While I continue reading the very enjoyable Mariana by Monica Dickens, I thought I might add a contest (and perhaps a conversation) to the weekend. Joking around with Richard and the Wolves via email this week about what titles the sole man among us might read for the Persephone intense weekend, it occurred to me to take a look and see how many Persephone titles are authored by men.
- Julian Grenfell by Nicholas Mosley
- Greenery Street by Denis Mackail
- The Wise Virgins by Leonard Woolf
- Good Food on the Aga by Ambrose Heath
- Operation Heartbreak by Duff Cooper
- They Can't Ration These by Vicomte de Maudoit
- The Hopkins Manuscript and The Fortnight in September by R.C. Sherriff
- Amours de Voyage by Arthur Hugh Clough
I have yet to read any of these titles, but am curious as to what you who have read them think about them. Do they sit comfortably alongside the other titles or do they seem out of sync? For a line of books published by, for, and about women, what distinguishes a male voice to merit inclusion among the other greys? Simplistic thinking on my part perhaps, but as I said, I am wondering. The Persephone sensibility is as distinctive and recognizable as their book design. It is also hard to define succinctly. A male voice further complicates the effort in my mind. Help me, seasoned Persephone readers?
As a reward for your assistance, please let me know which of these titles you would like to own most, and I will draw one winner out tomorrow night at the close of the weekend fun. Let me know why that particular title?
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