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The Persephone Book of Short Stories

by Persephone Books
Persephone book no:

99 100 101


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The Far Cry
A Well Full of Leaves
Regular price £15.00
In Stock
£0.00 Unit price per


488pp
ISBN 9781903155905

Persephone Book No. 100 is The Persephone Book of Short Stories. The hundredth book was something of a landmark for us and we wanted to find a way to celebrate the diversity and range of ‘our’ writers. The best way to do so was by gathering together a varied collection of stories in one large (450 page) volume. We have printed the following comment on the flap: ‘“Most of the stories focus on the small, quiet or unspoken intricacies of human relationships rather than grand dramas” wrote our proofreader, and she pointed out that “the use of metaphor is delicate and subtle; often the women are strong and capable and the men less so; shallow and selfish motives are exposed, and all the stories except the last are third-person. Interesting!”’ The dates of the stories range from 1909 to 1986 and there are thirty in all. The authors of the stories include many of 'our' writers such as Susan GlaspellKatherine Mansfield, E M Delafield, Malachi Whitaker, Dorothy Whipple, Irène Némirovsky, Betty Miller, Dorothy Canfield Fisher, Norah Hoult, Helen Hull, Mollie Panter-Downes, Elizabeth Berridge, Frances Towers, Margaret Bonham, Sylvia Townsend Warner, Diana GardnerPenelope Mortimer, Diana Athill, as well as a number of others that we don't (yet) publish such as Pauline Smith, Dorothy Parker, Edith Wharton, Phyllis Bentley, Angelica Gibbs, Kay Boyle, Shirley Jackson, Elizabeth Spencer, Penelope Fitzgerald and Georgina Hammick. The perfect introduction to Persephone Books.

Also available as a Persephone e-book.

Endpaper

The front endpaper is taken from a roller-printed cotton twill designed in 1911 for Arnold Print Works and the endpaper at the back of the book is taken from 'Cote D'Azure', a 1983 screen-printed cotton by Collier Campbell. 

Picture Caption

Rosemary Rutherford (1912-72) pen and wash drawing of a VAD nurse c. 1941


Read What Readers Say

Stylist magazine

This collection says it all. From Susan Glaspell's "From A to Z" (1909) to Georgina Hammick's "A Few Problems in the Day Case Unit"(1986) the writing is fresh, moving, funny and still relevant to women today.

The Scotsman

A fine, sturdy collection which should, even for an avid reader well versed in women’s fiction, provide a few introductions, either to writers hitherto unheard of, or to lesser known works by familiar names. There’s also a good mix of nationalities, so we not only hear from authors born in the US and the UK, but from those born in New Zealand, South Africa, Russia, and Ireland as well.

Danitorres (blogger)

While ‘The Persephone Book of Short Stories’ is a large book, chock full of stories, my interest hasn’t waned in the least, which happens occasionally with short story collections. If anything I tend to want to keep reading rather than wait until the following weekend to proceed to the next story. Honestly, they’re a treat – like choosing a truffle out of a box of chocolates, so often exquisite and nearly always satisfying

Categories: Short Stories

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