15 July 2010

In the Observer for July 4th Rachel Cooke told readers that when she went on holiday she would be taking Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary as her neglected classic. And Salley Vickers recommended Making Conversation ‘from the excellent Persephone Books. Written by a member of the illustrious Longford family, it’s a subtle, witty, singular novel about a girl whose naivety is appealing rather than irritating.’

Last week we went to a party to celebrate the rebuilding at the London Library  – here is a short film about it. Although it is not cheap to be a member (about £400 a year) it is still incredible value given that you can get books out and use it as a place to work. And of course Persephone Books would not exist without the London Library: before the days of abe it was the only source for some of our early titles.

We are just coming to the end of a wonderful few days in Norfolk, staying in a beautiful house near Holt. The high spot of the week is the early evening when I make for the vegetable garden and pick courgettes, beans, lettuce, raspberries, loganberries and white currants. With some dressed crab and a glass of wine what could be more perfect? Otherwise we have been swimming, walking and (mostly) lying in a deckchair reading. I have just finished David Lodge’s Deaf Sentence and am now starting Burying the Bones, about which Hilary Spurling spoke so magnificently at a Persephone lunch this week: meaning that I drove to King’s Lynn and caught the 7.23 to King’s Cross. (How I longed for a time warp to serve up porridge and kippers in a dining-car.) The other reason for going to London was the first night of The Duchess of Malfi, in which the lead part is sung by our friend Claudia Huckle. Here is a review by Will Gompertz on the BBC website which gives you a good feel of what was happening.

                                             

Finally, The exhibition 'How The Vote was Won: Art, Theatre and Women's Suffrage' co-curated by Susan Croft and Irene Cockroft runs to September 4th at the museum in the Old Town Hall in Richmond, Surrey. ‘It looks at the work of the Actresses Franchise League and the Suffrage Atelier and at some of the key players who sculpted, enameled, designed, drew, painted, made jewellery, wove, stitched, and wrote, performed, directed, staged, choreographed, recited, composed or otherwise made art in support of the cause of women's suffrage.’

Nicola Beauman
Lamb’s Conduit Street
15th July 2010