Letter

There is a very distinct rhythm at Persephone Books: the new Quarterly goes out in early March, early June, early September and early November. For the first three quarters we are very busy indeed during the first week after people have received their newsletter; for the second week we are busy, but not quite so frantic; and then things begin to go back to ‘normal’, which is a steady but manageable flow of orders.

On the other hand, November and December are busy week in and week out, for there is some statistic (that I never seem quite to have at my fingertips) which is something like: 60% of all books are sold in the six weeks before Christmas. But we are used to this pattern and can enjoy the very, very busy weeks, the slower ones, and even the pre-Christmas rush - because we know that January and February will be our chance to catch up.

I was away in February (cf the last Fortnightly letter written by Emily) but am now back and enjoying the feeling in the street of spring being in the air. Indeed, it’s not so long until the Spring Street Festival planned for Saturday 20 May, when all the shops in Lamb’s Conduit Street will be doing something special. And it's nice to think that, because of the web, and this letter, even American readers who plan to be in the UK can put the date in their diary; some may be subscribers to the wonderful bookslut.com, which wrote about us recently: ‘Bookslut is in love with Persephone Books, the UK press and bookstore profiled in the Ottawa Citizen. Persephone Books likes Bookslut as a friend, but isn’t ready for that kind of commitment, and isn’t really sure that we’re the one anyway. [But you are, you are.] Persephone Books will come around when we stand under their window with a stereo blasting “In Your Eyes”.’

Two small news items: there is a new book called 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die edited by Peter Boxall in which, we are happy to say, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a C20th must-read. There is even a picture of Winifred Watson. Secondly - the pinny (the apron with two front pockets that buttons at the back) has been such a success that it has sold out. Admittedly we do not have very many of any of these Limited Edition Clothes, but we are amazed that something has sold out within a month. (The glamorous picture of Fran dusting the front of the shop - cf Shop and then Persephone Clothes on the website - may have helped...) We have re-ordered the pinnies but have no idea how long they will take to arrive.

We were intrigued by a discussion on Radio 4 between Tim Lott, who chairs a new prize for Literary Love Stories, and John Sutherland, who is one of the Man Booker judges. TL accused the Booker of promoting writers who tend to be ‘very intellectually clever but rather cold-hearted’; his prize is about ‘reaching you in an emotional way and not merely a cerebral one... Someone like Dickens would have been at the heart of that and now I think he would not make the Booker shortlist.’ JS then referred to Booker novels being ‘cold and clinical.’ TL leapt on this and said that those kind of novels ‘don’t have any emotional intelligence but rely on a kind of Sudoko puzzle of literature instead of what real great literature does which moves you and engages you and changes you in some way.’ This is exactly what we hope Persephone books do. They would not win the Booker. But they fulfill every one of the criteria valued by Tim Lott.

Admirers of E M Delafield (who isn’t?) should look at a rather good website: www.starcourse.org/emd.

Finally, here is a photograph of Sasha, the office dog:

Nicola Beauman
15 March 2006
Lamb’s Conduit Street