The Second Persephone Book of Short Stories

In 2019, The Second Persephone Book of Short Stories (PB No. 132) celebrated twenty years of publishing by Persephone Books. Again, there are thirty stories, spanning nearly a century (from 1896–1984). Twelve are taken from the twelve volumes of stories we have published over the last few years; nine were previously published in our magazine during the last decade; and nine have been selected especially for this collection. They are presented in the order they were written. A quarter are by North American women writers. 

Short stories in this collection include "The Bedquilt' by Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1906), "The Casualty List" by Winifred Holtby (1932), "Miss Anstruther's Letters" by Rose Macauley (1942), "The Proof" by Mary Rickwood (1954), "Sunday Morning" by Dorothy Whipple (1961), and "Gilbert" by Rosamunde Pilcher (1984), after whom the Persephone office dog is (in part) named. 

Endpaper

The front endpaper (above) is 'Tiger Lily', 1986 by Lindsay Butterfield for GP & J Baker. The back endpaper is 'Havana', a screen-printed cotton fabric design by Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell for Fischbacher Ltd.  Both © V&A Images