Two New Persephones for Autumn

 
    The Squire by Enid Bagnold   The Squire is the only novel ever written about having a baby. Of course other novels focus on pregnancy, birth and motherhood; but there isn't another about the last few days before birth and the first few days afterwards. Enid Bagnold wrote 'I wanted it to be exactly as objective as if a man had a baby. I wanted to pin down the quality of the pain and the love and the suprise and the effect of the birth on the mother, on the other children, on the nurse and on the servants.'  

  The Two Mrs Abbotts by DE Stevenson   In Miss Buncle's Book, the heroine, wrote a novel about the village she lived in. She then had hastily to depart because the true identity of 'John Smith' was about to be revealed. In Miss Buncle Married she and her publisher husband leave Hampstead for Wandle-bury, a village within commutable distance of London. The Two Mrs Abbotts, the third and last sequel, set in the war, has great good humor and a real understanding of the difficulties involved in keeping the home fires burning.   Would love to be able to visit the Persephone store some time in my life. For now, I content myself with browsing online here.