One of my favorite reads is DE Stevenson's 1934 novel, "Miss Buncle's Book," which tells the story of the unassuming but highly observant Barbara Buncle, who pens a best-selling roman a clef about her country town as a way to supplement her meager income. I've read it at least three or four times, not caring that I know how it all turns out. It's well-written and smart as well as amusing in a way that seems particularly suited to summer. I've also read Stevenson's follow-up Buncle books: Miss Buncle Married and The Two Mrs. Abbots.
The three of them are a delightful triumvirate of women's literature from between the wars published by Persephone Press. I've amassed a shelf full of Persephone titles. Persephone is reminiscent of the feminist Virago Press which published forgotten women's fiction and non-fiction back in the 1970s. I still have a few of those titles on my bookshelves. I have to admit that I love the look of the sober gray covers of Persephone books as much as their contents. Those covers don't prepare you for the colorful end papers that are always based on a textile design from the same era as the book. I think that's one reason why I am willing to order these titles from the U.K as actual books rather than as e-books.
If "Miss Buncle's Book" sounds of interest to you and if you liked the 2008 movie "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day," then check out "Theodora Goes Wild." I stumbled across this 1936 film with Irene Dunne, Melvyn Douglas, Thomas Mitchell and Spring Byington on YouTube. A perfect summer romp. I won't tell you more but it won't take long watching Theodora before you see how she echos the Misses Buncle and Pettigrew.
Sounds like some interesting reading. Those grey covers do look nice.
Posted by: Lisa at Greenbow | Friday, August 05, 2016 at 04:23 AM
Oh gosh, I love D. E. Stevenson. She wrote quite a few books and they are hard to find. I've snatched up the originals whenever I could find them over the years. Thanks for the tip about Theodora.
Posted by: Barbara H. | Friday, August 05, 2016 at 05:53 AM
It may sound silly but when one of your blog posts opens with a book review I get excited.
When I saw you mention Persephone, I was anticipating the description of the design of the books. Always enjoy your reviews. Have a lovely week-end! Susan
Posted by: Susan Adler Sobol | Friday, August 05, 2016 at 07:18 AM