I had a lovely surprise on Friday when an unexpected parcel turned up in the post. It was from Persephone Books and inside I found a copy of The Persephone Book of Short Stories complete with two bookmarks, the Persephone Biannually magazine, and the Persephone Catalogue 1999-2012. I was delighted – so thank you very much Persephone.

The Book of Short Stories, the 100th Persephone book, is a collection of thirty short stories by twentieth century women, spanning the years 1909-1986, including such authors as Mollie Panter-Downes, Shirley Jackson, Diana Athill, Dorothy Whipple and Phyllis Bentley, to name but a few. There is also a chapter containing short biographies of the authors.

Other Persephone Books that I’ve written about are:

• Good Evening Mrs Craven: the Wartime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes
• Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski
• The Victorian Chaise-longue by Marghanita Laski
• The Village by Marghanita Laski