This post is by way of being a simple plug. It's for Persephone Books in general, and for one of their titles in particular. Following the example of my good wife, I've been reading Persephone's volumes for a while now, since they publish Dorothy Whipple and Dorothy Whipple tells a mighty good tale. I've also read some of their others, and apart from the quality of the list, they're lovely books to have and hold, their endpapers showing period fabric or wallpaper patterns, and each volume coming with its own matching bookmark.
The Persephone book I just read is a novella by Julia Strachey, Cheerful Weather for the Wedding. It's the sort of book many people would read at a sitting, though I didn't, and is a real gem - about a woman on her wedding day and her... well, I don't want to give anything at all away. But the mixture of humour and darkness (of an everyday kind) and the economy of conception and execution are terrific. Then, what do you know, last night after finishing the book I google it, and find it's just been made into a movie. Don't dawdle: get it and read it before you see the film.
