If you are new to Persephone Books, we recommend starting with Someone at a Distance, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, William – an Englishman, The Fortnight in September or The Home-Maker. Alternatively, why not get in touch? We are always delighted to chat about any of our 150 titles.

If you are looking for a present, a Persephone Box Set or a Book Subscription are both excellent choices. Or how about a book token? And all our books are available gift-wrapped (with the message of your choice) for £2 extra for tissue paper, £3 extra for Cambridge Imprint patterned wrapping paper or £8 extra for reusable fabric wrapping.

Our books are listed by category/theme here and by number in the order we published them here, but see below for a few additional ideas:

For someone fed up with contemporary fiction: any of our titles by Dorothy Whipple, in particular High Wages (no.85) or They Were Sisters (no.56), or by Marghanita Laski, in particular Little Boy Lost (no.28) or To Bed with Grand Music (no.86).  

For the crime novel enthusiast: The Blank Wall (no.42), The Expendable Man (no.68), Still Missing (no.88) or Harriet (no.97).

For someone who needs cheering up: Diary of a Provincial Lady (no.105), Miss Buncle’s Book (no.81) or Patience (no. 99).

For book groups: They Knew Mr Knight (no.19), One Afternoon (no.147), Saplings (no. 16), The Home-Maker (no.7) or The Call (no.129).

For a teenager: The Victorian Chaise-Longue (no.6), Mariana (no.2), High Wages (no.85) or The Hopkins Manuscript (no.57).

For the mother or grandmother: Family Roundabout (no.24), Hostages to Fortune (no.41), House-Bound (no.72), Greenbanks (no.95) or The Squire (no.103).

For the feminist: The Call (no.129), National Provincial (no. 130), Alas, Poor Lady (no.65) or A Lady and Her Husband (no.116).

For anyone interested in World War Two: Good Evening, Mrs Craven (no.8), A House in the Country (no.31), Operation Heartbreak (no.51), Doreen (no.60), On the Other Side (no.75) or Maman, What Are We Called Now? (no.115).

For the keen cook: Good Things in England (no.10), Kitchen Essays (no.30), Good Food on the Aga (no.45), They Can’t Ration These (no.54), Plats du Jour (no.70), The Country Housewife’s Book (no.80), A New System of Domestic Cookery (no.84), Dinners for Beginners (no.96) or The Country Life Cookery Book (no.109).

For the keen gardener: Gardener’s Nightcap (no.66) or Gardeners' Choice (no.114).

For the dog-lover: Flush (no.55).

For the newly-wed: Greenery Street (no.35) or How to Run Your Home Without Help (no.62).

For a son or daughter who has just left home: How to Run Your Home Without Help (no.62) or Dinners for Beginners (no.96).

For the traveller: Every Eye (no.18), The Far Cry (no.33), Hetty Dorval (no.58), or The Godwits Fly (no.117).

For the history enthusiast: William – an Englishman (no.1), The World that Was Ours (no.50), The Exiles Return (no.102), Into the Whirlwind (no.106), The Oppermanns (no.136) or Sofia Petrovna (no. 149).

For the child who’s bored of Harry Potter: The Children Who Lived in a Barn (no.27), The Runaway (no.37) or The Young Pretenders (no.73).

For the poetry enthusiast: It’s Hard to be Hip over Thirty (no.12), Consider the Years (no.22), Lettice Delmer (no.36) or Amours de Voyage (no.82). You might also consider As It Was (no. 142).

For the ecologically-minded: They Can’t Ration These (no.54), The Hopkins Manuscript (no.57) or The Waters Under the Earth (no. 145).

For the Bloomsbury Group devotee: Cheerful Weather for the Wedding (no.38), The Wise Virgins (no.43), A Writer's Diary (no. 98) or A Room of One's Own (no.134).

For a sci-fi enthusiast: The Hopkins Manuscript (no.57).

To slip in a Christmas stocking: The Victorian Chaise-Longue (no.6), Cheerful Weather for the Wedding (no.38) or Hetty Dorval (no.58).

For a romantic: The Making of a Marchioness (no.29), The Shuttle (no.71) or One Afternoon (no.147).