From The Persephone Quarterly Autumn 2004 No. 23

‘Tea with Mr Rochester is a lovely collection of unsettling and other-worldly little gems in beautifully elegant prose, and Cheerful Weather for the Wedding was simply perfection on a small scale: the characters leapt off the page in just a few lines and I could not stop laughing over the scene where Joseph explodes his bombshell about the Albanian “white mice”. Pure joy.’ HC, London SE25

‘I think Manja is one of the most memorable books I have ever read; but dear little Miss Pettigrew remains my favourite – and I shall return to her many times.’ JB, Northallerton

‘Bricks and Mortar is a very Persephone book. I thought Martin was a wonderfully sympathetic character – although his marriage was hardly a grand passion, he did love Letty, and he made the marriage work for him.’ LB, Victoria, Australia

‘I cannot recommend The Home-Maker highly enough. It was written 75 years ago, but is shockingly timely. A stay- at-home mom drives herself and her kids crazy by pouring frustrated talent into being a stay-at-home mom. But when her husband has an accident and their roles are reversed, interesting things play out. The characters in this book are beautifully drawn, especially that of the youngest boy in the family.’ KB, Minneapolis

‘I have just read The World that was Ours and have been almost unable to put it down. I thought I knew about the pre-independent situation in South Africa, but of course it only took a few pages to show me I had no idea of the human cost. I felt so acutely for Hilda Bernstein and her family, and all her black friends. How fresh and immediate her writing is.’ GN, Inverness

‘I was fascinated by The Carlyles at Home, particularly after reading White Mughals and finding the connection.’ DF, Leatherhead

‘Greenery Street is that rare thing, a happy (but not complacent) novel about a marriage – and I found it blissfully funny.’ PA, London SE19

‘I have just come to the end of Tea with Mr Rochester and am feeling absolutely bereft. It is extraordinary how such a marvellous writer could possibly have been forgotten. I am completely bowled over by her!’ V W-H, London NW3

‘Miss Ranskill Comes Home has been a great favourite among friends and relations: she has solved a number of present problems.’ DM, Dover

‘The World that was Ours is a compulsive read – and so sad. It takes me back to the ’60s and ’70s and our South African political exile friends. Thank you for publishing it.’ JB, Helston

‘I have especially enjoyed the short stories I have read on the Persephone list, above all Margaret Bonham, whose quirky humour in The Casino has occasionally caused me to laugh out loud. Of all the other books of yours I have bought I have most savoured Few Eggs and No Oranges.’ JB, London SE3

‘Have been very glad to discover your existence and finally have my own copy of The Victorian Chaise-longue, quite the most terrifying book I have ever read. Now I dream of a new bookcase filled with grey books.’ PH, Reading

‘It is very fitting to have such an important book as The World that was Ours as the fiftieth Persephone. Reading it again, I find it amazing that the tension is kept up so well even in the very last part about the escape.’ KB, Glasgow

‘It was sheer joy to be in Miss Pettigrew’s world for a day. (That’s as long as it took to read it.) Congratulations on rediscovering such a charming and delightful novel.’ PF, Stratford