âYou feed my anglophile, book long, appreciator of the off-the-beaten-track soul. Reading SF takes me back to living in London in the â70sâ
âThank you SF once again for all the pleasure you give – and if we ARE headed for Hell in a handcart, I hope it will be well-stocked with past issues of your life-enhancing magazine.â
Weâre in the process of adding profiles of all our contributors to the noticeboard. Meantime, follow this link for an index to Issues 1-51 of the quarterly: An Index to Slightly Foxed
Proud to be stocking @FoxedQuarterly and selected paperback editions of elegantly produced, forgotten books ? pic.twitter.com/RY5pFdk7ac
— Pages of Hackney (@pagesofhackney) March 31, 2016
I made this illustration of The Last Gray Dog of Kenmuir for @FoxedQuarterly's Winter issue a few months back. pic.twitter.com/J0ZrBjtWa6
— J Weston Lewis (@jbwlewis) March 11, 2016
Thanks @FoxedQuarterly latest volume has arrived in New Zealand in time to eat with peaches fresh from my garden pic.twitter.com/ScxK7KAohL
— Marcus Hobson (@Marcus_H_Author) March 9, 2016
Our friends at @FoxedQuarterly have sent us these beautiful past editions! Find them dotted around the Library pic.twitter.com/a5bNDcmil9
â Gladstone’s Library (@gladlib) February 8, 2016
Does your loved one like to go to bed with a Trollope? Give them a gift of good reading… https://t.co/m7R9aopRdC pic.twitter.com/rdvvtpKkCH
â Slightly Foxed (@FoxedQuarterly) February 8, 2016
âFor those bibliophiles who yearn for a whiff of an era when a chap wanting something bound in leather on the Charing Cross Road looked to Marks & Co., not Ann Summers, Slightly Foxed will come as manna from heaven . . . it couldnât be more bookish if it tried.â Guardian
It’s that happy time again @FoxedQuarterly pic.twitter.com/uRAoDbKO9t â Don Oldham (@OldhamDs) November 29, 2015
After reading @M_Z_Harrison – top-notch – on Gilbert White in @FoxedQuarterly I’ve spent the wknd dug into Selborne pic.twitter.com/Sy470cTK8J â Laura Freeman (@LauraSFreeman) November 30, 2015
âMy order arrived today, very promptly and beautifully packed. Everything I ordered was even better than it looked on the website & in the leaflet. The notebook is a Christmas present for my daughter, who loves a nice notebook for use at work – even though she works for IBM, she still likes the old ways too! I am sure this one will be much appreciated.â
Last year a number of readers expressed disappointment that we werenât producing another Slightly Foxed calendar. So weâve put our heads together and come up with what we think is a very handsome version for 2016.
Measuring 310 x 250mm and featuring twelve of our favourite seasonal covers, the new, slightly larger design allows space each day for vital notes and engagements. More . . .
What could be better? A Provencal lavender farm, bags of time, and the latest copy of Slightly Foxed? @FoxedQuarterly pic.twitter.com/zzZNolQfEQ
â Anthony Longden (@AnthonyLongden1) September 15, 2015
China in 1975 was a strange, undiscovered country, still half-mad from Mao Zedongâs Cultural Revolution, when young Frances Wood boarded a plane in London to study for a year in Peking. Based on the letters she wrote home, this account of her experiences is both affecting and hilarious, a unique insight into a mysterious and painful moment in Chinaâs history. More . . .Â
New this autumn: Slightly Foxed Edition No. 31
The writer and naturalist Gavin Maxwell is best known for Ring of Bright Water, his moving account of raising otters on the remote west coast of Scotland â undoubtedly one of the greatest nature books ever written. In his childhood memoir The House of Elrig he describes, with the same lyrical power that made that earlier book a classic, how it all began. More . . .
New this autumn in the Slightly Foxed Cubs series.
It is 1853, and on holiday in Italy, Captain Nicholas Carey is persuaded by his impulsive cousin Andrew to help three Italian revolutionaries avoid capture and escape the Papal States. After returning to England, Nicholas runs his cousin to earth in Paris, where he is still involved with the revolutionaries, and the two foil an assassination attempt on the Emperor, Napoleon III. More . . .
âYou have been tempting us successfully for years with wonderful books with words. Now you are tempting us with books without words, your beautiful notebooks are . . . well, beautiful . . . so much so that without a stiff drink I donât think I’ll be able to mark them in any way (not even with a small doodle).â
It's this attention to detail that makes a great read even better @FoxedQuarterly pic.twitter.com/w07ExBaQgH
— flimby (@jimmy_storybook) April 10, 2015
âCongratulations on sustaining a publication of such high quality and quirky content together with more than a touch of class in its physical production.â
âHereâs ÂŁ40 for another year of intelligent pleasure.â
‘I absolutely love receiving my Slightly Foxed. To me itâs an oasis of beautiful words and a calm, gentle world to retreat to. I savour each edition and never, never throw them out. I reluctantly loan them to friends and jealously guard their return. Thank you for this precious gift in my life.’
‘I find your organization very charming. The books come really from another era . . . The authors you have, the pieces you do, really was the type of writing in New England in the late 60s/beginning 70s. You people have preserved it! Thus you have won me as a subscriber. I thank you for your excellent selections, stay charming English, as you are.’
‘Slightly Foxed records those opportunities lost, reminding us all that long ago we really ought to have read more.’
‘Just to say very many thanks for another wonderful edition of Slightly Foxed. I have been a subscriber since the 4th or 5th edition, and each copy is a veritable treasure.’
‘What delightfully personal communication, few these days and far between . . . To be courteously addressed now – by persons, no less, with real names rather than mere titles – goes a long way to restoring trust.’
‘Many thanks for reminding me to renew my good ladyâs subscription, thus redeeming me from a yearâs supply of cold shoulders and cold teas . . . Keep up the high level of publishing, and I will continue to spread the Slightly Foxed âGospelâ to all.â
‘I have just renewed my subscription online and had completely forgotten to do so earlier. Quite how I forgot a publication which gives me as much pleasure as Slightly Foxed is beyond me. Not only do I read each copy cover to cover when it arrives, I keep all the past issues and regularly delve into them. When my daughters were teenagers, the highest accolade they ever bestowed was to call something “utter genius”. You certainly are – thank you.â
‘Thank you so much for resending a copy of The Young Ardizzone . . . The second one arrived on Saturday in perfect condition. It looks lovely and I hope my sister-in-law enjoys reading it.’
‘To all at Hoxton Square,
Please find enclosed payment for the latest edition . . . Keep up the brilliant way in which you make us all so happy!’
‘Your gracious letter, missing me as a subscriber, touched my heart. A renewal form is enclosed. For a while, feeling I had too much to read and too little money, I thought to deny myself Slightly Foxed, but, ah, I would be sorry. Certainly itâs unique, and I also appreciate the wonderful books you have been bringing back into print.’
‘I thoroughly enjoy the publication and I have bought some of your special editions. I donât have the time to write (nor do I have the magic with words that many of your contributors have) but let this serve as my appreciation for your work.’
‘I have been slightly foxed now for four years and Iâve just received a card from you to inform me that I can remain blissfully in that condition for another year.’
‘I think the magazine is absolutely âtop-holeâ and only wish I had cottoned on to its existence earlier.’
âIt is such a joy to find a publication that so effectively conveys the pleasure of good books, and I have found myself discovering and rediscovering authors throughout my first year as a subscriber.â
âJust home from holidays to find both dogs AND Spring issue waiting: best afternoon everâ via Twitter
The Biographersâ Club is now seeking submissions for The Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize 2016 (worth ÂŁ3,500) . . .
.Calendar says 4 days until #Spring, but my mailbox says otherwise! @FoxedQuarterly pic.twitter.com/46pmcUQJ5S
— Slightly Foxed(@FoxedQuarterly) March 16, 2015
As Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy has written about contemporary events and issues and refused to be tied down to the traditional Royal milestones. Her drawing is also pleasingly free and original. Here is a fox who knows all the angles, and yet, at…
âQuiet on the ranks this time of year, what we London cabbies call the kipper season – I’m prepared!â Twitter
âI recently received my copy of Christabel Bielenbergâs The Past Is Myself and I must say it is even more lovely a thing than Iâd anticipated. Reading it, with its fine paper and its perfect size, slows me down in the very best way. Smith Settle have done a magnificent job in its production, and the choice of Bielenbergâs memoir is really inspired as it requires quiet contemplation and a slow pace to take in the import of the years the author so sensitively describes. You have brought a slice of slowness (a very good thing) into my life in the form of this beautiful edition.â
âThank you for the latest Edition, I am very pleased that you have included Gerry Durrellâs book in your series. I was cameraman on several of Gerry and Leeâs TV documentary series and got to know them well. They were both great company and fun to work with, and I visited them at the zoo in Jersey several times. Iâm enclosing a copy of the flyleaf of one of their books, with the appropriate inscription – the grocerâs apostrophe is a bit of a worry, though! Keep up the good work.â
âIâm mad about Ysenda Maxtone Grahamâs piece in the new issue. Made me laugh out loud. I was a Malory Towers reader and never discovered Angela Brazil. I may have to seek her out for something light to read over Christmas.â
âProbably the most rewarding ÂŁ40 I will spend this year.â
âWe love and look forward to receiving Slightly Foxed. I try to ration it but end up swallowing it in one gulp.â
âA memoir written in the late 1920s and recently republished in the beautiful Slightly Foxed Paperback series. The book tells of Bellâs move, at 20 years old, from bohemian Battersea to a small farm in Suffolk. Bell is a favourite of mine, and his nature writing is immediately transporting. It doesnât hurt, either, that the Slightly Foxed Paperbacks, pocket-sized little chunks of perfection, are the most beautifully made paperbacks Iâve ever had the pleasure to own. Theyâre made by a traditional small press in Yorkshire to standards that make reading on a device seem like the most depressing possible compromise.â On Adrian Bellâs Corduroy
âA  joy in itself â  and it also publishes attractive, limited-edition, cloth-bound pocket hardbacks that will appeal to traditionalistsâÂ
âSlightly Foxed is a handsome handful of thick creaminess, always with lovely covers, and would make a great present for someone who likes books, and for who you can never think of a remotely suitable present. The magazine is rather like that voice you always hope to hear behind you in old bookshops . . . Ah now thatâs an interesting oneâ
âSlightly Foxed offers a chance to discover about eighty books a year that most of us have never heard of but all of us will wonder about. Strike a blow for good reading everywhere and order a sample issue. Itâs all about books, really good books . . . I couldnât be happier to have found this magazineâ
â. . . at once unpretentious and lively, edifying and funâ
âSubscribers are so happy they exist that they occasionally drop in to the kitchen headquarters â sometimes they bring marmalade; at Christmas, they send cash so the staff can all go out for a drink. And once in a while, a contented reader will write to the dogâ
âI am not usually one to clutter up the ether unnecessarily but feel I must just say how delighted I am with the presentation of Slightly Foxed, which arrived 10 minutes ago. If the contents are half as tempting as they look, I am in for a treat. Must go, reading to do . . .â
âPlease accept my apologies for the delay. We have just returned from our 3 ½ months Golden Honeymoon round the world to face a mountain of mail in which ânuggetsâ from SF shine like gold!â
âThank you for my trial issue of Slightly Foxed. It lived up to all the recommendations on the flyer and more. I read my copy on a sunny evening in Bournemouth parked on the cliff-tops, looking out to sea towards the Purbeck Hills. Perfect bliss.â
‘I received a sub for my birthday last year and have just renewed for three years. I canât tell you how much I love SF. A little companion to take for reading on trains, waiting in queues or in the afternoon as the sun goes down. Reconfirms my view that England has the greatest collection of wonderfully eccentric over-educated people who every quarter demonstrate the benefits of a classical education. Only problem is you sending me broke as when I see mention of a book I havenât heard of I get on the second hand book sites searching for it. Alas I find them and then buy them . . .’
‘Like most people, I am incredibly busy, but my heart sings whenever SF arrives â the kettle goes on, my feet go up and I lose myself for a couple of hours. I never know what direction Iâm going to be taken but I never cease to be delighted with your publications. I even re-read them!’
‘This time last year I was reading my then current SF in the garden of the Livingston Hotel at Victoria Falls! My pillow present one evening was a bookmark which then removes to my next, and subsequent, current copies – a wonderful traveling companion & a joy to own!’
C. S. Forester is one of the great writers of the twentieth-century. His novels are distinguished by the famous Hornblower stories, and by âAfrican Queenâ which was made into the famous film. The C. S. Forester Society was established in 1998 to celebrate and promote the enjoyment of Foresterâs literary works.
The Betjeman Society was established in 1988 to advance the appreciation of the work of the poet, writer, broadcaster and conservationist Sir John Betjeman (1906-84).
‘I would be very grateful if you could send me another copy of the Winter issue of Slightly Foxed, which sadly I lost in an exchange with an Irishman in a Brazilian restaurant in Peking.’
‘What a treat to find Slightly Foxed waiting for me â just the thing for a few lazy days in the garden. This is truly the most rewarding ÂŁ40I spend all year â Slightly Foxed never fails to enthrall, entertain and surprise me. Thank you!’
âA good London friend who was visiting in New York recently, and I, were commiserating about the current black hole in the world of books, publishing and bookstores. So he felt I was ready for Slightly Foxed which I had never heard about! I feel I am coming out of my mourning. I just wish the English Pound/US Dollar was more friendly and then I would purchase all the back copies. I have already alerted friends in South Africa and family in Australia that you exist â we canât believe we did not know of your existence.â
âAll the issues which I have received of Slightly Foxed have made very enjoyable reading. Usually I manage to discipline myself to one or two articles at a time and make the pleasure last over a few weeks. This time I have failed! All read in a few days and VERY VERY enjoyable. Thank goodness the days are drawing in and Autumn approaches! Thank you.â
âI loved âWinning Throughâ in Slightly Foxed Issue 13. It brought back memories of sleeping under the dining room table in 1940-42, just in case some German bomber got lost and loaded its bombs over Banstead, which happened all of three times, I recall.â
âThank you for a delightful well-produced and inspiring magazine. All copies will be greatly treasured.â
âA small note to tell you the immense pleasure I take from your journal; ideal bedtime reading and something to suit every mood. Long may you publish.â
âThere is a nostalgic â dare one say almost whimsical â quality to Slightly Foxed which is both appealing and quietly stimulating ⌠At times there is also “something of the night” about it but in this case the sort of black night when there is no greater pleasure than pulling the curtains against the cold, driven rain and lighting the fire.’
âMy return from New Zealand last week was at 11pm but I didnât get to bed until nearly 3am which was entirely your fault. Among the mail was the first copy of Slightly Foxed, which proved so exciting in my jet-lagged state that I read it cover to cover.
âThis card is of one or both of you in angelic guise sprinkling literary goodies to hungry mortals.’
âIf I see him, I shall suggest a subscription to Pope Benedict.’
âPlease continue Slightly Foxed forever, or at least until I shuffle off.’
âYou are so right, I am totally fed up with everyone telling me to read these books that seem to be âbestsellersâ before theyâve been on the shelves a week!â
âIts brilliant. A blissful intelligent read.’
âItâs just the right size for oneâs pocket.’
âItâs lovely to read: so serious and intelligent and yet so lightly cheering.’
âDelighted to dip into this treasure box!â
âIf youâre not very careful, youâll have me contributing . . .’
âLovely size, lovely feel, lovely print.’
âThe articles, every one a pleasure, are just the right length â delicious hors dâoeuvres for the courses that follow.’
âIt was my companion for a whole fortnight of public transporting.’
âIt felt like a large box of expensive chocolates â full of unusual and unexpected flavours.â
âItâs exactly like getting the new comic on a Thursday, canât wait to gobble it whole.’
âEveryone who’s anyone is reading Slightly Foxed. They used to think that SF stood for science fiction, or even Stephen Fry. But not any more.â
âContinually enjoying being sent off to real books Iâve not known. Thanks.â
âThank you for being there.â
âCheque herewith â the best spent ÂŁ40 all year!â
âI recently became a subscriber to Slightly Foxed – it is the most delightful yet informative publication I have stumbled across for years. I fear my library will expand exponentially as a result. I join what I suspect is a long list of grateful readers! Donât ever stop!â
âIf you can find some way of disguising your magazine â making it look like a Final Demand from the Inland Revenue maybe, I might just get my hands on it before my wife . . .â
âWe thoroughly enjoy Slightly Foxed. My wife and I quarrel over who should have it first!â
âWhat a lovely thought â two years of SF!â
âCongratulations on continued quality and perseverance.â
âMany many thanks indeed for the first four issues. I very much look forward to No. 5. Have you thought of publishing monthly?â
âI really enjoy reading Slightly Foxed. Long may you continue.â
âThank you everyone involved with Slightly Foxed. I have enjoyed all the issues so far â and so have many of my friends. A copy is always beside the spare bed.â
âMuch appreciated by our book group and beautifully produced (such nice paper).â
âIâm looking forward to another year of good reads!â
âSpent the happiest of New Yearâs Days reading your latest issue. Thank you.â
âIt is such a thrill when Slightly Foxed drops through the letterbox. We seem to have done lots of flying over the past year (which I donât enjoy) andSF is just the job for sitting on a plane!â
âEagerly anticipated and greatly enjoyed.â
âMany thanks for a year of pleasure and interest. I look forward to the next two with relish.â
âThank you for introducing me to a number of books I should not otherwise have encountered. Living remote from a good bookshop and a big library, as I do, I rely on publications such as yours to lead me to congenial books.â
âI am told that, at the age of 8, on receiving my first cricket bat I cried out âO boy! O boy! That is my quarterly reaction to opening up Slightly Foxed. It gives me unalloyed pleasure. Thank you so very much.â
âExcellent â a breath of fresh air!â
âExcellent and oozing quality . . . a beautiful format and a pleasure to hold. Each of the articles Iâve read is impeccably written (and proofread) and I suspect one would search in vain to spot either a spelling error or a grammatical solecism. Indeed a careful reading of SF would certainly repay any student of A-level English. This cannot be said of too many publications, including the “quality” newspapers.â
âI like everything, even the paper. Also your friendly and personal communications make a pleasant change. Thank you.â
âI do enjoy your deceptively modest-looking magazine. It introduces new authors, reminds one of old friends, entertains and amuses, all within a conveniently small format with no advertisements. Hurrah for the fox!â
âI believe I am a bit of a latecomer to this fabulous prize â I only picked up Issue 4 for the first time back in December, and I canât help wishing that Iâd cottoned on earlier . . . I already had a nasty addiction to book-buying before you came along . . . youâll be happy to know that youâve definitely made things worse! I love the magazine and can hardly wait for Issue 5. Keep up the great, great work.â
âHooray for Slightly Foxed! My seasons are defined by the arrival of your wonderful publication. Long may you reign.â
âYouâve no idea how the heart leaps up on seeing Slightly Foxed on the envelope.â
â’Something sensational to read on the train and in the bath, in bed, instead of housework etc. etc.’
âAt the Travellers Club, we continue to delight in it and our crust members are waking up (quite literally) to its superbly crafted prose and sheer interesting-ness. Keep going and thank god for your existence in a world increasingly populated by trash writing.â
âHow could I survive without Slightly Foxed?â
âI love Slightly Foxed, it is like stepping into a bookshop that offers all sorts of intriguing goods â some memories, some forgotten friends, some new. To me SF offers an antidote to all that uniformity of taste and style â it offers individuality, imaginations and intelligence â you never know what you may find in its pages.â
âA jug of wine, a loaf of bread
with Slightly Foxed before me
still unread
such are the trifles that make perfection, ” and perfection is no trifle”.’
âA colleague at work recommended this magazine â one of the best things that came out of the job!â
âThe composer Liszt is supposed to have said âa good Havana cigar closes the door on the vulgarity of the worldâ â and that is what I think about Slightly Foxed.â
âIt is fully living up to expectations already â and I have only had it a couple of hours!â
âEach review unique in its own right and beautifully written â I wanted to read more!â
âThis sort of magazine in the book world is long overdue â and much needed.â
âMay it be ever onwards and upwards for Slightly Foxed.â
âI wish you every success with your brave venture of catering for people like myself, who after a fruitless trek around the shelves of the large bookstores, emerge wondering if teaching goldfish to step-dance would be a better option.â
âThank you for a delightful, well produced and inspiring magazine. All copies will be greatly treasured.â
âHereâs to many more excellent editions of SF!â
âTo everyone at Slightly Foxed! In thanks for the great pleasure derived from your wonderful publication.â
âMany thanks for an excellent and inspirational magazine.â
âYour journal has been a delight in what has been a difficult year. Thank you.â
âHow splendid Slightly Foxed continues (and will continue) to be.â
âThank you for such a wonderful magazine. Each issue is a pleasure and a highlight of my reading life.â
âThe articles are just perfect for filling the time on the train to London â not to mention prompting present ideas. Keep up the good work!â
âDiscovering Slightly Foxed was rather like meeting someone for the first time but feeling that somehow youâve met before. Some sixty years ago when an art student opting for book illustration as a main subject I loved the handling of well-produced books â that must have been when I met you before!â
âThank you â you are doing a great job! Hope to visit you one of these days.â
âMy husband and I are now thoroughly addicted to Slightly Foxed and fight (in a subtle and civilized manner) over each issue when it arrives.â
âSlightly Foxed leads to so many absorbing avenues of interest that I am overwhelmed with choices of books, authors and associated warrens to plunge down. A wonderful publication; you are to be congratulated on organizing such inspired, gracious, civilized, diverse and intriguing contributions.â
âNot only is it a fantastic read in its own right, it introduces the reader to an eclectic, unusual selection of reading material outside the usual bestseller lists and books of the week.â
Slightly Foxed is a handsome handful of thick creaminess, always with lovely covers, and would make a great present for someone who likes books, and for who you can never think of a remotely suitable present ⌠the magazine is rather like that voice you always hope to hear behind you in old bookshops . . . âAh now thatâs an interesting one.â
âFor all âReal Readersâ itâs exciting to open a new issue of Slightly Foxed, sure of meeting a kindred spirit in each little essay â though thatâs all you can be sure of, given the deliciously unpredictable variety of themes.…
âIt’s a joy, a delight, a quarterly treat that drives me to the bookshelves, the bookshop or the library in search of forgotten or never-encountered pleasures. I won’t say that Slightly Foxed is essential, it’s just that I can’t live without it any more.â
âA handsome magazine full of wonderful surprises and discoveries. I learn something every time I read it.â
Slightly Foxed is pure happiness. May you go on for decades to come.
âThink of it as Reading Rainbow for adults with a high literary standard and strong preference for books that delight rather than depress. The magazine is beautifully made, and itâs one of the few quarterlies we read cover-to-cover the moment it arrives.â
âI’m not sure if the rules of ‘Desert Island Discs’ allow a periodical instead of a book; but if they do â and no doubt the people at Brewhouse Yard could arrange delivery by homing albatross â I’d go for a subscription to Slightly Foxed and ration myself, very strictly, to an article a week . . . And I know I’d still read it in one go the day it arrived.â
âThe arrival of a new issue of Slightly Foxed makes me drop everything. I read it from cover to cover and it immediately sends me off to order a number of the books that it features.â
âSometimes deep, sometimes surprising, often eccentric, but always unputdownable.â
âIt’s always a red-letter day when the post includes Slightly Foxed – gorgeous new cover, choice list of contents.â
âAbsolutely beautifully produced.â
âA quarterly box of delights – always something unexpected to excite the taste buds of the bookish. I know it’s planned, but it feels fortuitous and that’s quite an art.â
âPacked with anecdotes, reminiscences and essays about books, writers and the trade. If you love books you’ll love Slightly Foxed.â
Copyright © Slightly Foxed Ltd, 2004 - 2016
