Find a book
A Book a Month
We can send a book a month for six or twelve months - the perfect gift. More »
Café Music
Listen to our album of Café Music while browsing the site. More »
Thank you for visiting the Persephone Books website. If you don’t see the answer to your question here, please e-mail us at info@persephonebooks.co.uk, call us at 01225 425050 (outside the UK +44 1225 425050) or write to us at Persephone Books, 8 Edgar Buildings, Bath, BA1 2EE.
Where can I buy a Persephone book?
Persephone books are available to buy from our website, our Bath shop or your local bookshop. You can also contact us directly to place an order.
How much does a Persephone book cost?
The Grey editions are £15 each or £40 for three. The seventeen Classic editions are £12 each.
What is the difference between a Grey edition and a Classic edition?
We have re-issued seventeen of our bestsellers in more 'bookshop-friendly' editions i.e. paperbacks with pictures on the front. The text and paper is identical to that used in the 152 grey Persephone books, but because the Classics do not have the full-colour endpapers, they retail at £12 instead of £15. All seventeen Classics are available here.
Can I buy Persephone books from abroad?
Yes: we send books all over the world. Please order via the website.
For customers in Europe, we charge £27 for a grey book, £22 for a Classic; for customers in the Rest of the World (the US, Canada, Australia, etc), we charge £30 for a grey book, £24 for a Classic. This includes the cost of international shipping..
For information about customs charges, click here.
How much is postage?
In the UK, postage costs £3 per book.
For overseas customers, the books themselves cost more but shipping is included in the price.
All books are sent out by Royal Mail 48 Hour tracked post, unless you order 6 books or more in which case they are sent together in a box by courier.
Can I buy Persephone books from my local bookshop?
Yes, you can ask your local bookshop to place an order with us. We are also stocked by a number of wonderful bookshops all around the world.
In the U.K. these include John Sandoe, Foyles, Hatchards and Daunt Books in London, as well as many local independent bookshops all over the country.
In the U.S., a selection of the books are available from Beacon Hill Books in Boston, Phinney Books in Seattle, the Cincy Book Bus in Cincinnati and Prologue Bookshop in Columbus, Browser Books in San Francisco, Books on Third in Naples, Florida, and Composition in Longman, Colorado.
In Canada, the books are available at Sea & Summit on Vancouver Island and at Upstart & Crowe in Vancouver.
And elsewhere you can usually find them in Luna Books in Hyderabad, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, Athanaeum Boekhandel in Amsterdam, De Groene Waterman in Antwerp, Liberia Finestres in Barcelona, and the English Bookshop in Uppsala in Sweden.
However, the list of stockists is constantly changing so do get in touch if you have a specific query.
Do you have a catalogue?
Yes. It is available on the website. You also can look at the complete list of all our books on the website.
How much does it cost to be a Persephone subscriber?
To have one book a month arriving through your (or someone else’s) letterbox every month for 12 months costs £206 (including postage) or £108 (including postage) for six months in the UK. Order a six or twelve month gift subscription.
How long will my books take to arrive?
Within the UK we send out the books by Royal Mail 48 Hours tracked post, so they should arrive within a couple of working days after they've shipped. Of course, during busy periods such as November/December they take longer and we ask you to allow a week.
Postage overseas usually takes about five days to Europe and ten days to the rest of world; more than six books are sent together in a box and usually take about a week.
We can also rush deliver books the same day or overnight for an additional charge; please contact us for details.
Do you have a wrapping service for presents?
Yes – this costs an extra £3 per book for tissue paper or one of our endpapers, £4 per book for Cambridge Imprint patterned wrapping paper, or £8 per book for reusable fabric gift wrapping (all options are pictured below).
A card is included in the price. Feel free to write a gift message in the ‘message’ box when placing your order.
Do you sell your own book tokens?
Yes, we sell a Persephone Book Token. They cost £21 for one book including U.K. postage, or £52 for three, and are sent out with a copy of the Persephone Biannually, along with a note telling them who has given them the book token. These are not available overseas, however; instead we recommend the Persephone Digital Book Token.
Who prints your books?
Our books are printed by GGP in Germany. Here is a short film about the process.
Do you have any jobs available? Or work experience opportunities?
We do occasionally have jobs available working a day or two a week in the Persephone bookshop, yes. Please e-mail us at info@persephonebooks.co.uk with your CV and also telling us a little about your favourite Persephone book; you must have read at least 3 Persephone books to work with us.
We also offer some work experience opportunities. Please e-mail us at info@persephonebooks.co.uk with your CV and also telling us a little about what you like to read as well as, ideally, about your favourite Persephone book. All work experience applications are considered once a year at the end of January.
Would you like to publish my book?
No, thank you. We only publish reprints.
Would you like to publish my grandmother’s book?
Maybe. We are always delighted to hear recommendations from our readers, so do get in touch.
Do you really all stop for tea and cake every day at 4 o’clock?
Yes, certainly.