Need some advice on what to buy

So I'm off to London and Stratford Wednesday and will haunt used bookstores and charity shops.
Since I am going with a half-empty suitcase I plan to buy books! I have my list of Persephones that I will buy at the shop if I can't find them used. I also have a tentative list in case I still have room for more books.

So......................any idea of which of these books are the best to haul back? Or, if you read them, what is your opinion? (I find Persephone books a mixed bag. Some I loved like The Saplings and everything I've read by Laski and others I can take or leave like Operation Heartbreak, so I really value your input.

Here is the tentative list: (which two would you buy?)
Minnie's Room by Panter-Downes
Hostage to Fortune by Cambridge
Doreen by Noble
Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary
Family Roundabout by Crompton
Mystery of Mrs Blencarrow by Oliphant

And which two Whipples would you buy
They were Sisters
They Knew Mr Knight
Closed Door and other Stories
High Wages

Thank you for any input!

Elaine

Well, first off, I'd buy all of the Whipples! :).But I've read Lady Rose and Mrs. Memmary, and thought that was good... and Minnie's Room was also quite good, as was Good Evening Mrs. Craven. Really, I've only had one or two missteps with Persephones, so it's a tough call.

My vote goes for Minnie's Room and Lady rose and Mrs Memmary
and as for the Whipples, The Closed Door and other Stories were really excellent especially for short stories and I like High Wages. But if you're looking for a longer read, They Were Sisters.

High Wages!

My votes go to Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary and They Were Sisters.

I've only read 3 of the books, 1 Whipple and 2 of others - and would recommend all - Hostages to Fortune, Minnie's Room and High Wages.

Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary definitely! Then either Minnie's Room or Family Roundabout for your second choice. The two Whipples I'd choose would be High Wages and They Knew Mr. Knight.

Happy shopping!

Thank you all for your suggestions. I'll let you know what I found when I return after March 14. It has been years since I went to England with an eye to finding books and I know I will have fun chasing these titles down
(used, if possible).

Elaine

have a good trip Elaine!

I posted all my purchased books under "fabulous finds" on the VMC board. Here are the Persephones I managed to get. The Canterbury purchases were before I went to the Lambs Conduit store. I did get High Wages but had to pass, for the time being, on the others because of luggage space. Thanks for your help. I'll pick up the next batch in August.

Persephones from Lambs Conduit (only two blocks from my hotel!)

The diary for 5 GPB
High Wages-Whipple
To Bed With Grand Music-Laski
How to Run Your Home Without Help-Smallshaw
House in the Country-Playfair
Alas, Poor Lady-Ferguson
Few Eggs and No Oranges-Hodson

Found in Canterbury Oxfam bookstore for four GBP each:
Consequences-Delafield
William-Hamilton
Kitchen Essays-Jekyll
The Priory-Whipple
They Were Sisters-Whipple

Elaine

PS. Saw the Queen, or at least the Queen's fushia coat, when she rededicated the RSC theatre in Stratford!

Oooh Canterbury Oxfam is the best ever - genuinely the best Oxfam I've found in the country, including London, for good books. I don't know why it's so good, but they always have the best books in there, and not overpriced either like the London ones are. Sometimes I drive up to Canterbury from London for the day just to go ! Top tip for anyone searching for books!

I'm hijacking this old thread because I, too, need some advice on buying Persephones.

I have some left-over birthday money, which I have decided I want to use as a special treat on three books. I've already settled on The Shuttle for one, but there are so many options that I can't decide on anything else. In previous years I bought The Making of a Marchioness, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, and Saplings. I thoroughly enjoyed all of them, if that is an indication of my tastes.

Thank you!

12: Last time I heard The Shuttle was reprinting, but things might have changed since I was in the shop in the fall, I don't know. Anything by Dorothy Whipple i recommend unreservedly, though. if you liked Miss pettigrew Lives for a Day, you might also enjoy Lady Rose and Mrs. Memmary. Another one that I loved was The Young Pretenders, as well as Miss Buncle's Book.

Good list, Kasthu! I'd add Mariana, The Far Cry, Saplings and Greenery Street.

A hard one with just 3 to choose.

My suggestions would be Miss Buncle's Book and Miss Ranskill Comes Home for humour - Miss Buncle is the happiest of those and probably one of the happiest Persephones - some are very sad. Like Saplings, Miss Ranskill is set during the war, I think it's very funny but also rather sad in places.

A lot of the catalogue is set during WWII, I also liked To Bed With Grand Music and Good Evening Mrs Craven (short stories) .

Mariana is a story of a girl/young woman growing up in the 1920s/30s.

I loved The Shuttle, ditto the Dorothy Whipples. Loved Fidelity by Susan Glaspell. Adored Little Boy Lost, and The Village by Laski and let's not forget The Expendable Man by Dorothy Hughes. At the end of the day though it will depend on your mood and what they have in stock.

I too would recommend Little Boy Lost and The Expendable Man the first was so beautifully poignant, the second, brilliant and unputdownable. Any of the Whipples - they are wonderful, They were Sisters may be my favourite - though it's hard to choose. Also Still Missing was brilliant, and I loved The Blank Wall marvelous suspense novel, and A Fortnight in September which was a delight.

Happy shopping

Ah, I forgot A Fortnight in September! That's definitely one of my favourites!

Thank you, guys! I'm still deciding what to get, but I'll update after I've picked them out. Happy holidays, everyone!

Finally found time to read messages, its the christmas break in the UK. I would recommend Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day the film is awful take no notice. Hope you had a good trip.

I ended up choosing The Shuttle, Greenbanks, and Miss Buncle's Book. I'm so excited! Thanks to everyone for their advice.

Thank you so much for this great post. I live in Australia and they're impossible to purchase here, so i'm going to place an order directly with their shop in London. I'm planning on getting "A Writer's Diary:Extracts from the Diary of Virginia Woolf" when it's published soon but i wanted to purchase more books at the same time and the above comments have given me some good ideas.I'm new to Persephone books but i've read so many reviews about them, as well as devouring their website!
Many thanks.

vintagesuzy - I can speak for Persephone's mail order service to Australia - it is very efficient and very quick. I have purchased all of my Persephone books through their web page. The staff are very quick to respond to emails also if you have any problem with purchases. I hope you enjoy your Persephone titles when they arrive.

I can attest that Book Depository has a nice selection of Persephones (although no bookmarks) and they are much cheaper with free postage anywhere in the world. This will probably get me struck off Persephone's mailing list but whatever...

Thanks for the chuckle, Barbara!

vintagesuzy - I love the BD too, though not when shipping to Australia. I ordered a book from them for a friend back in January - and it still hasn't arrived! I'd stick with ordering from Persephone directly as mrspenny testifies.

Thank you for that info on delivery and service. I think i will order direct from their shop in Lond and i have heard good and bad reports about Book Depository - even though they're cheaper, i know a few who said their books never arrived! - and i have heard too that the service from the Persephone shop is superb.

I agree that BD can really screw up. Only once for me but it was a doozy although they gave me an immediate refund. What I like is the price - sometimes as low as $15 for Persephones incl S&H and once, if you remember, the amazing $1 (?was it that or 1GBP?) Sack of Bath.