mapped out for myself, and as an adjunct to other books these are sometimes just what the reading doctor ordered.
As the promotional blurb from Bloomsbury suggests,
'a series of books chosen by readers for readers, much loved books by men and women that reveal the character and concerns of Britain from the 1900s to the 1950s...unforgettable characters, irresistible nostalgia, a lively wit and, of course, a marvellous story..
'...the perfect way to escape from the present and unwind into sheer enjoyment.'
and they promise a revival of more old favourites to come so plenty to look forward to.
You'll love the frontispieces too, an illustrated Ex Libris page that speaks to the themes of each book and where I have of course very proprietorially stamped my mark.
What a bounteous week we've had, don't miss the next post for the chance of some prize draw copies.
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