our - persephone · pdf filedescribes a young girl's life in the 1930s. preface: ......
TRANSCRIPT
OURWINTER2006-7BOOKS
n July 1942 Irene Némirovsky,
author of the now-bestselling
Suite Franmise, wrote in her
notebook on her last clay of
freedom before she was
deported by the Nazis: 'The
pine woods all around me. I am
sitting on mv blue cardigan in
the middle of an ocean of
leaves, wet and rotting from last
night's storm, as if I were on a
raft, my legs tucked under me!
In my bag I have put Volume II
of Anna Kawnina, theJournal of
KM and an orange."Like
Katherine Mansfield,' wrote
Helen Dunmore in her Giuorlian
review of Suite Francaise,
Nemiroysky was an incisive critic
of her own work and her search
for simplicity reflects Mansfield's
own longing to purge her work
of effective little writerly tricks.'
--atherine Mansfield's
Journal is one of the great
:classics of twentieth century
literature but has not been in
pfint for many years. Yet it is a
uniquely truthful record of a
great writer at work, of the spirit
of a genius in the last ten years of
her life, and of the development
of the modern mind during the
early years of the last century.
ost Persephone readers
will have read
Katherine Mansfield's
stories, some of them in The
Montana Stories (Persephone
Book No. 25), which contains
everything she wrote during the
last year of her life when she was
livnig at Montana in Switzerland.
TheJournal was compiled by
her husband John Middleton
Murry soon after she died and
was published in 1927. It
consists of fragments of diary
entries, unposted letters, scraps
of writing, in other words
anything that was dated or could
have a date attributed to it and
that could be woven into a
volume called a Journal'.
atherine Mansfield had
not thought of posterity
reading anything she wrote
apart from her short stories
(even her dramatic monologue,
The Black Cap', reprinted on
p.10, was originally just an
experiment in dramatic form);
indeed, she asked Murry to
publish 'as little as possible'. But
failure to destroy something is
quite different from meaning
sometlnng to be read by others;
Nvhich is why Dorothy Parker said
of theJournal, 'so private is it
that one feels forever guilty of
prying for having read it.' For it
is indeed an intimate and self-
revelatory record of a writer's
mind, far more intimate, surely,
than Katherine would have
wanted it to be had she known it
would be published.
hus, unusually for its
time, theJournal is
honest, sharp, tragic and
over-sensitive (which is why
Virginia Woolf 's 1927 review,
which we have reprinted at the
end of the Persephone edition, is
headed 'A Terribly Sensitive
Mind'): but a writer's sharpness
and over-sensitivity, not a
gossip's or a politician's or a
mother's.
t is this aspect of being first
and foremost a writer's journal
that made us want to reprMt it,
for almost all the Persephone
writers, the ones who were
interested in the art of writing at
least, would have owned it and
read and re-read it. When the
Journal was first published in
1927 the poet Conrad Aiken
said: 'It is a fascinating, and
extraordinary, and in some
respects an appalling book. And
again and again one
is reminded of
Keats.' Partly he
meant this because
both died of
consumption and he
was referring to the
consumptive
temperament; partly
because both were
creative geniuses;
and partly because
both explored the
art, the act, of
writing every time
they put pen to
paper.
s in Virginia
. Woolf 's
Writer's
Diary, and then her
complete Letters
and Diaries, or in
Keats's Letters, the
reader can watch the
act of creation as it
happens in the mind
of the writer who
was above all else
'rooted in life'. This is
why so many saw Kath-
erine Mansfield as an
ideal. Christopher Isherwood
and Edward Upward, for
example, bracketed her with
Wilfred Owen and Emily Bronte:
'We talked about them as if they
were our personal friends,
wondered what they would have
said on certain occasions, or how
they would have behaved, N\hat
advice they would have given us.'
atherine Mansfield's
Journal is far more than
an intermittent record of
twelve years of a writer's life: it is
intensely observant,
self-critical, self-chastising,
confessional, atmospheric,
agonised and timny, an essential
document for anyone interested
in women's writing of the
last century and in one of its
greatest writers.
ur second
winter
book,
Plats du Jour, first
published in 1957,
is the fifth in
Persephone Books'
very successful
series of classic
cookery books: the
others are Good
Things in England,
Kitchen Essays,
Good Food on the
Aga and They Can't
Ration These.
ong before
this book
was thought
of, wrote the
authors, 'we had
separately evolved a
system of cooking
by which a variety
of dishes was
replaced by a single
plat du jour accomp-
anied, as a rule, by a
green salad, a respectable
cheese, and fruit in
season, and, wherever possible,
by a bottle of wine. This
conception of a meal underlies
this book.' It appeared at a time
when dishes such aspasta,
risotto,soupe aux poireaux et aux
haricotsor mackerelau vin blow
were still considered outlandish.
lats du Jour wasone ofJane Grigson's favouritebooks: if ever she sawone
in a jumble sale she bought it togive as a present. For,asthe well-knownfoodhistorian, AlanDavidson,wrote, 'it isa very good bookindeed. Its principalingredients, theknowledgeand amiableenthusiasm of theauthors, have given it alasting value.' Aridhepointed out that it is avery original cookerybook, written inunpretentious language,in an unprescriptive,relaxed wayby two cookswith whom it is easy toidentify.(Theywere alsorunning a small businessduring the twoyearsthey werewriting Plats
du Jour: we reproducetheir card on p.12.)
- he delightful and eye-catchingjacket which isnow the Persephone
endpaper (half of which isreproduced on 17.14)wasdesigned by DavidGentleman,who was 25 and had just left theRoyalCollege of Art. He haswritten in his bookArt Work:'Myillustrationswere based on
drawings and watercoloursmadein Provence,Burgundy andItaly...They were not whollyMediterranean. The cuts ofmeat were drawn in twobutchers' shops, one in Essexand the other in the meat-preparing room at Harrods,underneath the Food Hall. The
front cover showsa table at thestart of a meal, while the backcover showsthe tail end of it,with only the debris and thesleeping cats left. I had comeacrossplenty of precedents forthis before-and-after approach:strip cartoons, medieval chestsand illuminations, and paintings
such as Uccello'sgreat narrative scenesfrom the Old Testament.'
avid Gentleman believesthat 'Patience Gray andPrimrose Boyd's
admirable and practical Plats
du Jour [is]everybit as good asElizabeth David' and many will
agree with him. In fact,in terms of salesandinfluence it wasPatience Gray andPrimrose Boydwhowere the pioneers inintroducing Englishcooks to Frencheverydaycookery.Plats
du Jour sold 50,000copies in the first fewmonths afterpublication and100,000in the nextthree years, anastonishing amount atthe time. It wasonly inthe 1960sthat Elizab-eth Davidstarted tobecome a symbolof thetransformation ofEnglish middle-classeating habits. Beforethat Plats du Jour was
the favourite and mostinfluential French cookerybook.A fewPersephone readers willstill have their pink-covered1957 copies; now everyone canhave their own—in a slightlylarger format, with DavidGentleman's glorious cover asthe endpapers, on paper thatwillnot go brownwith age.
OUR REVIEWERS WRITEuriel Stuart's
enthusiastic
1championing of avanished style of small-scaleEnglish gardening is both
charming and historically
interesting,' wrote Matthew
Dennison in House and Garden.
'Gardener's Nightcap is, as its title
suggests, a series of essays,
nuggets, even single paragraphs,
on all aspects of gardening,
intended for reading last thing atnight in the shadowy minutes
before sleep. It combines
determined practicality with a
strongly poetic even fancifulstreak. Last century it delighted its
first generation of readers: for
different reasons, it will delightagain.' And Image magazine in
Ireland called Gardener's Nightcap
'a witty and beautifully illustratedcollection of gardening advice.'
— dge publications' Jason
—Salzenstein said that The
...—,,.,,Runaway'is more than just
a children's book. As pure andinnocent as it is adventurous and
fun to read, the fact that The
Runaway is written in English
long since past only adds to its
charm and amusement. Withdialogue like "... for a sensible,clever girl, which you undoubt-
edly are, you are a great little
goose", how could you not beamused? Elizabeth Anna Hartshould be recognised for her
sprightly, exciting and endearing
writing that has an appeal (to
both children and adults) that has
lasted well past its time. Lucky for
us.' The same reviewer began his
piece about Someone at a
Distance by saying, 'I don't know
if I'm a complete feminist (or was
in a former life) but there isn't a
book in Persephone's collection
that I haven't liked. Someone at a
Distance is another excellent
selection, and a brilliant andentertaining novel. Of course the
fact that it is the story of a
perfectly happy" family anti theeerily before-its-time destruction
of that marriage (and happiness)
could have something to do withwhy I enjoyed this book so much.
Or maybe it was because the
seductress that comes to visit is ayoung French woman, so filled
with sensuality that I just couldn't
help but get drawn in. All thebooks in the Persephone
collection are interesting,
engaging, and well written —
Someone at a Distance, however,
has that special somethMg extra
that sets it apart... It's a rare find.'
n the GuardianMaxim
Jakubowski reviewed The
, Expendable Man: 'Dorothy BHughes is best remembered for
The FallenSparrowand In a Loneh
Place,both of which were made
into cult movies. This reissue ofher final novel, first published in
1963, is most welcome, anexhilarating no-holds-barred
semi-political noir thriller
denouncing racial abuse in the
:American southwest. A doctor
picks up an attractive teenagefemale hitchhiker and runaway on
an Arizona mad and begins a
slow,systematic descent into an
American hell. It took real guts
to write [this novel] at the time of
the Goldwater presidential
campaign, Governor \\Mace's
declarations and much simmering
racism. The book still grips like avice, and hasn't dated one bit.'
n an article in the Gualthan the
'food for free' pioneer Richard
Mabey referred to Vicomte deMauduit's 'splendidly titled'
They Can't Ration These (1940,
Persephone Book No. 54) andthe Ministry of Food's own
pamphlet, HedgerowHarvest
(1943), both of which 'moved theHome Front out into the wild,
with recipes for the obligatory
rose-hip syrup, and sloe and
marrow jam: "If possible crack
some of the stones and add tothe preserve before boiling to
give a nutty flavour" An
epicurean touch, but prefaced bythe first strictures about picking
etiquette: "None of this harvestshould be wasted, but be
exceedingly careful how you
gather it in... don't injure the
bushes or trees. When you pickmushrooms, cut the stalks neatly
with a knife, leaving the roots inthe ground."
NTER N-
FROM THE DEEPENING STREAMBY DOROTHY CANFIELD FISHER
One of DorothyCanfield
Fisher'scentral themesis the
freedom of the child
emitrastedwith the constraintsof the
adult. In The Home-Maker
(PersephoneBook No. 7) Lesterand
Ei angeline 'role-swop'—he staysat
home with the childrenand is a
perfict Montessorifiaher,shegoes to
work in 0 deportmentstoreand is
(wryhappy. Throughout the hookthe
unspoken questionis asked:what me
the childrengrowing opp»-? Is it to
slave behind an Vice desk: to stay at
home cooking,deanoig, mending,
grumbling: 01 to frel a sense of
achievement and joy selling clothes
and corning the •Minily's living?
Here. ii? The Deepeni)ig Strealn.
W1111011 SLY Vol's Off The Home-
Maker in 1930, and alsoset in
li,i-mma.DorothyCanfieldFishff
again contrasts children's play Irith
adult -work and again the question i.,
asked —why don't grown-upsplay?
fter supper 'Can-I-go-
out-to-play?' rose in
every dining-room. It
was a mere formula. It meant, 'I
am going Out to play unless I am
stopped', and it was followed —in
spite of occasional grasping but
usually futile grown-up efforts to
get some chores done by the
children —by a running dive out
of the kitchen or dining-room
door into enchantment.
There were were always
children around, who met like
meeting drops of water. To the
yelling and shouting of the game
which they instantly started,
flocked all the other children as
soon as they were freed —freed
from sitting respectably at the
table to eat, from helping wash
dishes or mind the baby, or from
a spelling lesson to make up.
Encountering in the twilight a
group of children madly
scattering, a newcomer needed
but to shout, 'Who's it?' and.
`Where's the goal?' and he was
ready to turn and race as madly
as the others, his heart
contracting in the joyful ang-uish
of the pursued, although the
moment before he might have
been sadly emptying out the
garbage pail.
A foreigner would have
thought them completely
abandoned by their elders. But
he would have been mistaken.
Any child at any moment could
be fished out of the sea of play.
Their apparently lawless
freedom was governed by one
ordinance. No child under any
condition was to 'go off the
block' without permission. A call
from any porch could reach the
children wherever they were.
'Your mother's calling you!' had
a certain fixed speech-tune to
which it was always sung, pre-
ordained bv-tradition.
Moreover; the children were
always either audible or visible to
the mothers, who, as they worked
inside their homes or sat on the
porches sewing, watched over the
playing children with as
unforgetting a reflex faithfulness
as that of the sentries of a grazing
herd jerking their heads up after
every three bites to make sure that
all is svell. It is true that nobody
even glanced out of a window so
long as the shrill chorus of
screams seas audible, near or far.
But if a silence fell, the inmates of
the houses, no matter how
absorbed in their own affairs, soon
looked to see what was happening.
If there was no visible explanation
of the silence hi the shape of a
mumble-de-peg 01-jack-stone
group, mothers stepped out. One
called to another; who passed it
clown the line, 'What are the
children up to?' Almost always a
reassuring bulletin was passed
back, such as 'They're M
Schaumberger's barn playing still
pond.' By the unspoken tradition
Mrs Schaumberger then became
special guarchan. She knew exactly
how much noise and how frequent
bursts of it were natural to that
game, and if there were not
enough, felt herself called upon to
go out unobtrusively on an errand
to the barn. That a silent child
meant a child in mischief was an
aphorism of all those parents.It was the other way around for
the grown-ups. With the
exception of a very few academicand professional families, the
grown-ups on any block were
silent enough. life for diem
was work, as life for the
children was play. When they
stopped work at traditionalresting-times it was as though
they stopped living. They sat
indoors in upholstered
'stationary rockers', their eves
fixed on the newspapers held
up in front of them, or they
sat outdoors in wooden or
wicker rockers on the front
porch, their eves fixed on
nothing at all. Either way,
silence was a bv-pioduct of
the hour.
Sometimes they recognised
their dullness and felt depressed,
but for the most part they
thought they were too tired to do
more than sit in a peaceable
qtnet in their own houses,
rocking and letting the drained-
out pool of energy fill slowly upso that they could go back to
work the next day. The
disagreeable sensation of
stagnation was averted from diemen by the occasional attentions
needed by pipe or cigar, from the
women by crocheting or darning.These sagging grown-ups did
not purposefUlly thus create
vacancy about them in their
leisure hours. What was there for
them to do which would be
interesting enough for people oftheir age to pay for the exertion
of doing it? The block was
divided into children who
played for their lives, and adults
who worked for their livings.
Such elders cast a reflection intothe lives of the children. Not
only of their own, but of all the
hard-playing throng streaming
around them like a school ofswift small fish, flashing about
barnacle-covered barges. Thechildren could not help seeing
that the grown-ups were not
haying half 'such a good time' in
their off hours as they. Half?There was no comparison. Day is
not merely twice as bright asnight: it is something different.
The children saw this and knew
that the grown-ups saw it too.
Their own instincts told the
children that it was a great pity
to grow up and stop playing and
go to work. Since the grown-upsthought so too, there could be
no doubt about it.
Once a man left behind
him at the end of business
hours the grim interest in
exacting work, he saw
nothing for it but to give
himself up to resignation.
But resignation could not
shut his eyes to the vitality
of the child who darted
quivering out of the twilight
to hide behind his chair. At
the sight of it, his own
middle-aged flesh felt lead-
heavy on his bones.
Envying the children theirpassionate enjoyment, they
sat heavily in their rockers, their
cigar-tips red in the twilight, thekindly bored wistful fathers on
the block, carpenter, plumber,
butcher, storekeeper, grocer, too
conscientious, too tired, too
responsible to look for
passionate eMoyment in whisky
and women, the only grown-upsources of it of which they hadever heard. They envied the
playing children, and out of thelove fbr them which was perhaps
the deepest joy in their ownlives, they pitied them, because
every day was taking them
farther away from the best andhappiest passage in human life.
THE PERSEPHO\I. - an Englishman by Cicely
Hamilton: 1919 prize-winning novel about
the elfect of WWI on a socialist clerk and a
suffragette. Preface. Nicola Beauman
Mariana by Monica Dickens: First
published in 1940, this very Mnnv first novel
describes a young girl's life in the 1930s.
Preface: Harriet Lane
Someone at a Distance by Dorothy
Whipple; 'A very good novel indeed'
(Spectator) about the tragic destruction of a
lormerly happy marriage (pub. 1953).
PitOce: Nina Bawden
Fidelity by Susan Glaspell: 1915 novel by a
PuliDer-winning author brilliantly describing
the long-term consequences of a girl in Iowa
running off with a married man. Prelce.
Laura Godwin
An Interrupted Life by buy Hillesum:
Frolel 1941-3 a young woman in Amsterdam.
'the Anne Frank for grown-ups-. wrote diaries
and letters which are among die great
documents of elle time Preface: Eva Horfbian
The Victorian Chaise-longue bvMarghanita Laski: A 'hale jewel of horror':
Melly' lies on a chaise-longue in the 1950s
and isakes as -Milly 80 years before. Preface:
PD James
The Home-Maker by Ihnothv Canfield
Fisher; Ahead of its time :remarkable and
brave 1924 novel about being a house-
husband' (Carol Shields). Preface; Karen Knox
Good Evening, Mrs Craven: the Wartime
Stories of Mollie Pallier-Downes; Superbly
written short stories, first published in The
Nen, Thrher from 1938-44. Five or them w-ereheiCe read on R4. Preface: Givgory Lelitage
Fete Eggs and No Oranges by Vere
Hodgson. A 600-page diary. written from
1040-45 in Notting Hill Gate. fhll of acute
observation, wit and humanity. Preface:
Jenny Hartley
Good Things in England by Florence
\ Vhite: 'Ehis comprehensive 1932 collection of
recipes inspired niftily, including Elizabeth
David.
Julian Grenfell by Nicholas Moslev: A
biography of the First World War poet, and tif
his mother Ettie Desborough. Preface: author
It's Hard to be Hip over Thirty and Other
Tragedies of Married life by Judith Viorsi:
Funru:. wise and weary 1960s poems about
marriage. children and reality Pivface: author
E 70Consequences by EM Delafield: By
the author of The Diary of a Pandac tat Lady.
'his 1919 novel is about a girl entering a
convent after she fails to marry PFeface:
Nicola Beauman
Farewell Leicester Square by Betty
Miller: Novel tby Jonatlian Miller's mother)
about. a Jewish Film-director and 'the discieei
discrimination of the bourgeoisie' (Guardian).
Preface: (lane Miller
Tell It to a Stranger by Elizabeth Berridge:
1947 short stories which were twice in the
Eneninz Standard bestseller list; they are furmy.
observant and bleak. Preface: AN Wilson
Saplings In: Noel Streatfeild: An adult
novel by the well-known author of Ballet Shoes,
aboul the destructicm of a family during
WWII: a RI ten-part serial. Afterword:
Jeremy Holmes
Marjory Fleming by Oriel Malen A
deeply empatheiic novel about the real life of
ihe Scottish child prodigy who lived from
1803-1l: now published in France; was a play
on Radio Scotland,
IS. Every Eye by Isobel English: -5nunusual
1.956 novel about a girl avelling to Spain.
highly praised by Muriel Spink: a R4 Alien-mon
Play. in 2094_ Prefaces Neville Braybrooke
They Knew Mr Knight by Dorothy
Whipple: An absorbing 1934 novel about a
man driven to c(unmitting fraud and what
happens to him and Ins fannly: a 1913 film.
Preface: Terence Handley MacMath
A Woman's Place by Ruth _Adain. Asuivey or (.20th women's lives. very readably
li•riRen In: a novelist-historian: an overview
lull or insights. Prel'ace: Yvonne Roberts
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by
Winifred Watson: A delightful 1938 novel
about a governess and a night-club singer.
React on R4 by Maui:col Lipman; to be
published in Inance this autumn. Prehice:
Henrietta IWycross-Martin
Consider the Years by Virginia Grahon,
Sharp, funny, evocative Vents by Joyce
Grenfell's closest friend and collaborator.
Preface: Anne Harvey
Reuben Sachs by Amy Levy: A fierce
1880s satire on the London Jewish
comuninity by 'the Jewish lane Austen' who
was a friend or Oscar Wilde, Preface: Julia
Neuberger.
Fannly Roundabout by Riclimal
Crompton: By the 1171liesinbooks author, 1948
flimih: saga contrasting two matriarchs and
their very diflerent children. Preface: Juliet
.Wkrord
The Montana Stories by Katherine
Mansfield: Collects together the short stories
written during she author's last year; with a
detailed publisher's note and [lie
contemporary illustratWins. Five were read on
R4 in 2002.
Brook Evans by Susan Glaspell: A very
unusual novel, written in die same year as
Lady ChaBerley', Loner, about the enduring
effect of a love affair on three generations of
a family.
The Children who Lived in a Barn by
Eleanor Graham: A 1938 classic about five
children fending foe themselves; shu-ring the
mill-a:gettable hay-box. Preface: Jacqueline
Wilson
Little Boy Lost by NIarghanim Laski:
Novel about a father's search for I9s son in
France in 1945, chosen by the Gamilian's
Nicholas LezinA as his 2001 Paperback
Choice. A R-1 'Book at Bedtime' read by Jamie
GloveL Alleivord: Anne Sebba
The Slaking of a Marchioness by
Frances Hodgson Burnett: A wonderfully
entertaining 190l novel about the ensuing
melodrama when a governess marries well,
Preface: Isabel Raphael. Afterword:
Gretchen Gerzina
Kitchen Essays by Agnes.fekyll: Witty and
uselid essays about cooking. with recipes.
published in The TiMeS and reprinted as a
book in 1922. 'This is one of the best reads
outside Elizabeth David' WIcite
gastropoda.com.
A House in the Country by Jocelyn
Playfair: An unusual and very interesting 1.944novel about a group of people living in the
country during WWII. Preface: Ruth Gorb
The Carlyles at Home br Thea Holme: A
1965 mixture of biography and social history
which very entertainingly describes -Fhornas
and Jane Carlyle's life in Chelsea.
The Far Cry by Emma Smith: A
beautifully writien 1949 mwel about a young
girl's passage to India: a great Persephone
favourite. 'Book at Bedtime' in 2004.
Preface: author
Minnie's Room: 't he Peacetime Siories of
Mollie Pamer-Downes 1947-1965: Second
volume of short stories first published in The
Neu, liaTee, previously unknown in the UK.
Greenery Street by Denis Mackail: _A
defighthrl. very firmly 1925 novel about a
young couple's first year of married life in a
(real) sfreci in Chelsea. Prel9ce; Rebecca Cohen
Lettice Delrner by Susan Miles: A unique
I920s mivel in verse describing a girl's stormyadolescence and path to redemption, much
admired by 'IS Eliot.
The Runaway by Elizabeth Anna Hart: A
Sictorian novel fbr childinn and gross n-ups.illustrated by Gwen Raverat. Jfhere never wasa happier book' ((ountry Lik, 1936).
.Aftersvois. Anne Harvey. Frances Spalding.
Cheerful Weather for the Wedding byJulia SUZChey: Ali:limy and quirky 1932novella by a niece of Lytton Strachey. praised
by Virgnsia \boll'. Preface: Frances Partridge.
Manja by Anna Clines:1sec A 1938 Germannovel. newly ti anslated. about live childrenconceived cm the same night in 1920 and
their lives until the Nazi takeover Preface:EVa Ibbotson (daughter of the author)
The Priory by Dorothy Vhipple: .-\ much-loved 1939 novel abom thine generations or afamily, and their sen-ants. living in a large
country house. Pinl'ace: David Conville.
lIostages to Fortune by Elizabeth(.ambridge. 'Deals with domesticity wit(outbeing in the least bit cosy. (Harriet Lane,Olmeroe,-),a remarkable fictional portrait ol adoctor's family in imul Oxfords/01-e in the1920s.
The Blank Wall by Elisabeth SanxayHolding: 'The top suspense writer of themall (Chandler). A 19)7 thriller about amother who shields her daughter hum ablackmailer fihned as both The Recido.,s
Moment in 1949 and Tim Decp End in 2001.A BBC 124 serial in 2906.
The Wise \ "irgins by Inonard Woolf: Thisis a wise and witfr: 1911 novel contrasting thebohemian \ irguna and \ anessa seeds Gwen.the girl next door in 'Richsteack (Putney).Preface: I ynclalI Gordon
Tea With Mr Rochester by FrancesTowers: Magical and unseuling 19-49 stories, a
surprise favourite, that are unusuallybeautifidly written: read on 134 in 2003 and2006. Pi-el-lice:Frances Thomas
Good Food on the Aga by AmbroseHeath: A 1932 cookery book for Aga userswhich can nevertheless be used by anyone;with numerous illustrations bv Edwai-dBawden.
Miss Ranskill Collies Home. by BarbaraFnphan lorld: All unsparing. wry 1946 novel:Miss Ranskill is shipwrecked and returns towarrime England. Preface: \Wndy Pollard
The New House by Lettice Cooper: 1936porrayal of the clay a family moves to a newhouse, and the resulting tensions andadjustments. Prefilce:lilly Cooper
The Casino by Maigaret Bonham: Short
stories by a 1940s writer with a unique voice
and dark sense of humour: they were read onBBC Radio 4 in 200-4 and 2007. Preface: Cary
Bazidgette.
Bricks and Mortar by Helen Ashton: An
excellent 1932 novel by a voy popular pre-and post-war writer, chronichng the life of ahard-wor(ing and kindly London architect
over thirty-five years.
The World that was Ours Isv Ililda
Bernstein: An extraordincti, memoir that
reads like a novel cif the events before and
alter the 1964 Rivonia Trial. Mandela wasgiven a life sentence bus the Bernseeinsescaped to England. PreInce and Afterword:the author
Operation Hearibreak by Duff Cooper: A
soldier misses going to sear - until the end ofhis life. .34te novel I enjoyed more than amother in the immediate post-sear years' iNfriaBawden). A:hens:old: Max .Wihur
The Village by Margliesilita Laski: 'IThis
1952 comedy of manners describes post-weirreadjusements in village life when love ignoresthe class barrier. Afterword: Juliet Gardiner
Lady Rose and NIrs Memmary Es Rubs:Ferguson: A romantic 1937 novel about Lads-Rose Tin:genet, who inherits a gLeat hoise.marries well - and Men meets the love of herlife on a park bench 11inFace:2TancliaMcl1711iani
They Can't Ration These by Viconne deMaudlin: A. 1940 cookety book about 'Foodfor free', la of-excellent eand nowfashionable) recipes.
Flush by Virginia Weioll: .Alight-heartedbut surprisingly fenthsist 1933 'hfc-' of ElizabethBarinu Browning's spaniel, 'a little masterpieceof comedy' (T/T5). Preface: S,illi Beauman
They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple:The fourth Persephone book by tinswonderful writet-, a 1943 novel that contraststhree very diffeinnt marriages. PinInce: CeliaBrayfield
The Hopkins Manuscript by RC ShoLiff:What might happen if the 111000crashed intothe earth in 1946: 19341science fictionWritten' by 'Mr Hopkins'. Preface: MichaelMomnock, Afterword: the late George (,amow
Hetty Dors:al by Ethel Wilson: First novel(1947) set in the beautiful landscape of BritishColtnnbia: a young girl is befriended by abeautiful and selfish 'Menace' - but is shelAftersvord: the late Northrop Frye
There Were No Windows by NomilsHoult: A touching and fmmy novel. written in1944, about an elderly woman with memoryloss living ill Kensington (-hiring die blitz.Afterword: Julia Briggs.
Doreen by Barbara Noble: A 194-6 novel
about a child who is evacuated to the country
during the wan Her mother regrets it; shefainilv that takes her in wants to keep her.
Pinflice: Jessica Mann
A London Child of the 1870s by Molfr
Hughes. A classic autobiography, WEitteo in1931, about an 'oidinarv, suburban Victorianfamily' in Islington. esginat favourite wilh all
ages. Preface: Adam Gopnik.
How to Run Thur Home Without Helpby Kay Smallshaw: A 1949 manual For theIseWly sweintless housewife htll of advice thatis historically inteinsting, useful nowadaysand. as well, unintentionally humorous.
Prefnce: Christina Hardyment
Princes in the Land bs:Joanna Carman: Anovel pubhshed in 19341about a daughter of
the aristocracy Who marries au Oxford don;her three childinn fail to turn OM as she hadhoped.
The Woman Novelist and Other Storiesby Diana (,ardner: short stories written Us thelate 1930s and early 14)40s that are witty,sharp and with an unusual undertone.Preface: Claire Gardner
Alas. Poor Lady by Rachel Foguson: A
1937 novel, which is polemical lint intenselyreadable about the unthinking cruelty withwhich Victorian parents gave birth to
daughters without anticipating any future fin-them apart fi111 marriage.
Gardener's Nightcap by Muriel Stuart: Ahuge variety cif miniature essays on gardening- such as Dark Ladies (fritillary), BeeterGooseberries, Pldox 17tiluire- which will lieenjoyed by all gardeners. keen or lukewarm.First published ill 1938.
The Fortnight in September by RCSheniffi _A1931 novel by the author of/OilIlists End, and The Hopkins Manuscript,about a family on holiday in Bognor Regis: aquiet masterpiece.
The Expendable Man by Dorothy BHughes: A 1963 thriller set in Arizona by thewell-known American crime writer: it waschosen by the critic HRE Keating as one ofIsis hunch-of best crime nmels. Afterword:Dominic Power
Journal of Katherine Mansfield: 'Hie
husband of the great short story writer (cf.The Monona Stories) assembled this journalfrom unposted letters, scraps of writing- etc, togive a unique portrait of a woman writer.
Plats du Jour by Patience Gray andPrimrose Boyd: a 1957 cookery book sdlichwas 0 bestseller at the time and a pioneeringwork for British cooks. The superb black arn1white illustiutions and the colouredendpapers cue by David Gentleman.
'THE BLACK CAP' BY<ATHERI\E MA\SFIELDOne of Katherine Mansfield's
Experimentsin Dialogue,first published
in NewAge May 17th 1917.
(A lady and her Ilushandare seated
at breakfast.He is quite calm,
reading the ne'spa per and eating;
but She?iSstrangelyexcited,dressed
fir t)avelling and onlypretending to
eat.)
She: Oh, if you should want your
flannel shirts, they are on the
right-hand bottom shelf of the
linen press.
He: (at o boardmeetingof the Meat
Export Company).No.
She: Ibu dichs't hear what I said. I
said if you should want your
flannel shirts, they are on the
right-hand bottom shelf of the
linen press.
He: (positroely).I quite agree!
She: It does seem rather
extraordinary that on the very
morning that I am going away
you cannot leave the newspaper
alone for five minutes.
He: (mddly). My clear woman.
I don't want you to go. In fact,
I have asked you not to go. I
can't for the life of me see...
She: You know perfectly well that
I am only going because I
absolutely must. I've been
putting it off and putting it off,
and the dentist said last time...
He: Good! Good! Don't let's go
over the ground again. We've
thrashed it out pretty thorough-
ly, haven't we?
Servant. Cab's here. m'm.
She: Please put my luggage in.
Servant. Very good, m'm.
(She gives a tremendoussigh.)
He: You haven't got too much
time if you want to catch that
train.
She: I know. I'm going. (In a
changedtone.) Darling, don't let
us part like this. It makes me feel
so wretched. Why is it that you
always seem to take a positive
delight in spoiling my
enjoynsent?
He: I don't think going to the
dentist is so positively enjoyable.
She: Oh, you know that's not
what I mean. You're only saying
that to hurt me. You know you
are begging the question.
He: (laughing). And vou arelosing your train. You'll be back
on Thursday evening, won't you?
She: (in a low,desperatevoice).Yes,
on Thursday evening. Good-bve,
then. (Coniesover to him, and takes
his head in her hands.) Is there
anything really the matter? Do at
least look at me. Don't you —care
—at —
He: My clarlMg girl! This is like
an exit on the cinema.
She: (lettingher handsjail). Very
well. Goodbye. (Givesa qui(k
tragicglance mund the (11)11)7g-room
and goes.)
(On the way to the station.)
She: How strange life is! I didn't
think I should feel like this at all.
All the glamour seems to have
gone, somehow. Oh, I'd give
anything for the cab to turn
round and go back. The most
curious thing is that I feel if he
really had made me believe he
loved me it would have been
much easier to have left him. But
that's absurd. How strong the hay
smells. It's going to be a very hot
day. I slmll never see these fields
again. Never! never! But in
another way I am glad that it
happened like this; it puts me so
finally, absolutely in the right for
ever! He doesn't want a woman
at all. A woman has no meaning
for him. He's not the type of
man to care deeply for anybody
except himself. I've become the
person who remembers to take
the links out of his shirts before
they go to the wash —that is all!
And that's not enough for me.
I'm young —I'm too proud. I'ns
not the type of woman to
vegetate in the country and rave
over 'our' own lettuces...
What you have been trying to
do, ever since you married me is
to make me submit, to turn me
into your shadow, to rely on me
so utterly that you'd only to
glance up to find the right time
printed on me somehow, as if I
were a clock.Youhave neverbeen curious about me; younever wanted to explore my soul.No; you wanted me to settledown to your peacefulexistence.Oh! howyour blindness hasoutraged me —how I hate youfor it! I am glad —thankful —thankful to have left you! I'm nota green girl; I am not conceited,but I do knowmy powers. It's notfor nothing that I've alwayslonged for riches and passionand freedom, and felt that theywere mine by right. (She leans
against the buttonedbackof the cab
and murmurs.) 'Youare a Queen.Let mine be thejoy of givingyouyour kingdom.' (She smilesat her
littleroyalhands.) I wishmy heart_didn't beat so hard. It reallyhurtsme. It tires me so and excitesmeso. It's likesomeone in a dreadfulhurry beating against a door...This cab is only crawlingalong;we shall never be at the station atthis rate. Hurry! Hurry! Mylove,I am coming as quicklyas ever Ican. Yes,I am sufferingjust likeyou. It's dreadful, isn't itunbearable —this last half-hourwithout each other... Oh, God!the horse has begun to walkagain. Whydoesn't he beat thegreat strong brute of a thing...Our wonderful life!Weshalltravel all over the world together.The wholeworld shall be oursbecauseof our love.Oh, bepatient! I am coming as fast as Ipossiblycan... Ah, now it'sdownhill;nowwe reallyare goingfaster. (An old man attemptsto cross
the road.) Get out of my way,youold fool!He deserves to be runover... Dearest—dearest; I amnearly there. Only be patient!
(At the station.)
Put it in a first-classsmoker...There's plenty of time after all.A full ten minutes before thetrain goes. No wonder he's nothere. I mustn't appear to belooking for him. But I must sayI'm disappointed. I neverdreamed of being the first toarrive. I thought he wouldhavebeen here and engaged acarriage and bought papers andflowers....Howcurious!I absolutelysawin my mind apaper of pink carnations...He knowshowfond I am ofcarnations. But pink ones are notmy favourites.I prefer dark redor pale yellow.He reallywillbelate if he doesn't come now.The guard has begun to shut thedoors. Whatevercan havehappened? Something dreadful.Perhapsat the last moment hehas shot himself... I could notbear the thought of ruining yourlife... But you are not ruining mylife.Ah, where are you? I shallhave to get into the carriage...Who is this?That's not him! Itcan't be —yes, it is. What on earthhas he got on his head? A blackcap. But how awful!He's utterlychanged. What can he bewearing a black cap for?I wouldn'thave knownhim.Howabsurd he lookscomingtowardsme, smiling,in thatappalling cap!He: Mydarling, I shall neverforgivemyself.But the mostabsurd, tragic-comicthinghappened. (Theyget into the
carriage.)I lost my hat. It simplydisappeared. I had half the hotellooking for it. Not a sign!Sofinally,in despair, I had to
borrowthis from another manwhowasstayingthere. (The train
movesoff) You'renot angry?(Ries to take her in his arms.)
She: Don't!We'renot even out ofthe stationyet.He: (ardently).Great God!Whatdo I care if the wholeworldwereto see us I (Triesto take her in his
arms.) Mywonder! Myjoy!She: Pleasedon't! I hate beingkissedin trains.He: (profoundlyhurt). Oh, verywell.Youare angry.It's serious.Youcan't get over the fact thatI waslate. But if you onlyknewthe agony I suffered...She: Howcan you think I couldbe so small-minded?I am notangry at all.He: Then whywon'tyou let mekissyou?She (laughing hysterically).
Youlook so different somehow—almost a stranger.He: (jumps.up and looksat himself
in the glass anxiously,and fatuously,
she decides).But it's all right, isn'tit?She: Oh, quite all right; perfectlyall right. Oh, oh, oh! (She begins
to laugh and ay with rage.)
(Theyarrive).
She: (whilehe gets a cab). I mustget over this. It's an obsession.It's incrediblethat anythingshould change a man so. I musttell him. Surelyit's quite simpleto say:Don't you think now thatyou are in the cityyou had betterbuy yourselfa hat? But that willmake him realisehow frightfulthe cap has been. And theextraordinary thing is that hedoesn't realise it himself.I meanif he has lookedat himselfin the
WINTER 2006-7 N032 11
Undertake rescatch w((rk and reportwriting of all kind at the rate of5/- an hour plus expense,and will complete any commi,:ionaccurately, fully and promptly
glass,and doesn't think that captoo ridiculous,howdifferentourpoints of viewmust be... Howdeeply different!I mean, if I hadseen him in the street I wouldhave said I could not possiblylovea man whowore a cap likethat. I couldn't even have got toknowhim. He isn't my styleat all.(She looksround.) Everybodyissmilingat it. Well,I don'twonder!The wayit makeshisears stickout, and the wayitmakeshim have no back to hishead at all.He: The cab is ready,my darling.(TheNget in.)
He: (triesto take her hand). Themiracle that we twoshould bedriving together, so simply,likethis.(She arrangesher veil.)
He: (tries to take her hand, very
ardent). I'll engage one room,my love.She: Oh, no! Of courseyou musttake two.He: But don't you think it wouldbe wisernot to create suspicion?She: I must have my ownroom.
Primrose Bo).d
and Patience Gray
18 RHUI1T S PARK ROAD \ 1
Telephone PRImrose 0942
(Toherself)Youcan hang your capbehind your own door! (She
beginsto laugh hysterically.)
He: Ah! thank God! Myqueen isher happy selfagain!
(Atthe hotel.)
Manager: Yes,Sir,I quiteunderstand. I think I've got thevery thing for you, Sir.Kindlystep this way.(He takes them into a
small sitting-room,with a bedroom
leading out of it.) This would suityou nicely,wouldn't it? And ifyou liked,we could makeyou upa bed on the sofa.He: Oh, admirable!Admirable!
(The Manager goes).
She: (furious).But I told you Iwanted a room to myself.What atrick to play upon me! I told youI did not want to share a room.Howdare you treat me like this?(She mimics)Admirable!Admirable!I shall never forgiveyou for that!He: (overcome).Oh, God, what ishappening! I don't understand —I'm in the dark. Whyhave Vou
suddenly,on this day of days,ceased to love me? What have I
done? Tellme!She: (sinkson the sofa). I'm verytired. If you do loveme, pleaseleaveme alone. I —I onlywant tobe alone for a little.He: (tenderly).Verywell.I shall tryto understand. I do begin tounderstand. I'll go out for half-an-hour; and then, my love,youmay feel calmer.(He looksround,
distracted.)
She: What is it?He: Myheart —you are sitting onmy cap. (Shegives a positivescream
and moves into the bedroom.He
goes. She waits a moment,and then
puts down her veil, and takesup her
suitcase.)
(In the taxi.)
She: Yes,Waterloo.(She leans
back.)Ah, I've escaped—I'veescaped!I shalljust be in time tocatch the afternoon train home.Oh, it's like a dream —I'll behome before supper. I'll tell himthat the citywastoo hot or thedentist away.What does itmatter? I've a right to my ownhome... It willbe wonderful
driving up fromthe station: thefieldswillsmellso delicious.There is coldfowlfor supperleft over from
nturies) yesterday,and•
orange jelly_I have beenmad, but now Iam sane again.Oh, myhusband!
SPECIAI,
ExhilUtion work, Apphed arkbh,orical and antiquarian re,earch for authorsPrints, Paintim. and ArchitectureFurniture and Decoration (18th an:119thFrench and German ,ourcesBibliography, CartocraphyIndoor Gardenin, and Horth.ultureOffice organi,ation. equipment and methodKitchen equipment and practice
Wheneuvr neces,arc reports be presentedwith d, awinp. sketch, or maw,.No conunissIon '1,1_7 t,oI u• it/tutu full authority.Every bill rendered icith time siwet.
RESEARCH WORK has been carried out forThe Civil Service. 'flu, Festival of BritainBritish Industries Fair, Design Research UnitThe Architertural Review, The B.B.C.
12 )UARTFRLY
THE PERSEPHONE CLASSICS
N ext year Persephone istaking a new direction,in fact those of you
who have been to the shoprecently may already havenoticed some changes: theformer kitchen has become aroom of one's own for JoannaEverard, who starts onDecember 4th as Director,Persephone Classics.
The reason for this newdevelopment is as follows:someof our books, we are proud tosay,have sold between five andten thousand copies (withMissPettigrew out ahead at anamazing twenty thousand). Yetwe are sure there are potentialPersephone readers who are noton our mailing list.
Sowe have decided to try andfind them and in the Spring of2008 wewill relaunch some ofour best-sellingtitles in a newedition and they willbe sold inbookshops;we are tentativelycalling these the PersephoneClassics(tentativebecause aren'tthe others classicstoo?)Although we are keeping thegrey,and part of the endpapers,the Classicswilllook slightlydifferent,with a beautiful pictureon the cover,the kind that hasbeen appearing on the front ofthe Quarterly;quotes fromreviews on the back; and
bookshop-friendlyblurbs ratherthan a quotation on the flap.
The Persephone Seventy(as itnow is)willgo on, we hope, to
become Eightyor Ninety or aHundred, but we plan in futureto publish four newbooks a yearinstead of eight, twoin April andtwoin October; the Persephone
Quarterlywillbecome thePersephoneBiannually (in thesense of twicea year not everyother year). The shop, theevents, the cards, the mugs,indeed all the elements of whichour ten thousand readers havegrownfond will remainunchanged. But in 2008 you willbe able to go into a bookshopand see some of your favouritebooks, for example Someone at a
Distance, Little Boy Lost and TheMaking of a Marchioness, in anew format. Wedo hope youapprove.
HILDA BERNSTEIN 1915-2006
In 2002 Hilda Bernstein wasbrought by the writer LyndallGordon to a PersephoneTea
in Oxford. Then aged 87, shewaswhite-haired, charming andmodest; one would have had noidea, on first meeting her, of herimportance in the history ofSouth Africa.
I yndall suggested that she
send us a copyof Hilda's 1967book The World that was Ours
and from the very first paragaphwewere shaken and involved.Itis a memoir of the monthsleading up to the 1964RivoniaTrial at whichNelson Mandelawasfound guiltybut Hilda's
husband Rusty,on trial with theother 'men of Rivonia',wasacquitted; he and Hilda thenmanaged to escape from SouthAfricaand the last third of thebook, an account of their flightover the border, is as gripping asany thriller.
Hilda agreed to write a newPrefaceand Afterwordfor aPersephoneedition of The Worldthat teas Ours, and then began awonderfulperiod when wevisitedher at her smallhouse onthe canal at Kidlington,nearOxford, and got to knowthisextraordinarilybravewoman —because,as a speaker,activistandwriter,she had opposedapartheid with the utmostcourage and determination, allthe while looking after her familyand maintaining the facade ofbeing 'only a housewife'.
Hilda died in September 2006.
13
A Grey DayQueer, this habit of mine of being garrulous.
And I don't mean that any eye but mine shouldread this. This is—really private. And I mustsay—nothing affords me the same relief. Whathappens as a rule is, if I go on long enough, I breakthrough. Yes, it's rather like tossing very largeflat stones into the stream. The question is,though, how long this will prove efficacious. Uptill now, I own, it never has failed me. . . .
One's sense of the importance of small eventsis very juste here. They are not important at all.
? Strange ! I suddenly found myselfoutside the library in Wcerishofen : spring—lilac—rain—booksin black bindings.
And yet I love this quiet clouded day. A bellsoundsfrom afar ; the birds sing one after anotheras if they called across the tree-tops. I love thissettled stillness, and this feeling that, at anymoment, down may come the rain. Where thesky is not grey, it is silvery white, streaked withlittle clouds. The only disagreeable feature ofthe day is the flies. They are really maddening,and there is nothing really to be done for them :I feel that about hardly anything.
The Barmaid.
She had an immense amount of fuzzy hairpiled up on top of her head, and severalvery largerings, which from their bright flashing look, youfelt certain were engagement-rings.
Above all cookingsmells I hate that of mutton chops. It is somehow such an ill-bred smell. It
183
Fl\ALLYhere are stillsomeplaces
availablefor the Persephone
Teas near Chichesteron
November25th and near Bath onDecember2nd —please phone forfurther details.There are noticketsleft fbr Hermione Lee's
lecturebut a fewfor thePersephone Lunch on December
7th at whichPamelaNorris willtalk about 'WomenWriters and
the RomanticHero'. There willbe a Christmas Party at the shop
from 6-8 on TuesdayDecember12th;Joanna Everardwillsayafewwordsabout startingworkon the PersephoneClassics;mincepies and mulledwinewillbe served;and our bookswillbefor sale for £9 instead of £10.There is no charge for this eventbut it wouldbe helpfill ifyouwould let us knowifyou wouldlike to attend.
007 events: the film of- They Were Sisters in
January is sold out. OnThursday March 15th there willbe a Persephone Lunch from12.30-2.30to commemorateHilda Bernstein, at which herdaughter Frances Bernstein willtalk about her mother. And at aLunch on Thursday April 26thVirginiaMcKenna,Anne Harveyand PatriciaBrakewill give arepeat performance of 'SecretGardens': a Celebration ofWomen Gardeners, a programmedevised partly to celebrate
PERSEPHONE BOOKS
020 7242 9292
Gardener's Nightcap bv Muriel
Stuart, Persephone Book No. 66.Placesat these twoevents cost£28 each. And do try and come
along to the book group in theshop from 6.30-8 on the firstWednesdayof each month: inDecemberwe shall discussThe
Victorian Chaise-longue, in
The Store Cupboard
Januar (the 10th not the 3rd)The Home-Maker, in February
Good Evening, Mrs Craven, in
MarchFew Eggs and No Oranges
and in AprilJulian Grenfell.
Lastly:on SaturdayApril 14ththere 1611be a Persephone Tea inNewYork.Detailswillbe sent outto East Coast Persephone readersin January.
he Independent chose ten of
our books for the 'Hit List'in its Box Officecolumn.
The followingweek it chose our
websiteas one of 'The FiftyBestE-Boutiques'along with, forexample, Net-A-Porter;Abe books,Topshop, Graham and Green andthe ScienceMuseum Store,
he first Spring 2007book willbe House-
Bound by Winifred
Peck. In 1985 the TLS asked
contributors to choose anunjustly neglected book whichthey would like to seereprinted and the latePenelope Fitzgerald chose thisnovel which is by her aunt:" The story —as the titlesuggests—never moves out ofmiddle-class Edinburgh. Thesatire on genteel living,though, is alwayskept inrelation to the vast severanceand waste of the war beyond.'Fiveyears ago PenelopeFitzgeraldwrote a PersephoneAfterword for House-Bound
and this will now be publishedfor the first time. Our otherSpring book is a new selectionof short stories by Dorothy
Whipple, whichwe have calledSaturday Afternoon and Other
Stories. There will be very fewpeople reading this quarterlywho need an introduction to thewonderful DorothyWhipple —four of her novels appear on ourlist and two of her short storieshave been published in thePersephone uorterh.
- .L,rot, • AN N kry
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