Readers' Comments

From the Persephone Biannually No.6 Autumn and Winter 2009-10

‘I so loved Doreen, identifying strongly with the character and similarly desperately missing my mother, who remarried in London during the Blitz while I was sent to the safety of the countryside. I have given copies to two friends, neither of whom had had similar experiences but we all adored the book’s gentle simplicity. None of us could put it down.’ JS, Headington

‘I thought Making Conversation was a remarkably accurate picture of painfully keeping up appearances in a changing world and all the misunderstandings that arise between generations. It is such a beautifully observed account of a schoolgirl trying to get things right and always getting them wrong which other readers, like me, will remember only too well. However, this splendidly wry and witty picture of pretensions is too uncomfortably near the truth for me to laugh out loud when reading it. I am so glad that you have republished this.’ AC, Fowey

‘Making Conversation is a light, easy read which propels one along with the rather amazing Martha Freke whose precocious intelligence leaves one gasping. Martha’s observations of her peers and her elders are acutely accurate. Her ability to converse with ease on the high plateaux of academia yet never quite fit in makes her escape to teach English in Prague so very appropriate. At last “to speak simple, distinct English” and “to never again [let her] tongue run away with her” is the perfect ending for this comic novel.’ KD, Westerham

‘I loved The Fortnight in September. It was so well written and interesting and I started caring about the different characters including the cat and the canary and the lady next door and the people across the street and wished the fortnight would go on for ever. It was the sort of “natural” writing tht conceals a great deal of craftsmanship. I also enjoyed Making Conversation and felt sure that large chunks of it were lifted straight from real life. It is a real life enhancer of a novel and some of the descriptions of the women’s college were quite priceless. At times I did not know whether to laugh or cry. A gem of a discovery.’ JH, Ebbw Vale would just like to tell you how much I enjoyed reading Making Conversation. It was a really funny and lovely read.’ CP, Wheatley

‘I wanted to let you know how much I loved The Far Cry. I found myself underlining many passages and stopping frequently to admire Emma Smith’s beautiful writing. This was such an inspirational story, with delightful characters (especially Miss Spooner). When I finished the last page it was a pleasure to find Susan Hill’s ‘Afterword’. She expressed everything I felt about the book.’ MK, New York City

‘Thank you for Brook Evans. Susan Glaspell’s evocation of landscape and of the effects of stifling morality made the wait while it reprinted worth every hour.’ Gill Farnen, Newton

‘I recently read They Were Sisters, which I had had on my bookshelves for years and never read, thinking it was just a popular romantic novel. I realised the brilliance as soon as I began to read it. Then I ordered Someone at a Distance through a local bookshop and when it came I devoured it immediately and fell in love with Persephone Books. Now I have forty-one of your books, none of which has been a dud, though obviously I have preferences. At present I am reading Alas, Poor Lady in which Rachel Ferguson explores with apt and cruel sensitivity the plight of unmarried middle-class women well into the twentieth century.’ TW, Mansfield

‘The way of life The Country Housewife’s Book was written for went on well into my childhood. I had been searching for a copy for my daughter-in-law and was delighted to see the reisuue.’ SW, Horton Kirby

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