Readers' Comments

We are delighted whenever we hear from you so please carry on writing. Here are some extracts from your letters, emails and blogs.

From the Persephone Biannually Spring & Summer 2008 No. 3

‘I finished The Closed Door yesterday, hardly able to believe that short stories this good could be written by anyone with a name less resonant than Katherine Mansfield.  Dorothy Whipple’s depictions of domestic tyranny and claustrophobia are so coolly achieved: one would wait in vain for the strident note of indignation, or the plea for sympathy, that would put these stories in their place, back where they belong, justly forgotten. I was at the same time reading Mrs Dalloway, so there was a good and reliable measure to hand!’  CL, London WC1

‘Ihave today finished The Shuttle by Frances Hodgson Burnett and wanted to write & tell you how much I have enjoyed it.  The theme engaged me from the outset and I loved all the characters (except Sir Nigel, of course!)  – they fill the pages as very much warm, living people with believable dilemmas and solutions.  The descriptive passages of the English countryside as seen for the first time through the eyes of the American visitors certainly mirror my own as a tourist many years ago.  I found it compelling reading on many levels and a wonderful portrait of the life of the times.’ JW, Australia

‘There is humour in Miss Ranskill Comes Home, in this tale of a woman who does not understand the status quo; along with this comes embarrassment and confusion. I spent the first part of the novel feeling so badly for her. This is the tale of a great and abiding friendship that transcends sex, class and even life, of a woman who must find a way in this new world that she does not quite understand and how she does it with strength and grace and love.  A remarkable book.’ Tara on booksandcooks

‘I’m reading about the last war and its aftermath and of the impact it had on the civilians.  To find there is an authentic account of life in Germany in those years excited me and On the Other Side has engrossed me.’ AB, Lulworth

‘I write to say that I am disapp-ointed with the Autumn/ Winter 2007 Biannually.  I have read your magazine with interest for several years, saving the memorable short stories and illustrations, and reviews of your latest books.  However, I detect that the Biannually is becoming increasingly smug and I found the latest edition unbearable.  The section ‘Our Readers Write’ is now heavily lifted from blogs – an inherently self-engrossing medium which rarely makes interesting reading.  Isn’t this a rather easy form of praise?  Jane Brocket is surely an intelligent and creative woman, but have you included the article about her book for any other reason than some artful photos of Persephone books piled up in her house and some loose praise of your books?  I hope that you can search a little harder for reviews in your future editons.’  BD, London SW12 

‘Thank you for publishing The Montana Stories.  I can understand the worry of a great writer that unfinished ‘unpolish-ed’ pieces were presented.  But if there is another life after this one, I can’t believe a genius of the stature of Mansfield would grudge her thirsty readers such amazing and masterful glimpses.  Some seem finished – though obviously KM would not think so – but they work, conveying all sorts of deep emotion and debate.’ TL, St Leonards on Sea