‘In the pages of Slightly Foxed I have found my people . . .’

‘Dear Gail Pirkis and Hazel Wood, I enjoy Slightly Foxed so very much. I’m a reading addict, bibliophile and writer who grew up in England but lived in the States for twenty-seven years. While there I couldn’t manage overseas subscriptions. Now I’m back in the UK, and when I saw SF on the counter of my local independent bookshop, Cheltenham’s Suffolk Anthology, I subscribed. Since then, I’ve rediscovered favourite books and writers, and found wonderful new ones. For example, Anthony Longden’s piece on the Verdant Green books by ‘Cuthbert Bede’ (Autumn 2017) meant that when I saw an old edition in an antique shop, I knew I should buy it. As well as being as witty and interesting as Longden says, Bede is invaluable background for my new novel. The current SF has many treasures; I’m especially struck by Sarah Perry’s piece on The Blue Field – I adore these blue flowers, admire Sarah Perry, and love ‘the Englishness of parsnip wine drunk in imprudent quantities . . .’ And how good to see Robin Blake on The Man on a Donkey, a much-loved book in my childhood home that I thought forgotten. So, in the pages of Slightly Foxed I have found my people.’ C. Whittemore, Gloucestershire