Margin Notes Books

Spring day and Joanna Trollope

2012-02-26T10:34:00.002Z

Yesterday was a warmish, blue-sky-ed day when scarves were just a splash of colour round your coat rather than wrapped three times round your neck to keep the cold out. I went for a quiet walk (without gloves!) and did the supermarket shopping before coming back to deal with the website and business emails. I still feel surprise and pleasure when someone emails to say that they like the appearance and the stories of The Whicharts and Five Farthings. This is usually a good weekend to sort out the paperwork as orders dip slightly, though they often rise the following week when payday arrives.

I've finished reading Joanna Trollope's The Soldier's Wife this week and really recommend it. I don't seem to have many of her novels left - I suspect I sent quite a few of the paperbacks to the charity shop when lack of space forced me to prune back the growing bookshelves. I did find a copy of The Choir tucked behind a bit of double-shelving, so have started on Chapter One and have been drawn back into the world of Aldminster. Some years later and set on an army base, The Soldier's Wife is one of her best - a fascinating character study of a marriage drifting and the effect the army has on wife and children. It might provide camaraderie to the men, but the effect on wife and children is to be isolated and set aside, even from their extended family. There's a painful scene between Dan (army husband) and small daughter who very simply states that 'We're all here because of you' with brutal, childish candour showing her unhappiness at being expected to cope and put up with the sustained absences of a much-loved father. I'd summarise the book as a study in loneliness where a loving family is struggling to communicate and make each other happy. Noel Streatfeild wrote in a similar vein about husbands with a vocation rather than a profession. In her case, the fathers were vicars, not army men, but the isolation from the family is still true.

This isn't a book to read to make you happy, though it's a book to read for its flawed characters who intrigue as much as they infuriate. I hadn't read a Joanna Trollope for years and now I'm wondering why. I think I'll start again with Daughters-in-Law.

Saturday and catching up

2012-02-18T10:49:00.003Z

I'll try and link a couple of things that have caught my interest this week. The first - a friend has volunteered with the Mass Observation Project and I'm delighted for her. I've read a couple of the books and some parts were fascinating, though other parts were hastily skipped over. I hadn't realised that this was an ongoing project and am pleased to hear it. I know there are occasional attempts to have some sort of internet archive, but nothing quite has the range of Mass Observation. Some sort of blog archive might be useful though.

The next is a new-to-me blog by Clothes in Books - it does exactly as the title says. I know my customers tend to read Girls Own novels, so are familiar with Anne's desire for puffed sleeves or Pauline's wish for elegance in spite of having a budget of pennies, but 'Clothes' (I don't know the writer's name) has taken all sorts of quotes from fiction, added an illustration and a commentary. They were kind enough to mention The Whicharts earlier in the month, though not my enduring memory of Maimie's love of new clothes at any opportunity. I'm still thrilled that people are rediscovering a lost/forgotten Noel Streatfeild and find it an interesting read. It's pushed me to reread Jane Eyre and look at the visit to the silk warehouse and witness her horror of bright colours and ostentation.

I've been continuing in much the same way as usual : searching for suitable novels to add to the list and seeking out copyright holders of those novels already shortlisted.

Up in the air

2012-02-12T14:24:00.003Z

Hearing the unwelcome words 'And now, in a change to some listings...' usually means that the drama you wanted to watch has been replaced by sport or that repeated time-filler, Top of the Pops 2'. BBC2 appear to be making it increasingly difficult for anyone to watch Pan Am, though I suspect any ratings for sport are higher, so drama is moved without much notice. Then again, moving everything for sport seems to be BBC policy and, as a drama fan, I dislike it. That's not to say that Pan Am is the best drama import, more that it's a relaxing way to spend an hour or so watching moving pictures with the most elegant costumes. Life 'in the air' has lost whatever glamour it might have had and isn't the subject for teenage novels any more. Though someone may decide that realism is necessary and commission a novel from the perspective of modern cabin crew.

I've been rereading the rather nice Air Hostess Ann (Pamela Hawken, 1952) this week. Unlike the Pan Am girls who fly in and out of New York looking immaculate, Ann works in the thick London fogs and is busy off-duty fixing the boiler instead of being wooed by handsome politicians. Ann is one of a series of 'career novels for girls' that flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. Many are collected and prices tend to be on the high side, but Ann is reassuringly affordable. I also found another oddity I'd picked up from somewhere on my shelves set slightly earlier and published slightly later, so in the post-1945 chaos when small airlines went from boom to bust in a terrifyingly short time. Head in the Clouds (1958) is by Muriel Hanning-Lee and a rattling collection of memories of flying with celebrities, animals, students and how to cope with flights around the world that took weeks to complete with endless stops to refuel. Both Ann and Muriel earn their wings being kind, capable and good at their jobs, so not quite as dramatic as Pan Am's reliance on spies, scandal and perfect costumes.

You are what you read

2012-02-05T18:31:00.002Z

Most of my buyers are already keen readers or serious collectors of vintage fiction or Noel Streatfeild fans who have discovered the 'almost forgotten' novel The Whicharts. Some are both. I suspect many also would enjoy a modern novel that reminds you of the pleasure of revisiting childhood favourites. Then it might remind you of the number of books you've got rid of, replaced and purchased again over the years. I've just spent most of the afternoon reading the second half of The Secret of Happy Ever After. I've enjoyed it hugely and recommend it. Lucy Dillon's a new author to me and I'll search out her other books in a browse of Waterstone's next week. No, I'm not omitting the apostrophe from Waterstone's - it doesn't look right. Lucy's book is a lovely gentle read that fitted in well with a week full of train journeys and an afternoon enjoying the white light reflecting off the snow and wondering if the thaw was beginning or whether we'll have another deluge of snowflakes as soon as it gets dark tonight. To return to the book, it's a great page-turner with plenty of references to childhood reading and returning to old book friends for comfort once you're grown-up. The author's obviously a Dodie Smith fan and elements of Elinor M. Brent-Dyer and Judy Blume feature in a story of developing business and families and the occasional incompatibility of the two. It's an interesting take on the step-family that Gwendoline Courtney did so well in Elizabeth of the Garret Theatre, though Lucy Dillon's heroine is understandably frustrated by her selfish step-daughters who don't behave in the way she, rather idealistically, hopes. You do feel so sorry for her and her three step-daughters who don't appreciate the Christmas present of vintage editions (some signed) of children's books that any book-collector would love, but that three teenagers who don't read much for pleasure simply don't understand.

Title 3 - The Two Linties

2012-01-30T19:36:00.003Z

I am excited and delighted to say that I have been able to locate Clare Mallory's heir and agree terms with them and so my third title will be Clare Mallory's The Two Linties which will be republished for the first time since its original publication in 1950 in May/June 2012. Having republished two London stories, I've moved to New Zealand to tell the story of an ambitious orphan's first steps as a writer while leading a double life.

Unlike Clare Mallory's more well-known school stories, this is a story of budding journalists competing for their place in the local paper.

A pdf file of Chapter One of The Two Linties is available for download from the website.

Developments

2012-01-22T16:55:00.004Z

Book-buying is an interestingly emotional business relying on attraction, recommendations and emotion just as much as it has to do with interest in finding out what happens next as you turn the page. That’s what’s made publishing so interesting over the last few years bringing back The Whicharts or ‘Ballet Shoes for cynics’ as I’ve heard it summarised and Five Farthings a lovely family story of first love and 1930s London which deserves to be back in print for the first time since the 1930s. I’m pleased that collectors are willing to buy paperbacks over their usual preference of vintage hardbacks, but I know I need to develop an ‘electronic list’. It isn’t, sadly, economically viable to produce hardbacks with a dustwrapper, so I combine the best and most readable vintage fiction with contemporary technology to publish quality paperbacks with a heavier-weight paper and resilient glued-in binding.

I'm still hard at work with the final rights negotiations for Titles 3 and 4. The shortlist for Titles 5 onwards was reduced by quite a considerable number after a Christmas holidays reading vintage fiction and discarding many ideas. I prefer to reprint the rare, but I also want them to be readable by the collector and, ideally, by any keen reader of fiction today. I wondered about Freda C. Bond for a Christmas 2012 release, but found her books to be tissue-thin in terms of plot, though the number of adventures per chapter exceeded all parody of the GO genre. One request has been to investigate bringing Pennington back - I'll report back on that as soon as I can.

More about Five Farthings

2012-01-16T22:30:00.005Z

Five Farthings: a London story. The title's beautifully clear and you're drawn into a world of City life that's as recognisable to any commuter or City worker today, even if City rents aren't low any more. It works, I think, because it's an enjoyable family story with an uncommon subject at its heart. How many people even today are familiar with the layout of the City - how many just walk past Cannon Street station and don't even look up at the splendour of St Paul's on the daily commute? I try, though the dragons fade into the background after a while, striking as they are. London in your lunch hour probably won't include Wren churches or sandwiches in the parks - most of us manage a quick coffee or a wander around shopping before dashing back to our desks. My office has daft pigeons wandering in circles around the guttering - Redlich has them pottering about around the roof of the cathedral. The only thing I would have liked to do while researching and putting this book together was to visit a Lyons Corner House. I'm told that some could be spectacular and doubt that the interior of a modern coffee house would strike me in quite the same way.

Five Farthings arrived safely

2012-01-07T08:46:00.002Z

A very welcome set of boxes has arrived and I'm sending out advance orders this weekend. I'm incredibly impressed and grateful for the amazing work of my graphic designer and artist.

Tidying up

2011-12-30T16:29:00.004Z

Well, most of the Christmas cake has been eaten and the few crumbs remaining are proof of its goodness. I'm trying to ignore the rain lashing against the windows and concentrating on clearing space on the floor and on the shelves, though the two are merging together in a few areas of the house. Five Farthings will arrive from the printer very soon and I need space for the boxes and also a bit of space for the production line of postage and packing.

I'm also sorting out things like library books and trying to remember when they're due back as I'm worriedly aware that it's soon and that fines threaten. This is why one library book has concealed itself in the house and is probably waiting for me to count to one hundred before searching for it. I try and use the library regularly on the way home from work as it keeps me in the habit of reading and browsing, always nice if you need some peace after work. The range of stock is particularly good, from the main publishers to smaller people like Persephone and Fidra Books. That's why I still use libraries - I may want to read a light novel on the train, but I may not want to buy my own copy just yet. I may want to try out a new author - that's Guillaume Musso for the moment - and I can't (sadly) afford to buy every book that looks interesting. Then again, I'm lucky to have a branch library that is open later in the evening and is on the way home. I'm still furious that my local library got rid of so much of its rare stacks and that many of those books never made it into the library booksale. The time has passed since I last took out as many books as my ticket would allow - perhaps I've grown up and balanced by enthusiasm, but there is a limit as to the number of books you can comfortably carry home.

Time and Space

2011-12-28T16:13:00.001Z

I like this peaceful interlude between Christmas and New Year - the online shop is still open and orders are coming in, but it's more gentle than the pre-festivities frenzy of shopping that characterises December. Now, though, the book-collectors are returning and buying their own books again. Whether they've been given a nice cheque for Christmas or their families ignored their hints and the ever-useful Amazon wishlists, the book-buying habit is very hard to break, no matter how many books you have shelved, on the floor or 'somewhere safe' ready to be read. I've spent the last day or so reviewing books, making notes for future blog posts and just enjoying reading uncritically. It's always useful to have a break from reading for business, just to regain perspective and find out if your first impression was correct or not.

Five Farthings now available for pre-order

2011-12-04T17:42:00.000Z

Goodness, that's an exciting thing to write and even better to add a link to. I've just finished updating the website and testing all the links and (fingers crossed) everything will keep working. Chapter One of Five Farthings is also there for you to read, if you'd like to.... Buyers are all adored and very welcome.

Now to catch up on some blog reading and admire the craft work as well as people's reading. I'm coveting cardigangirlverity's stocking at the top of her site. It has pockets for books on the outside and (I suspect) plenty of room for small presents like clementines and chocolate coins inside.

Beautiful books

2011-12-03T21:27:00.000Z

Why am I a publisher? Well, aside from wanting to run a business doing what I love, I also wanted to reprint beautiful books and, hopefully, enhance them with lovely new cover art. Monica Redlich's Five Farthings is with the printer and should be delivered to me very shortly, so I can now take advance orders via the website. It's rather exciting typing that. I'm very pleased with it and the new art that I've arranged. Tomorrow's task is to add a preview of Chapter One of Five Farthings to the website - always good to have a sample chapter.

Tonight, though, I'm having a look at twitter where I'm @MarginPublisher.

Sunday afternoon

2011-11-27T15:17:00.000Z

There's a bit of a chill in the air and it's almost time to keep a pair of gloves in your pocket. Or, in my case, a bag as one will keep falling out and I'm not mad or desperate enough to wear odd gloves in public yet. I'm having an afternoon off from The Whicharts and Five Farthings and working my way through the weekend papers. The way that some broadsheets carry on you'd think that people didn't buy books for the rest of the year. I know that isn't true, though I do see a rise in orders now-ish and again after Christmas. I'm not sure why people seem to buy more after Christmas - perhaps they've received a nice cheque or perhaps they just weren't given the books they wanted in spite of the Amazon wishlist which is a very useful invention. As well as reading the book reviews, I'm also flicking through the themed gift lists that mushroom around this time of year. Well, it's good advertising. I think The Observer have the best so far - they've themed it round fans of television programmes and popular culture. It might help the families of Downton Abbey fans and possibly avoid the reality of the period drama fan unwrapping three copies of the same box set.

Five Farthings (again)

2011-10-30T11:54:00.000Z

Getting there - really getting there with Five Farthings and the 'as yet unprogressed list' is satisfyingly short. I've emailed the artist, first and only, on the shortlist and hope that she would like to be involved.

As soon as I've finished with the morning's editing, I'll have an afternoon of packing parcels and checking the accounts. I'd rather have an afternoon with a large mug of tea and a new book, but it seems that I still have responsibilities!

Another book I haven't read yet, though it does intrigue me is Ballroom Blitz. When you do grow up reading quite a few novels set in the Second World War, the luxury hotel does loom large. I'm always interested in a 'behind the scenes' take which studies the political exiles and the staff. I suspect this will soon find its way on to the Amazon Wish List and may yet be a pre-Christmas present for me.

Netherwood (Jane Sanderson)

2011-09-10T17:52:00.001+01:00

First things first, Five Farthings is coming on nicely and the text is complete and almost set in its final version. I'm giving myself a bit of time away from the text this weekend so that I can spot the errors on my return. I may yet change my mind (again?) and test the fonts when I do.

I found a proof copy of Jane Sanderson's Netherwood a few weeks ago and finally read it last weekend. If my opinions are worth anything, I suggest buying it when it is published on 29 September - I intend to hunt down and purchase a signed copy. I wish I hadn't waited so long to move it off my 'read it soon' shelf as it's one of those enjoyable historical novels that can simply be devoured with tea. The focus on good food and enjoying eating said home cooking also makes you wish that a batch of biscuits was baking in your oven rather than opting for the clean and practical simplicity of opening a packet. I don't cook while reading any more as I prefer my food cooked to carbonised. Nor did I want to put the book down while I baked biscuits to eat with it. When I find a really good page-turner I want to read it in one sitting. Netherwood has been published to catch the Downton Abbey wave, but that shouldn't put anyone off. It's a good page-turner of a country house and mining village novel and the story of two young female entrepreneurs is very deftly done. Set in the years before the First World War, it's a fascinating look between the life of the aristocracy shuttling between Town and Country houses on private train lines while the working poor on their sprawling estates live a hand-to-mouth existence. This isn't, quite, the country village, but industrial coal-mining town.

Monica Redlich - Five Farthings

2011-07-30T16:28:00.000+01:00

Monica Redlich's Five Farthings is slowly coming into shape ready for the printer. Text complete and ready for the editing. As I'm doing my usual 'complete and unabridged' edition, this means checking that every full stop is where it should be or where it was in the first edition. I reread the novel constantly during this process and am (still) charmed by it. It's a wonderful story of 1930s London, pre-war and much of it I suspect obliterated in the Blitz. There don't seem to be so many London-set novels for children, even Ballet Shoes or Curtain Up only really mentioned the Underground. With any luck a sentence like that will ensure that lots of people comment to say how wrong I am and give examples. Five Farthings shows the grubbiness and charm of city life from theatres to architechture to the quiet corners only locals know.

I'll need to return to the question of 'queer' as the search for 'queer people' (unusual people) takes up much of Five Farthings. I intend to reprint an unabridged version, but need to formulate a note at the front along the lines of 'this is a complete and unabridged version of Redlich's novel. Words have not been updated or omitted'.

UPDATE: Thank you for the recommendation for Marcus Crouch. I'd forgotten about that review. I may be biased, but it strikes me as fair. All being well, the book will be ready well before Christmas. I would reply to your comment, but Blogger keeps logging me out.

Collecting Books and Magazines

2011-07-24T18:24:00.000+01:00

More good news: the Australian site Collecting Books and Magazines mentions Margin Notes Books and The Whicharts. It's such a useful site to check cover art, authors and reprints of half-forgotten books and, much like LibraryThing, helps by encouraging half-forgotten memories of titles and authors of books to rise to the surface. I know I'm not the only reader who can remember plots of books read as a child, though not the more significant details of author or title so that I can track them down for a reread.

Heat and chills

2011-07-03T18:58:00.000+01:00

In the first really unbearable heat of the summer in England without enough air-conditioning it's useful to have a set of chilling short stories near to hand as an antidote. A sudden rise in temperature to 32 in the last week or so all over southern England and you start to dream of chilled drinks, ice cubes and some way to get home that doesn't involve a train whose windows are sealed and no breeze. However, a really good collection of short stories, say Joanne Harris's Jigs and Reels or Roald Dahl's Someone Like You are most effective in cooling your mood and sending chills down your spine. I love a good page-turner and appreciate the pared-down craft of the short story at its best. Jigs and Reels provides entertainment to keep you agreeably chilled and amused from the feel-good 'Faith and Hope Go Shopping' to the sinister 'Waiting for Gandalf'.

Stacy Gregg's Pony Club Rivals

2011-06-20T19:51:00.000+01:00

I had a wonderfully giggly and escapist weekend with friends and new books. I enjoy reading for plot just as much as reading for trends in the industry. Somehow, I was never really a pony book reader, I appear to have missed Stacy Gregg and her new series Pony Club Rivals and I'd recommend them for an engaging distraction from reality. The Auditions is the first in a series and it's a beautiful updating of the boarding school story set at an exclusive riding school for future champions of dressage and showjumping. Based in the US, it recruits via a series of complicated competitions and it seems that the heroine has more chances to compete for entry than anyone. A perfect beginning of misunderstandings, false accusations and no outright victory leads on to the rocky and uncertain road to the dream school complete with the emotional turmoil of teenage hormones and the knowledge that your mother, tragically killed in a riding accident naturally, was a better rider at your age. Plenty of horsey detail and enough terminology to muddle the non-rider, but there are good friendship subplots, silly tricks and scrapes to keep the story galloping (sorry) along. You even get a couple of polo matches.

Peaceful Saturday

2011-06-12T19:49:00.000+01:00

A free afternoon browsing in London's secondhand bookshops is joyous. Quinto had just had a huge stock delivery that was worth braving their horrible staircase for. (If you haven't been in, just take each step very slowly as the height, width and depth of each tread and riser seem to be slightly different; it's an old building). A little further down and the second survivor - Any Amount of Books - had those welcome half-price in basement stars in the windows and on the shelves. Going down their staircase is easier: it's just a matter of waiting your turn. When you do manage to join the crowds in the basement, you're almost overwhelmed by the volumes of interesting and unusual that just draw you towards the shelves. A neat heap of boxes is almost ready for unpacking and display. In spite of masses of tape and polite signs saying 'Please leave' people still start to pull at them, perhaps they remember childhood Christmases, though Any Amount staff have come up with the solution: 'Please do not open these boxes - they contain cats' which raised smiles and ensured that people kept their fingers well away. There were plenty of gems on the shelves and the contents of the boxes will be available soon enough.

2011-06-05T18:14:00.000+01:00

Sometimes, just sometimes, book recommendations are worth heeding. It's often the case that you need to match the right book to the author. I'll take one modern example first: Marcus Sedgwick's Blood Red Snow White - a fascinating take on Arthur Ransome's time in Russia. It also has the most beautiful endpapers of period maps. I tried The Foreshadowing after that, but couldn't quite finish it. Then again, I've never found fantasy to be a genre I could read.

The vintage example is Dorita Fairlie Bruce who has legions of fans. I wasn't one of them: her school stories left me bored and it was a real struggle to get past Chapter Three. Then, a friend lent me Triffeny and The Serendipity Shop. Just reprinted by Girls Gone By books, they are much more interesting stories of Scotland, mostly from the social history angle as they relate to established crafts (polishing stones for beads and pottery-making) finding new ways to be relevant to young craftswomen developing alternative markets just as mass tourism arrives.

Vintage Reading - St Simon Square

2011-05-25T21:33:00.000+01:00

I found a lovely, gentle family story in the Gwendoline Courtney and Mollie Chappell style in the British Library last month and can't recommend it highly enough. I wish I knew more about the author, but St Simon Square (1952) appears to have been Frances Hamilton's only book, and a quick check on ABE shows that it had at least one reprint. Recent reading patterns show that I seem to be developing a preference for vintage family stories and I enjoyed this one of trainee librarians, dress designers, social workers and farmers. Reading it again before posting about it, it struck me that Frances Hamilton had thrown every 'type' into her text, but it worked incredibly well. The three Parker sisters dominate - the youngest brother Tim hares off to the nearby family farm at every opportunity and so is neatly sent into the margins. A widowed hardworking and generous mother comes straight out of the Marmee mould and showers her children and their friends with kindness whenever deadlines allow this respected journalist out of her office to show the importance of maternal understanding. What of her daughters? Casey - trainee librarian - is prim and almost learns to let herself go before her jealousy eats her up. I might even say consumes her, but that's too dramatic for a woman who makes a virtue out of restraint. Fran, the second sister, is allowed most of the story in her last year at school and the realisation that you need to work for the job you yearn for, academic drudgery as means to an end to be a workroom assistant in the local atelier. Finally, there's Thea, who is little more than the confident youngest, though she has a certain charm. Added to this, there's Clare, the South African exile suddenly sent to live amongst strangers and call a new place home. She's the embryonic social worker whose awakening consciousness of providing a haven for the deprived local youth is a parallel development to making her home in England even while dreaming of blue African skies.

The Girl Who Chased the Moon

2011-05-17T20:56:00.000+01:00

I've been working my way through a selection of young adult novels recently and a highlight was The Girl Who Chased the Moon, a gentle story of family secrets, muddled relationships, cake and the supernatural in an isolated corner of North Carolina. Imagine a cast of eccentrics in a house where the wallpaper changes colour and pattern to suit your mood and the importance of family history. I read this magical story in an evening and am now hunting the author's backlist as I'd never heard of Sarah Addison Allen before and am doing my best to change that. I am also determined to try hummingbird cake after reading this.

Amazon.com

2011-05-15T17:01:00.000+01:00

Well, now neatly overcome the various gremlins and have set up an amazon.com account for The Whicharts. I hope that makes life easier for American buyers.

Book-related

2011-05-08T16:59:00.001+01:00

I don't just read books - I'm also known to go along to authors' talks and book signings and try to hide in the back row. So, I went along to a lovely evening at the Institut francais last week to hear the converstation with Joanne Harris and Tatiana de Rosnay about being French and English and loving literature. I wasn't expecting the endearing muddle that is Joanne Harris: beautiful French accent when speaking French, but strong Barnsley accent when speaking English. She wore statement jewellery (three large yellow stones set in gold on a chain) which suited her, but the elegant white linen-like jacket clashed horribly with pale blue jeans, yellow socks and plain trainers. She was quite happy to refer to herself as a mongrel and scruffy, so I don't suppose she minds. Tatiana de Rosnay is much more French in appearance: groomed, soignee and terrifyingly elegant. She was more at ease and quicker to respond, though Joanne gave the questions more obvious consideration. It was an evening of anecdotes and memories as you cover childhood, teachers, books you were exposed to (in both languages) and when. Nothing ground-breaking, nothing unexpected. Interesting that both women retreat to the classics in both French and English and find the modern novel difficult to enjoy. I now have a list of French authors to try - this may take some time as I'm not exactly sure that I spelled some names correctly.

Novel read in a day

2011-05-01T21:49:00.000+01:00

The late and much-missed Eva Ibbotson is one of my favourite authors, and one I reach for when I'd like something comforting, the literary equivalent of hot chocolate. Whether it's Vienna-set The Star of Kazan or Madensky Square or the Amazonian Journey to the River Sea or A Company of Swans you have the comforting familiarity of niceness triumphant. Yes, there will be restrained evil relatives, mishaps and muddles, but you're heading for a happy ending. Ibbotson herself thought her adult novels were for people recovering from flu, but I'm a great believer in reading for a happy ending as well as reading new books. Her last book, One Dog and his Boy, has just been published after her death last year and will, I suspect, be a perfect read for children at the confident reader stage looking for animal adventures longer than those of Dick King Smith or having read Dodie Smith's One Hundred and One Dalmatians, but want a certain edge and modernity, so there are circuses (with the moral debate about performing animals), care homes and neglectful parents. This is a lovely book to read or have read to you as you see trusting animals, good grandparents and dog-lovers who go to great lengths to provide good homes for their four-legged friends. I haven't seen such an interesting story about animals including their thoughts and voices without being twee or over-emoting for quite a while and really enjoyed this gentle tale of friendship developing between humans and dogs - the right companion finds you, it seems.

I'm in Stylist!

2011-04-20T21:53:00.001+01:00

Or rather The Whicharts is, thanks to Lucy Mangan adding it to her 'Five New Books I Cannot Wait to Read' list on p. 25 if you follow the hyperlink and p. 23 if you have the paper copy of Issue 74 (20 April 2011). I'm delighted and must write a quick email to her to thank her. The news came as a very nice shock and, yes, I have kept a paper copy for myself. Even better, if anyone clicks on marginnotesbooks.com on the online copy, a neatly hidden hyperlink takes them straight to my website.

In other news, I'm still having fun with Amazon. It seems that I can only be listed on the UK site, but there is a redirect from the US page - so US fans can purchase the book at a very reasonable price if they look there and then try the redirect. It's a bit convoluted, though I do post books within 2 working days.

Sunshine and technology

2011-04-17T16:06:00.000+01:00

It's a wonderful spring day and I am hunched over the computer trying to untangle an intricate piece of website design. One of those occasions where the learning curve is frustratingly vertical. However, if I cannot sell on US Amazon if I don't have a US bank account, I can make sure that my site does have copies of The Whicharts ready to airmail (and I do). It seems that last month US site visitors outnumbered the UK-based readers for the first time. That's interesting and I'm keen to see why. Possibly also hint that books are good Easter presents. Or that a holiday weekend is the perfect time to order the new books you'd been admiring.

As soon as I finish this, I intend sitting in the sun with a nice cold drink and Katie Fforde's new novel. Summer of Love looks promising and I'll say more just as soon as I finish it.

New-to-me authors (again)

2011-04-03T11:14:00.000+01:00

Another reason why I like the British Library - just being able to search, order and read through an author's list. I don't suppose I would even have found Music at Pendragon (Paula Harris, 1959) if I hadn't been searching ABE for books illustrated by Ruth Gervis. It's the story of a music summer school and the ambitions and adventures of a group of teenagers in Cornwall - will they rise to the heights of soloist or be jobbing second desk viola players or find their niche in a related (hitherto unthought-of) field? The Ballet Shoes illustrations are so familiar to me that it's a bit of a shock to see her distinctive style covering Dior-ish generous skirts or lanky teenage boys sprawling in armchairs. A stately home in Cornwall houses a summer school for musicians of all ages each summer - think of the Christmas dancing school in The Abbey Girls in Town without the class snobbery or the folk dancing and you're on the right track. I'd recommend this author if you like 'performing' books and stories of sunshine, teas and music that's less 'show-offy, stage school beast' than Pamela Brown's gawky children. These are confident young people, but those living in ordinary middle-class households in the London suburbs, not 'country' children at all. Far from picnic-ing all over the countryside, like the outdoors-y types in Blyton, Ransome and similar of the pre-War age of children's fiction, these post-War children go home for supper and worried mothers ask their locust-like teenagers not to invite too many friends home as there isn't enough food in the house. The period overuse of 'my children' to refer to anyone younger than you are is one of those phrases that makes me flinch, but one that's easily ignored. Madrigals, classical and pop music are all given attention and enjoyed for their own sake - I like that inclusivity, rare in girl's own books, which often have an awkward relationship with "modern" teenagers and their interest in the present, not the idealised past so beloved of the author. These are teenagers familiar with suburban railway journeys home on the last train or wandering down the South Bank after a concert at the Festival Hall. I've had to do all of my Paula Harris reading in the BL. One day there may yet be an affordable copy of Star in the Family, though Cressida and the Opera (Gilbert and Sullivan coaxes a shy schoolgirl out of her shell) is probably the more interesting of the pair.

Working and its rewards

2011-03-27T18:21:00.000+01:00

I'm continuing to work on the typesetting of Title 2 (Monica Redlich's Five Farthings). I don't exactly have a favourite part as I enjoy all stages from shortlisting to development, then on to editing and selling. However, there's nothing like a quiet afternoon trying out fonts and spacing. Yes, wider margins will make the book a little more expensive, but it will be easier to read when (please when, not if) the customer buys it. Hopefully, the fact that they aren't required to break the spine to turn a page or be able to read the first half of a line will ensure that the book lasts too. I'm now off to my reward for the work - another chapter from the proof copy of Natasha Solomons' new book. The Novel in the Viola deserves to be even more successful than Mr Rosenblum's List. I'm in the lovely position of enjoying the reread even more than the first read - it's in an odd space with echoes of Daphne Du Maurier and Eva Ibbotson.

Title 2 (again)

2011-03-20T18:30:00.000Z

Simply put: Working on it and enjoying it immensely. Between making a new version of the text, I'm experimenting with typefaces and layouts. I think perhaps editing is the best part.

Title 2

2011-02-22T20:13:00.000Z

I am excited and delighted to say that my second title will be Monica Redlich's Five Farthings which will be published in late 2011.

I also hope to republish her other novel Jam Tomorrow in 2012.

In a very quick edit - thank you for the interest and I'll keep you updated.

Streatfeild online

2011-02-20T22:04:00.000Z

A very quick post today, just to mention Noel Streatfeild's enduring hold as a writer for children. One blogger is holding a Streatfeild challenge - to read as many of Noel's novels as she can in a year, so good luck. A second newish website on Ballet Shoes has been set up as a support to a US college course in children's literature. It could well be a modern version of the course reader with all the useful quotes and directions for further reading that you used to be given in a paper handout. I hope for the day that one of the many children's literature academics I've emailed does actually do a contrast between The Whicharts which contemporary reviews only recommended for the broad-minded and Ballet Shoes which only goes from strength to strength as far as popular and critical values are concerned.

Possible authors

2011-02-06T22:01:00.001Z

I seem to have spent more time in the British Library reading rooms than anywhere else lately. The discovery of Paula Harris and Lorna Lewis has been entertaining, but both are more suited for the collector and social history enthusiast. I don't think they have quite the wider appeal needed to shortlist them for future titles. That said, anyone interested in novels about music (just sheer enjoyment of playing - no need for precocious talent) or working in hotels or factories should read both writers.

Mention in The Guardian

2011-01-22T17:01:00.000Z

Ah. The sudden and welcome spike of interest in my website can be explained: "This is not based on anything by Noel Streatfeild" wrote Peter Bradshaw in his review of Black Swan on Thursday. The full review can be found here. Reactions to his Guardian article have been mixed, but it was interesting (and unexpected) to see The Whicharts mentioned in the comments.

Vintage reading

2011-01-14T22:27:00.000Z

I had fun this week avoiding the rain and reading a more romantic version of To Serve Them All My Days - in the form of a Hutchinson romance. Elizabeth Carfrae's The Dividing Line is the story of a forward-thinking headmaster who inherits enough money to purchase his old prep school and set himself up in his dream job. With a meander around wealthy relatives, new and old friends, devoted school secretaries in serviceable wool and even more devoted matrons crackling with starch, this one's actually (very silly) and enjoyably readable. There's even a madness from monomania and overwork subplot with a sleepwalking schoolboy. I'd say it's Girls Own-ish fairytale - popular stalwart of the genre. Was it even possible in the 1950s to buy a small Van Gogh by selling an old family jewel? Wishing territory, I suspect.

Tidying to normal

2011-01-09T18:14:00.001Z

A smudge after Twelfth Night, but the Christmas decorations have been returned to their tissue paper, boxes and attic home for another year. The house looks ordinary and normal now, though I miss the lift that the excesses of gold, silver, purple, red and green decorations gave.

It's nice to be back to normal. For me, that means packing and printing labels. A small pile of stuffed padded envelopes is waiting to be taken to the Post Office later this evening. My 'to do' list next week now has the items 'buy more padded envelopes and sellotape' on it, always useful and an indication that things are going on steadily.

I've spent some time over Christmas and New Year tucked away in the British Library. The image that endures is the result of heavy rain and many visitors had left their umbrellas drying on top of the banks of lockers - I wish I had my camera handy for the rows of multicoloured umbrellas decorating the room in accidental flashmob modern art style. I did manage to find the information I needed in the Reading Room and treat myself to a Peyton and Byrne cake. Not sure which is better - books or cake?

New Year - New Reading Plans

2011-01-02T17:18:00.000Z

Rather than talk about my highlights (in reading terms) of last year and there were plenty, I think I'll list my way through a stack of books I intend to read in 2011. I don't suppose it matters when they were published, but a calming gentle wander around Hatchards between Christmas and New Year has given me ideas:

1. Distant Hours - Kate Morton. Costumes, social history, houses and general nosiness. I'm sure I'll find plenty to like. This was a very welcome Christmas present and I only have one minor whinge that it's too heavy to take commuting which is when I have the most time to read.

2. Having discovered Phyrne Fisher (and the lovely fiction buyers at Hatchards are now stocking her) this year, I think I'll try more costume crime. Jacqueline Winspear can be good in parts, but there's also another striking Africa-based flapper-type called Jade del Cameron by Suzanne Arruda. Impressive blurb and cover art.

3. Death of a Radical - Rebecca Jenkins. Another crime novel, from an author I know nothing about. Always good to try something new.

4. A 'country house' novel. Or similar. These are very easy to find at the moment usually with green covers showing a garden and a door, probably a nod to those of us who read The Secret Garden too many times.

5. Finally, I'd like to read a little more non-fiction. I enjoy both Juliet Gardiner and Bettany Hughes, so their most recent books are on order at the library. After Downton and Upstairs Downstairs, it might also be useful to have a look at Keeping their Place for a glimpse behind the baize door.

Compliment!

2010-12-19T16:38:00.000Z

I am typing in a very pleased state of shock. I didn't expect to be on a list of '10 Reads that have entertained me this year'. I'm being realistic as I'm a tiny publisher, but I'm absolutely delighted at the compliment the wonderful Elaine has paid me.

Grey, pink and orange

2010-12-17T22:12:00.000Z

This has been a lovely week: lots of wonderful orders (again, probably presents as I don't usually have so many men buying) and a booksigning with Jane Brocket of Yarnstorm at Persephone Books. When I arrived at the shop, a small cluster of hardy types were chatting outside while sipping mulled wine. Inside, there was barely room to turn around with your wine glass and it took a while to find Jane who was sitting towards the middle of the room getting on with a simple piece of embroidery. She'd worked the horizontals and verticals in regular yellow stripes and was happily filling in squares of pink, orange and (I think) purple while chatting to everyone. I suppose I'm not used to authors being quite so friendly and interested in meeting people - many are much more shy. She was kind enough to sign my book and I wandered home happily with a copy of High Wages which I'm rushing through; I may need to read it a second time for detail. It was a bookishly touristy day in London as I went to Persephone and then wandered home via the Charing Cross Road and Cecil Court. Quinto's complicated staircase with unequal steps is easier each time I carefully navigate my way down and they seem to have restocked recently with masses of interesting novels from the 1930s and 1940s on the shelves.

To veer in a completely different direction, I'm having a break from the blog from now until the New Year. However, the shop will be open over Christmas and will only be closed on standard public holidays.

Enjoy the festivities everyone and I'll be back in January.

Cutting and sticking

2010-12-07T22:51:00.000Z

Tonight is a night for packing books. I suspect from the number of orders addressed to men that their wives or girlfriends have handed them a neat wish list. I'm always thankful for orders, especially a glut as it makes the step to the second title easier.

New project underway - "Second Title"

2010-11-28T13:22:00.001Z

Well, that says it all. Another lovely new project to co-ordinate, design, typeset and then proof. The final stage seemed to take the longest with The Whicharts - proof-reading required intense concentration and masses of patience. More news to come when I have it.

Follies (and a sense of pride)

2010-11-26T21:49:00.000Z

I'm in a sorting and tidying frame of mind tonight. Fortunately, I've finished all the business filing and feel ridiculously pleased with myself. What I can now do is look through the new-to-me Follies that I've been given. Folly (Fans of Light Literature for the Young) has been running for some years and I find it a very useful resource. Much as I enjoy rummaging through library catalogues and ordering new secondhand (probably vintage) books on the strength of a mention on a DW and you do find treasures that way, there's nothing like a personal recommendation to influence you.

Thanks also, to S. of Folly, who gave The Whicharts such a generous review. I've added it to the main site just in case anyone is hesitating to buy the Noel Streatfeild fan in their life a real treat (and rarity). Possibly a more important factor in their decision is price - I've joined Amazon in their winter holiday discounting, so enjoy.

Sifting towards a shortlist

2010-11-21T13:06:00.000Z

It's a smudge after one o'clock in the afternoon and I find that I need the reading light on already. It's a grey, damp light and the day will only improve with warming spiced pork supper and apfelstrudel. Now that supper is as prepared as it can be for the time being, I have presents to purchase, so I am mentally shortlisting. A gentle wander around Foyles - I needed to read blurbs and turn pages gently - has helped greatly in sifting.

The reissued hardback of Ballet Shoes is a perfect 'small present', white cloth binding with rich red wine ribbon bow at the front and a delicate embossed picture of Pauline, Petrova and Posy. It's a beautiful design and I'm continually impressed by the enduring interest in the book - I don't think it's ever actually been out of print since 1936. For myself, I'd like a copy with the original silver dustwrapper, but I don't have a fairy godparent with deep pockets. A publisher can continue dreaming.

I may need to buy a duplicate copy of The Help, just so that I prise my own copy back from eager reader relative who takes great care of my books, but reads them slowly.
For friends who, like me, have taken to 'costume crime', I'll need to introduce them to Nicola Upson and Frances Brody. Both fascinating for the types who love period detail. A word of warning, though, the scene in Two for Sorrow where a seamstress dies with a mouth stuffed with cut-glass beads left me turning the pages rapidly - I don't usually 'skip' (unless it's a Chalet School sale or night in mountain hut), but this necessitated a swift jump to the next chapter.

I also intend to spend some of my Christmas holiday inside with a good, long book or three. My cooking will be designed to be the sort that needs long slow cooking in the oven with minimum intervention from me. This means, I hope, that I will be able to start (and finish) Kate Morton's The Distant Hours, reread Just Henry and stamina is needed for that, and try Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet. The book claims a contemporary crisis in ballet, so I'd like to read the argument.

Browsing happily

2010-11-10T22:13:00.000Z

I'd like some new books to take me out of damp November darkness. Actually, I quite like winter, but crisp snowy winter, not damp slush or freezing rain. To that end, I can feel comforted by an 'intentions' list of books to be purchased and hidden away for the Christmas holidays:

To start with, Kaye Webb's biography So Much to Tell. I have heard many good things about this and want some time over Christmas to concentrate on this. I never joined the Puffin Club, but I read the sections at the end of my puffins avidly. The phrase 'books for keeps' and 'nuffin' like a Puffin' are still locked into my head and very useful criteria when you need to clear shelf space. Some books are temporary, but rather more are 'for keeps' and always.

Kate Morton's latest, The Distant Hours, from an author who understands the appeal of old letters, family secrets, sprawling houses and having a foot or two in the past.

I'd like another (any other) Phryne Fisher that I don't yet possess and there are many to choose from. This is possibly my recommendation of the year for entertaining reading and has pushed me towards reading crime fiction again.

This is a list I'll keep adding to before Christmas and perhaps a 'book stocking' (see here) with pockets for paperbacks might also find its way to me. I may hunt down a pattern (and fabric) and borrow a time on a relative's sewing machine.

Business continues in a copeable everyday vein with only one 'glitch' to track and mend and that's Amazon.com's insistence on listing The Whicharts as 'out of print' when it isn't. The other, more pleasing, puzzle is the sudden rise in website traffic. Perhaps I've had another nice review as Elaine's comments resulted in an earlier increase in interest.

Falling leaves, falling prices - I'll never write slogans for a living

2010-10-29T17:04:00.000+01:00

However, it is the time of year to curl up with a book. To retreat from the wind, the damp and the falling leaves into the world of the imagination. I'm never quite sure I want to be 'lost' in a book, though I do like to be engrossed there. I realise that it is almost Halloween and that it is now a very short sprint towards Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year and muddle as the clocks change. It's a time of endless lists and new diaries (balancing two as you are running out of space in the old one and the new one just doesn't quite cover the necessary dates). To encourage people to curl up with my book I have started a pre-Thanksgiving sale of The Whicharts in the shop.

Happy news and sad news

2010-10-25T16:43:00.000+01:00

I am still smiling at the lovely review the equally lovely Elaine at Random Jottings gave The Whicharts. It can be very lonely as a publisher and I'm enduringly grateful to all the generous bloggers who write recommendations, even if I don't post a heartfelt 'Thank you' at the bottom of the entry - that seems a little 'eye over shoulder-ish'. I have, however, emailed Elaine.

In less happy news, I read Eva Ibbotson's obituary in The Times this morning. I suspect it's hidden behind the paywall, but The Guardian have some good interviews with her online in the Culture section. I use her books for comfort reading when I feel in the mood for formula, but formula done with a very deft touch and a sense of foodie revelling in indulging in coffee, cream-stuffed cakes and warming Viennnese dishes.

2010-10-05T21:15:00.000+01:00

Apart from the absolute freedom to create what I like, then agree it with the rights holders, the best things about being a tiny publisher are rediscovering books you find as footnotes, as titles on dustwrappers or in catalogues. Then, you have the fun and hard work of preparing them for a new audience. Finding the Mary Evans Picture Library was pivotal in my Whicharts project. They couldn't have been nicer or more helpful and emails just flashed into my inbox. Lewis Baumer was my source for The Whicharts art, but I need something very different for my new project. This part of the research is a pleasure and I'm slowly shortlisting from the riches available.

Fiction and History

2010-09-25T20:17:00.000+01:00

I seem to see as many readers of history as of fiction glancing and commenting on this blog - I like it, even if I can't seem to get comments emailed to me. I'd never realised just now many Noel Streatfeild readers were blogging regularly. The very kind Vintage Reader mentioned the pushy stage mother (Cora Wintle) in Wintle's Wonders - Noel Streatfeild did get revenge on all silly mothers there.

To those who've emailed me to ask, no, my second title is in development and that's really all I can say.

To escape from the worry of project-management, I've been reading through Juliet Gardiner's books recently and am seriously considering going to her talks this winter. She's doing a series of Blitz-related lectures at the London Transport Museum and I am counting pennies.

2010-09-12T21:50:00.000+01:00

It's been a while since I updated the blog. Not that I've been doing anything out of the ordinary, just enjoying the sunshine and the early chill of autumn. I like travelling at the tail-end of summer, just as the 'back to school' signs are removed to make way for Halloween or Christmas, depending on how organised or desperate your shop is. I'd travelled at the last minute recently and ran out of books just as I arrived at the airport. That was misjudgement. I usually have a second paperback in my bag just in case I finish the first one, but the scramble to travel meant that I just didn't have the wit to pack properly. The selection at the airport was pitiful - I was just grateful that there was a copy of Daisy Goodwin's My Last Duchess on display. I'd been meaning to buy the hardback and had a very good read on my flight. Even if the two copies available were scuffed and creased, it was much the best of a dire selection. Anyway, it turned out to be a very good read for costumed delights and polite romance. My Last Duchess crosses between Eva Ibbotson, Edith Wharton and Frances Hodgson Burnett in a fascinating tale of marriage and country house life.

I don't know how I came across the 2nd Edition Book Sellers based at Raleigh-Durham airport. I've never actually flown there, but the idea of a secondhand and antiquarian bookshop in an airport terminal really appeals to me. We're all doomed to spend rather too much time 'waiting' in the departure lounge before joining another queue at the airport these days, so a browsing opportunity of this kind sounds temptingly blissful. Then again, I hunt down secondhand bookshops wherever I travel, just to see what may be on the shelves. Mostly, I'm disappointed and find the glossy (gilded elevates these titles undeservedly) holiday writing, though sometimes I find delights like Rumer Godden and Elizabeth von Arnim.

2010-08-02T19:21:00.000+01:00

I see that someone in America is selling my book for rather more than I do. I wish them luck, though I feel as much irritated as amused by it. I'm almost certain I haven't actually sold them any copies, though they may have bought stock elsewhere.

Crime and cocktails

2010-08-01T13:51:00.000+01:00

I'll move from vintage books to contemporary today, mostly because I'm still working my way through books by illustrators I like and authors I'm not familiar with. Some books I've found using this odd search criteria work rather well. More of that later. A lucky find a week or four ago in a charity shop was a trio of Phryne Fishers. Kerry Greenwood is an Australian crime novelist I'd never tried, but am now keen to read more of. Sadly, she doesn't seem to be stocked by English bookshops, but there are plenty of copies on Amazon.

Phyrne Fisher is an exuberantly 'bright young thing' living in Australia and earning her living as a lady detective. It seems that Phryne grew up in Australia in less than genteel poverty, then her father inherited a title (as you do in all the best girls own novels) when the three men between him and the title died. Flung into wealth and status, Phyrne and her family returned to England, though Phyrne herself has put as much distance as possible between herself and her parents and returned to live in Australia. Which book this past history might be in, I'm not exactly sure. We see hints of her past only in the novels I've managed to read. We may not even see this at all. Mostly, Phryne appears in 1928 as an elegant survivor of World War One with a lover, a perfectly-run household, a fast car and two adopted daughters.

Her publishers have created a lovely website for Phyrne and are very generous with downloadable extracts to preview all the books. It doesn't really matter if you read this series out of order, the novels are all appealing in their own right, so just see what appeals to you - do you prefer your sleuthing to be at sea, at the circus, on the train or at the fair?

Jam and books

2010-07-25T18:13:00.000+01:00

Two firsts for me this week. The first was making jam (as opposed to lemon curd, which I'm very good at) and the second was making scones - I usually buy them. Reading vintage novels for girls does tend to make you think of food more as someone is always preparing a picnic or a feast with iced cakes and fizz. I wanted to try making jam, but a tangy (not overly sweet) jam. Strawberry and gooseberry sounded ideal and does indeed taste delicious. Next time, though, I may cut the fruit a little smaller, just to make eating (and balancing the jam on the toast) easier.

I can even find you a novel about jam-making. Madge Smith, who wrote under many similar names, wrote a gentle little tale in the Gwendoline Courtney vein of preserving an English heritage and building one's own family in the 1940s and 1950s. Jam Today is a comforting sort of summery book where two girls leave school to set up a jam factory in their decaying country home. Our practical tomboy heroine rejects the offer of a place at a smart finishing school to remain in Devon and develop a jam-making business in the hope that she can keep the family home (far too dilapidated to be stately) and land (a useful 20 acres). Assuming she can earn an income from the estate, she can revitalise her home and family. Her mother, a faded beauty and keen on smart society, is disappointed and aghast that her daughter should wish to run her own life along modern lines. It's the usual 'let's run the show right here' type with the girl (at least) finishing her domestic science course at school before striking out in the brave post-war world to combine tradition and entrepreneurship. Without the jam-making and business-building, we see the standard reliance on established values of friendship, honesty, trust in headmistresses, godparents and doctors and a love of folk-dancing.

How to search for new books

2010-07-18T16:05:00.000+01:00

Sunday afternoon: time to write up and conclude.

I am experimenting at the moment as I seem to have run out of of girl's own books by favourite authors. They all stop writing eventually. Just temporarily, I don't want to reread, but expand my collection (horizons?) a little. So, I'd noticed that girl's own books tend to be published by the same publishers and illustrated by the same artists. A little lateral thinking (and quite a bit of 'keyword' searching on ABE) yields treasures to borrow from the reading room or purchase from a friendly book dealer.

My recommendation thus far is to try typing Ruth Gervis or the favoured illustrator of your choice in the ABE keywords search field and see what you can see. I then removed 'Enid Blyton' and got on very well. You can do much the same in the British Library's catalogue, though I like the chance to see stock pictures on ABE.

We Never Thought of That! was purchased solely for the promise of illustrations of 1950s France by Ruth Gervis. That's all I can really recommend the book for, though I'm keeping it because it does look beautiful on the shelf. I don't know anything about P.M. Lovell (a one book type according to the BL Catalogue, though it's possible that she is also the Phyllis Lovell who wrote domestic science manuals), but it seems to me that the story could and should have had a better treatment. Imagine, you send your children to France for the summer in the hope that youngest daughter will learn enough French to impress in her boarding school entrance examination that autumn. As you've begun on the cross-Channel ferry without parents, you then introduce two more worldly teenagers to widen the horizons of your sheltered characters. In no time at all, your children have decided to extend their stay abroad, rent a house and reopen a conveniently abandoned cafe achieving some local success by serving omlettes, scones, English tea and girls that sing folk songs. It's rather a pity that Gwendoline Courtney (see GGBP) or Noel Streatfeild didn't actually write this; Lovell's cast just don't come to life in the same way that a Courtney family does in The Girls of Friars Rise or even a Streatfeild family does, say in Wintle's Wonders or The Painted Garden. That said, I didn't need to endure (or turn pages rapidly) when a small girl (a very Courtney type) is either saying/doing something shocking (in ankle socks, not stockings, sorry), downright irritating or leaving muddy prints all over the narrative. There's a superior (though show-off handsome) type of young man that Brent-Dyer is so fond of and plenty of nice domesticated girls being competent, but it just doesn't rise terribly high or high enough to complement Gervis's wonderful illustrations. It was an enjoyable muddle and a good light read of an innocent summer holiday where you don't learn much French.

Fabulosity - books and parties

2010-07-04T12:08:00.000+01:00

I am waiting rather impatiently for my new (but old) copy of The Secret Garden as I'm keen to reread it after stumbling across a generous blog telling the story (with pictures and conversation) of a Secret Garden party. Willow Bird Baking provided a generous and amazing party for her sister (see photos here). I went to my bookshelves to look things up, then realised that I had 'pruned' certain titles when I was desperate for more shelf space. Then again, my childhood copy of The Secret Garden was a fairly dull paperback. Knowing that ABE would provide, I had a quick glance through the title listings, then started searching by illustrator. Hopefully, I'll soon have a hardback reprint (with DW) as I like books with age and character, illustrated by E.H. Shepard. Until it does arrive, I'm reading blogs on parties with a certain amount of awe at the creativity and beauty. Eat Drink Chic has the best ice cream party I've ever seen and a link to a wonderful place to find fonts for labels and invitations.

At least I can go and re-read The Painted Garden while waiting for the postman, not that he'll arrive until Monday now. Noel Streatfeild's tale of making a Hollywood film of The Secret Garden (with the hardback text) showing 1950s Los Angeles will satisfy my need for Frances Hodgson Burnett. Also, The Painted Garden does do food and parties terribly well, not quite Ratty's garbled listing of an endless hamper, but plenty that any child enduring rationing could envy. The American breakfasts full of fruit are especially mouthwatering. Then again, as it's already past noon on Sunday, it's really time for brunch.

P.S. "Fabulosity" is a real word, especially when you spell it correctly. I first found it in Rumer Godden's The Peacock Spring and find it very useful for superlative situations.

I'm in the British Library!

2010-06-27T18:42:00.000+01:00

Well, speaking personally, not just at the moment, but The Whicharts has finally been catalogued by the British Library. I'm very proud: it's an achievement of my own and nobody can say it's because of my [lovely] grandfathers.

Next try - get The Whicharts into a high street bookshop. Indie bookshops have been so generous with their help, support and time, but my dream [intention?] is to manage the next step.

Back to business

2010-06-09T20:53:00.000+01:00

Busy with business emails and packing tonight. I'm relieved and delighted about that. I'll put in Tania's picture again, just because I like it. Well, she's actually called 'Eyes of Youth', but I always saw something similar (Ruth Gervis like?) in my mind's eye for both Petrova Fossil and Tania Whichart.

Right, to business. I must email the person who would like The Whicharts for their book group. Then it's a case of packing up orders and I'll reward myself with my new Persephone title and a mug of tea just as soon as that's done.

British Library / Richmal Crompton

2010-06-06T10:40:00.000+01:00

A British Library card is one of my most treasured possessions and I use it as often as I can. First readings of real treasures were taken there. Rare books like Triffeny, Dorita Fairlie Bruce's appealing tale of an ambitious young girl working in the family pottery. Also, Richmal Crompton. Now, I'm not a fan of William Brown, but I have enjoyed the adult fiction I've been able to read. Much of it is scarce and expensive, pity. Persephone reprinted Family Roundabout, though I preferred The Ridleys. I'm fascinated by books like these, not for the quality of the writing, but for the social history. English small town life at its most insular and curious. It's a fantastic contradiction that makes for very interesting fiction, though living in a pretty petty-minded goldfish bowl must have been stifling. All terribly period 1950s with a distrust of newcomers and closely-guarded secrets.

Today must be a day to return to marketing my book and chasing up the rights to the new titles I'd like to republish. I'm also doing all I can to get The Whicharts into high street bookshops and must contact more independent bookshops as a fair few have been terribly helpful and agreed to stock it. I've already updated my website to show that I have two shops (Amazon and the Margin Notes Books one) and can take orders via either. I'm also still arguing with the display as my website is written to display in Garamond (like layout of The Whicharts), but the site prefers to choose its own fonts at different times. Never mind, new content is there and I can hope that new buyers also find their way.

2010-06-05T17:44:00.000+01:00

I've been out and about bookhunting with a friend today. We tried the charity shops and one secondhand bookshop of a new town, but the many books on offer weren't quite the ones we wanted. My own local market town did once have a secondhand bookshop, but it closed down, just as I had my first job and was earning enough to be able to buy books; I still miss it. Run by a kind lady with masses of stock, well-priced and a shop full of character complete with a family of squirrels scuttling about in the roof. Today's secondhand bookshop is further away and hidden in a quiet backstreet at the end of the high street. It's a a proper secondhand bookshop where the stock is double-shelved, more stock is in tottering heaps on the floor and boxes of cheaper books are ranged neatly outside. I only wish I'd been able to find something I wanted. Hunting through my shelves, I don't seem to have:

1. Robin - FHB

2. The Secret Garden - FHB (a hardback reprint with nice illustrations please)

3. More Alexandre Dumas, preferably in hardback with some good illustrations

4. Fill in the gaps in my Arthur Ransome collection

I'm now off outside to enjoy the last of the warmth and reread The Valley of Secrets. I splurged on a signed copy earlier this month and am reading the older copy. One of those wonderful escapist titles that treats conservation seriously and kindly.

Looking forward to bookshops

2010-05-18T21:15:00.000+01:00

What season are we in now? Is it mid-spring, late spring, thinking about summer (though it isn't here yet) or what? It's all a bit 'not quite anything' as far as the weather is concerned. With books, however, we're moving into summer escape books. It's almost, almost better than the release of a publisher's Christmas list. Two are certain 'buy it nows' just as soon as they come in to the local bookshop. Katie Fforde (someone I think would be nice to have coffee with) will publish A Perfect Proposal early next month and Veronica Henry has gone back to the coast with The Beach Hut. Until then, I'll reread Wedding Season.

Considering and changing my mind

2010-05-16T20:21:00.000+01:00

(still getting to grips with blogger and images - sorry)

For most friends and fellow readers, it isn't always the act of reading that makes you content, it's the very act of opening the book and browsing in any local bookshop glancing up and down spines and through blurbs.

I'm keen for next payday to arrive as there are some lovely summer books on the market at the moment. I can't quite afford to wander into Hatchards or Waterstones just yet as those shelves are stuffed with too many temptations. My shortlist is growing at an alarming rate, but I'm considering buying The Postmistress (opening chapter here) and such a gorgeous cover.

Any recommendations or advice to avoid? I'm in a popular fiction frame of mind....

Persephone grey and cherry blossom

2010-05-08T17:34:00.001+01:00

What a wretched, rainy day. Now, I like the look of deep pink cherry blossom against a slate-gray sky, I just don't like walking about in driving rain. Obviously jeans, light jumper and a mac were inadequate clothing for today. Should it even be this cold in May? I really could have done with warm hat and gloves, so came home early from a local (unsuccessful) book hunt and wrapped my hands round my huge Cath Kidston mug of tea. Small design flaw with that in that it keeps my hands toasty warm, though the tea cools down before I finish.

Anyway, I've been happily packing up more book orders so more wonderful customers will have their copies of The Whicharts early next week. It's the most fantastically uplifting feeling when orders come in. I just hope that a few more bookshops will stock it, some have been so helpful and keen and I treasure them.

Now I can re-read Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day with a clear conscience. A number of people whose blogs I quietly follow are reading Persephone books this month. I plan to go in and buy In Bed with Grand Music and Doreen. Then again, when I actually do go in to Persephone's shop, admire the china, the spaniel (usually snoring) and the beautiful, beautiful books, I end up choosing something else entirely. The Far Cry was one of those books that I just bought on sight, even though it wasn't on my shortlist, and the story grips me on every reread. Ruth's such a competent teenager and it's a good treatment of the 'coming of age' novel in Anglo-India.

Books and quilts

2010-05-03T16:55:00.000+01:00

I'm beginning to add theatre tickets to some of my book collection, just to ensure that the ephemera has a chance to move to another generation. One day a new reader will find the Ballet Shoes ballet ticket inside my copy. (And one day I will manage to find my own reprint with the original silver wraps). They might also find the V&A Quilts ticket inside Anne of the Island just where Mrs Lynde is compimented on her tulip pattern quilts by the Spofford Avenue millionaire.

It's made me wonder, other than mentions in Lucy Maud Montgomery, are there any other GO novels that do patchwork or sewing?

There are mentions in Gwendoline Courtney who is always good for nesting. I can't find it in any of my Dorita Fairlie Bruces and it seems the type of local craft she would have championed. There's a family quilt in A Traveller in Time, but not much more. Well, if there is, and I hope someone can tell me that there is, so that I can add to my collection.

After a long lead-in and mentions of books, I can say that the V&A Quilt Exhibition this weekend was wonderful. Just wandering along to that part of London on the bus enjoying the cherry blossom and the parks was a treat.

The quilt show at the V&A was interesting and very well set out, with the long history of making art from a craft that relies on 'make do and mend'. It was the final third of the exhibition that wasn't as smooth. They relied too much on the inclusion of headline-grabbing artists (Grayson Perry and Tracey Emin) and they didn't link to the contemporary quilter. The gap between folk art and modern craftsmanship just wasn't bridged. Modern quilting groups thrive in England and that wasn't mentioned. The war relief quilts, the Changi quilt, the Land Girl quilt all gave way to modern artists showing off and conceptualising the quilt. I think it was an opportunity missed not to include the work of the ordinary modern quilter. One who probably does use elements from American sampler quilts or Hawaiian leaves. Actually, if anyone is interested, PBS have made documentary series on quilts and they are fascinating.

2010-04-25T22:43:00.000+01:00

Plenty of things spilling over my 'not finished yet' heap that's stacked on the bookshelf, the floor and turning into its very own skirting board. Though it is a more useful, decorative skirting board.

I haven't wanted to read much that's new to me recently. Instead, I've been on that blissful rereading stage. It's better than the state of mind where you look at your shelves, already crammed full of books, and all you can think is 'I haven't got anything I want to read!'

Part-way through:
* Their Finest Hour and a Half (still, bought it just as Borders did that amazing closing down sale and keep getting distracted by work).
* Bride Flight (is it a novel or is it a screenplay?)
* Love Letters (Katie Fforde and tea, perfect)
* Winter Holiday (the pleasure of reading Ransome out of season)
* Wishing for Tomorrow (even though I *despise* mocked-up handwriting in children's books to show the change of narrative voice, this is still lovely). Lovely enough for me to buy duplicate copies and give as Christmas presents.

2010-04-20T20:13:00.000+01:00

Never mind chosing your own books, one of the most difficult things you can do is choose books for other people (or their children).

I've been reading Four to Fourteen (Kathleen Lines) while researching another project and it's a fascinating little glimpse into post-war life. The author, an experienced librarian, covers all the books that are judged 'suitable' for a child while omitting the lighter series fiction read with such often concealed pleasure like Elinor M. Brent-Dyer or E.J. Oxenham (I can't include Enid Blyton in my list now that I've grown up). I won't say guilt - feeling guilty about reading seems to be such a waste of good reading time. Four to Fourteen is on the worthy side and is a little sniffy about school stories, pony books and the like, but does cover interesting family adventures by Arthur Ransome and Noel Streatfeild. It also includes Violet Needham (whom I can't seem to like) and Alison Uttley's A Traveller in Time which I can't reread often enough. That and The Children of Green Knowe were read to bits and now I've replaced them with even more treasured hardback reprints.

I'll continue this later as I'm now beginning to wonder, with a free hand in the bookshop, what would I buy for a child today?

Nanny McPhee

2010-04-07T19:22:00.000+01:00

I wish the Easter long weekend wasn't such a distant memory. While I had a lovely time doing as little as possible (except reading) and catching up on sleep. One read stood out: Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (with film diary) by Emma Thompson. Nurse Matilda stories (the small hardbacks) with Ardizonne illustrations were regularly on my library account. This one is a very funny reinterpretation of Nurse Matilda (Nanny McPhee) and a new set of 'works in progress' children saving their farm from a scheming uncle. Emma Thompson is the kind and confiding type of companion you'd like to have a long chatty supper with. The 'novel/diary' runs the same way. Film set gossip and technical information chatters away alongside the adventures of the Green children who learn to be considerate and nice as they save their home and befriend their fouller cousins.

In and out of books

2010-03-27T21:23:00.000Z

I like tangents, book ephemera and social history - I think that's why reading children's fiction of the 1930s onwards really appeals to me. I want to know about tuck boxes, attache cases and changing shoes and hats in seasons and buildings. An interesting little newspaper cutting today told me about a range of tuck boxes available to order. Now, my impression from reading rather too many school stories was that either a loving family cook put together a fabulous strongbox of treats, or (if your mother were rich and indulgent) you had the pleasure of stockpiling a term's provisions from Fortnum's food hall. I don't know how some of you feel about the selfish glamour-girl mother in Saplings (Noel Streatfeild), but she does do treats with style. Anyway, this short advertisement gave three tuck box models. The gold-standard (20s) includes tinned pineapple, two types of cake and two varieties of biscuits along with 'glasses' of preserved meat. Very Blyton. The only thing missing is the name of the company. It just tells me that 'carriage' is paid, so I expect your box would have arrived safely at school along with your trunk for the start of term. Assuming anyone else does read this, do you have any experience or knowledge of tuck boxes and their contents? I don't think I could have kept a frog in mind, but Roald Dahl's schoolmates did have other priorities.

2010-03-21T13:59:00.000Z

Before I talk about Jane Beaton's Rules, I thought I'd also mention the London Children's Ballet. They are performing Ballet Shoes in April and the poster (see link) is beautiful. I've never been to see them before, but I've bought my ticket and will have to remember change for an ice cream. Always easier when you do. I'm looking forward to it - the ballet and the ice cream as Sadler's Wells does have a delicious selection.

One of those interesting things about childhood books and returning to them as an adult is your changed perspective. A New Mistress at the Chalet School, for example, is far more appealing now. I wasn't that interested in the private life of a teacher when I first read the books; I wanted to know what my 'old friends' were doing, not hear about a teacher's fears etc. However, I finished a reread of New Mistress and then realised that the second of the Downey House books was finally available. The publication date kept being changed and I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever see it. Never mind. Now that it's here, Jane Beaton has made a follow-up novel equally interesting. Maggie Adair is shedding some of her old preferences and habits and struggling to cope with family and work dragging her in opposite directions.

Working in a boarding school whether it be Downey House, the Chalet School or Malory Towers must have been isolating. Almost entirely female company and very little time for yourself. Unlike Kathie Ferrars (New Mistress), Maggie is spared a room full of floral chintz, a bath rota and a picture rail, but she does have an elegant bedroom in the tower (no, I'm not making a point of it) and a shared study with a chic French colleague.

As a commuting read, I'm quite happy with angst and adventures. Wasn't there a Zelda needing reformation in one of Blyton's boarding schools? I like the lifts from other school stories with Alice Trebizon-Woods a nod to Anne Digby. It was a good start to my weekend and I'll prolong it by rereading Class (again). Nothing like an indulgent reread.

2010-03-20T18:54:00.000Z

It's been an interesting few weeks since The Whicharts came back from the printer and went out to the readers. I'm pleased that people want to read it and I was certainly nervous about their reactions. People have been kind enough to email lovely comments about the book, the design and thanks for bringing it back into print. That's why I'm here really, to thank everyone who has helped me become a publisher and bookseller.

I think it's a fascinating book about 1920s London and I'm quite happy to read The Whicharts and Ballet Shoes as completely different books - reading one doesn't spoil the other for me. Noel Streatfeild had quite a success with The Whicharts and I don't suppose she would be known as the author of so many classic books for children without it. That said, there is a real contrast between her books for children and adults. Much of her adult fiction is considerably darker in tone than the bright, positive The Painted Garden and Ballet Shoes, though these books weren't reprinted quite so often.

As someone who sympathised with Petrova in Ballet Shoes, but laughed to hear of her sending her scholarship student (Mark - Curtain Up) a screwdriver as a present as they were always useful, I think it's interesting to see a version of her three sisters grow up.

Margin Notes Books

2010-03-20T17:44:00.000Z

Well, this is me: Margin Notes Books. A publisher, book-hunter and reader. Anyone who knows me or my book collection knows that I'm the last person to write in the margins (unless it was a University set text and in pencil only), but that I like reading old gift inscriptions, school prize labels and finding oddments inside my secondhand books.

As a publisher I've just reissued Noel Streatfeild's The Whicharts as it's a novel I think that deserves to be read outside a copyright library reading room. The site will be updated with more information and links to useful articles and websites as I collect and publish them.

http://www.marginnotesbooks.com/whicharts.html