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Q is for Quiller-Couch, Arthur | From the Slightly Foxed archives

Q is for Quiller-Couch, Arthur | From the Slightly Foxed archives

Our series of recommendations for good reading via the magazine’s archives has brought us to a letter of the alphabet we thought could prove troublesome. However, all fears have been eased as it offers up a writer Daphne du Maurier ‘admired among all others’, Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, whose works were published under the pseudonym ‘Q’. Du Maurier was far from Q’s only admirer. Helene Hanff enjoyed a volume of lectures by Quiller-Couch, and was inspired to seek out all the titles he recommended. This led to a correspondence with an antiquarian bookshop in London that lasted many years, and these letters became the beloved 84, Charing Cross Road. Helene pays her debt to her reading mentor in a subsequent memoir, Q’s Legacy. Derek Parker states his own case for Q’s legacy in this piece from Slightly Foxed Issue 21. Please find a link to read the full article below. We do hope you’ll enjoy it. 
The Cherry Tree | From the Slightly Foxed bookshelves

The Cherry Tree | From the Slightly Foxed bookshelves

Greetings from Slightly Foxed where the team in the office are looking forward to an extended Easter weekend and the prospect of a healthy dose of fresh air, feasting and, most importantly, much good reading. Meantime, we’ll leave you with a suitably seasonal extract from the final volume of Adrian Bell’s trilogy of lightly fictionalized memoirs, The Cherry Tree. As SF Editor Hazel Wood writes in her preface to our edition, ‘in these books [Bell’s] keen and sympathetic eye combined with the practicality of the farmer to create some of the most poetic yet down-to-earth accounts ever written of life in the English countryside’. We’ll be in touch again next week. Until then, we do hope you’ll enjoy reading this extract and browsing our bookshelves.
Dawn Wind | Light in the Dark Ages

Dawn Wind | Light in the Dark Ages

‘In Dawn Wind, the fifth of her novels on Roman and post-Roman Britain, Rosemary Sutcliff is, as always, bang on the money . . .’ So writes Sue Gaisford in her article on the latest addition to our Slightly Foxed Cubs series of classic children’s books, and we couldn’t agree more. We’re delighted to have published Rosemary Sutcliff’s Dawn Wind this month and, for those of you who have placed orders for this title, it will be with you very soon, if not already. Though most of her books were written primarily for children, the flesh-and-blood reality of Rosemary Sutcliff’s characters, her convincing plots and her brilliant reimagining of everyday life in a remote and mysterious Britain have always attracted adult readers too. Dawn Wind is no exception. Within its opening pages we’re introduced to Owain, the book’s teenage hero who has both Roman and British blood in his veins, and learn that he is the sole survivor of a terrible battle with the Saxons. We do hope you’ll enjoy this latest offering, whether you’re a young reader or simply young at heart.
As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning | From the Slightly Foxed bookshelves

As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning | From the Slightly Foxed bookshelves

‘I could go anywhere I liked in the world. There was nothing to stop me, I would be penniless, free and could just pack up and walk away.’ Introducing the latest addition to the Slightly Foxed Editions list, No. 54: As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning. When Laurie Lee set out on foot from his home in the Gloucestershire village of Slad one midsummer morning in 1935 he knew he was saying farewell to the idyllic country boyhood that he would later capture so unforgettably in Cider with Rosie. He was 19 and off to see the world with only his violin for company. He was aiming for London but decided to go via Southampton because he had never seen the sea. And so began a year of wandering that would take him from the north of Spain south to the Mediterranean.
‘Slightly Foxed is a lovely quarterly delight – to be relished and cherished!’ | New this Spring

‘Slightly Foxed is a lovely quarterly delight – to be relished and cherished!’ | New this Spring

We’re delighted to announce that the new Spring issue of Slightly Foxed (No. 69) has left the printing press at Smith Settle and will start to arrive with readers in the UK very soon and elsewhere over the next few weeks. We hope it will provide plenty of recommendations for reading off the beaten track this spring. With it, as usual, you’ll find a copy of our latest Readers’ Catalogue, detailing new books, our backlist, recommended seasonal reading and other offers and bundles.
Pocket-sized and elegantly produced | Slightly Foxed Paperbacks

Pocket-sized and elegantly produced | Slightly Foxed Paperbacks

Our popular Slightly Foxed Paperbacks are perfect for slotting into a coat pocket or bag, and make charming presents. Delightful to look at, pocket-sized and elegantly produced on good cream paper, complete with French flaps, these reissues give you a chance to acquire some of the original hardbacks you may have missed. We’re providing some special offers when buying multiples of these perfectly pocketable paperbacks, so whether you’re in need of a good book or a present for someone you’re fond of, do seize the chance to stock up now.
O is for Origo, Iris | From the Slightly Foxed archives

O is for Origo, Iris | From the Slightly Foxed archives

Greetings from Slightly Foxed HQ where we thought it high time to continue our tour through the magazine’s archives and provide a free article – and a handful of book recommendations – for some weekend reading. Daniel Worsley’s piece on The Merchant of Prato by Iris Origo appeared in SF Issue 66 and, for those of you who crave a change of scene, takes us back to fourteenth-century Tuscany. Please find a link to read the full article below. We do hope you’ll enjoy it.
A friendship conducted through books | Notes from Slightly Foxed

A friendship conducted through books | Notes from Slightly Foxed

Greetings from all of us at Slightly Foxed. In light of the latest restrictions in the UK, we wanted to reassure you that we are able to safely dispatch books and goods. Please note that all orders will take a little longer to be dispatched than usual, and we are very grateful for your patience and continued support. In the spirit of celebrating bookish correspondence, we wanted to draw your attention to one of our well-loved Plain Foxed Editions, 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. The letters between Helene, a feisty, eccentric New York writer, and Frank Doel, a bookseller at Marks & Co. in London, reveal a growing friendship conducted through books.
Last call for orders and seasonal reading from Slightly Foxed

Last call for orders and seasonal reading from Slightly Foxed

Warm wishes from Hoxton Square where Christmas cards from readers are cheering up the bookshelves, wrapping paper is running off rolls and post bags are filling up and weighing down the post van as we ready ourselves to close the office for Christmas next week. The final post of the year will leave the office on Monday afternoon (21 December). Please order as soon as possible to give us enough time to pack and post your goods out in time for Christmas. For delivery before the 25th (UK) we suggest you also select First Class or Special Delivery as your postal option on the website or over the phone. For any last minute presents, or for items to be posted outside the UK, you can order all goods on our website and have a printable gift card sent to you or directly to the gift recipient by email. Meantime we will leave you with a seasonal excerpt from Christopher Rush’s article on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, published in Slightly Foxed Issue 60, and we do hope you enjoy reading it.
‘Smashing little hardbacks’ | Slightly Foxed Editions

‘Smashing little hardbacks’ | Slightly Foxed Editions

Greetings from Slightly Foxed. Parcels and packages are flying out of Hoxton Square to readers at a great rate and, whether they are presents for a fellow bibliophile or bookish gems that have caught your eye this season, we do hope they bring much literary cheer. There’s still time for us to help with gifts for booklovers, and we’d like to draw your attention to our Slightly Foxed Editions – beautifully produced pocket hardbacks, just the right size to hold in the hand and with a ribbon marker to keep your place. Perfectly designed to curl up with, these reissues of classic memoirs are highly individual and absorbing reads. And, if you have missed out on a title or two from our series of limited-editions, our Plain Editions come in the same neat pocket format as the original SF Editions and will happily fill any gaps in your collection – as well as forming a delightful uniform series of their own, bound in duck-egg blue cloth. For those of you in need of a good book, do seize the chance to stock up now. We hope you enjoy browsing our bookshelves.
A Feast of Seasonal Treats | Slightly Foxed Readers’ Catalogue

A Feast of Seasonal Treats | Slightly Foxed Readers’ Catalogue

‘I continue to enjoy reading and rereading Slightly Foxed and the books bought from the catalogues. Feasts indeed!’ Warm wishes from SF HQ, where festive spirits are high and feasting is on the menu: sipping and supping, hearty spreads of good reading and groaning tables (or in this case parcels and post bags) of seasonal treats. Present ideas for booklovers are abundant here at Slightly Foxed, and this week we’re shining the spotlight on our picks from other publishers’ bookshelves alongside our own wares. Please scroll down for recommendations selected on a similar theme. Whether you’re in need of a few good books for yourself or as gifts for someone you’re fond of this season, we hope you’ll find these suggestions helpful.
Cider with Rosie | From the Slightly Foxed bookshelves

Cider with Rosie | From the Slightly Foxed bookshelves

‘Every single book Slightly Foxed publish is superb. (And beautifully made.) Just pluck at random from the catalogue and happiness is guaranteed.’ So declared a Foxed reader just the other day, and we’re delighted to add a new book to our list of cloth-bound pocket hardbacks this winter: SF Edition No. 53, Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee. Perfectly designed to curl up with, our reissues of classic memoirs are highly individual and absorbing reads, and the latest addition is no exception. Laurie Lee described this, his best-loved and best-known book, as ‘a recollection of early boyhood’, adding the acknowledgement that ‘some facts may have been distorted by time’. Whether or not they have, as one critic put it, ‘Cider with Rosie seems true as long as you’re reading it – and that’s the most important thing.’ It’s not just a rosy picture of a rural past, but a magical evocation of growing up in a lost world that rings emotionally true.
Winter Reading | New this Season from Slightly Foxed

Winter Reading | New this Season from Slightly Foxed

Greetings, dear readers. We’re delighted to announce that the new winter issue of Slightly Foxed is being sent out to subscribers this week and should soon begin to land on doormats around the world. We’d like to reassure you that we are dispatching parcels safely, so please do place orders as usual. There’s still plenty of time to order subscriptions, books and goods in time for Christmas. ⁠Please do go forth and browse our online Readers’ Catalogue, where you’ll find our cloth-bound limited-edition hardbacks, our popular Plain Editions and paperbacks, a collection of literary bundles and goods and our pick of titles from other publishers’ bookshelves. We do hope that it provides some interesting and unusual present solutions. Or perhaps you may be tempted to stock up on some reading for yourself . . .

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