Rachel takes a look at Simon’s bookshelves – will she take any books away with her??
Way back in episode 70, I was in Rachel’s flat in London and took a look around her bookcases. We planned a return visit… and then the pandemic happened. But now travel and visiting is easier, we have finally got around to organising Rachel coming out to rural West Oxfordshire to look at my bookcases.
Trailing around with a mic was a bit tricky, so the sound isn’t perfect – but hopefully plenty to enjoy nonetheless.
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The (enormous number of!) books and authors we mention in this episode are:
A Natural History of Ghosts by Roger Clark
Contested Will by James Shapiro
A Woman of Passion: A Life of E. Nesbit by Julia Briggs
The Lark by E. Nesbit
The Life and Loves of E. Nesbit by Eleanor Fitzsimons
Five Windows by D.E. Stevenson
Four Gardens by Margery Sharp
Return to Cheltenham by Helen Ashton
The Half-Crown House by Helen Ashton
Jane Austen
Master Man by Ruby Ayres
Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker
Elizabeth Bowen
Illyrian Spring by Ann Spring
Her Son’s Wife by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
The Brimming Cup by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
The Deepening Stream by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
The Two Doctors by Elizabeth Cambridge
Susan and Joanna by Elizabeth Cambridge
Willa Cather
Children of the Archbishop by Norman Collins
London Belongs to Me by Norman Collins
The Double Heart by Lettice Cooper
Desirable Residence by Lettice Cooper
The Rising Tide by Margaret Deland
Will Shakespeare by Clemence Dane
Catchword and Claptrap by Rose Macaulay
Virginia Woolf
Tea Is So Intoxicating by Mary Essex
The Amorous Bicycle by Mary Essex
A Child in the Theatre by Rachel Ferguson
Alas, Poor Lady by Rachel Ferguson
The Brontes Went To Woolworths by Rachel Ferguson
The Matchmaker by Stella Gibbons
My American by Stella Gibbons
Miss Linsey and Pa by Stella Gibbons
Told In Winter by Jon Godden
Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden
Brief Candles by Aldous Huxley
The Honours Board by Pamela Hansford Johnson
An Error of Judgement by Pamela Hansford Johnson
The Unspeakable Skipton by Pamela Hansford Johnson
Love of Seven Dolls by Paul Gallico
Coronation by Paul Gallico
Too Many Ghosts by Paul Gallico
The Hand of Mary Constable by Paul Gallico
Stephen Leacock
The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins
Harriet by Elizabeth Jenkins
Honey by Elizabeth Jenkins
Robert and Helen by Elizabeth Jenkins
Herbert Jenkins
The World My Wilderness by Rose Macaulay
The Towers of Trebizond by Rose Macaulay
Dangerous Ages by Rose Macaulay
The Making of Bigot by Rose Macaulay
Mystery at Geneva by Rose Macaulay
What Not by Rose Macaulay
Told By An Idiot by Rose Macaulay
Summertime by Denis Mackail
We’re Here by Denis Mackail
Greenery Street by Denis Mackail
What Next? by Denis Mackail
Ian and Felicity by Denis Mackail
The House by William McElwee
The Heir by Vita Sackville-West
Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley
The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley
Safety Pins by Christopher Morley
Thunder on the Left by Christopher Morley
Where The Blue Begins by Christopher Morley
An Unexpected Guest by Bernadette Murphy
Beverley Nichols
The Shoreless Sea by Mollie Panter-Downes
The Storm Bird by Mollie Panter-Downes
My Husband Simon by Mollie Panter-Downes
The Priory by Dorothy Whipple
Bewildering Cares by Winifred Peck
A Clear Dawn by Winifred Peck
Housebound by Winifred Peck
Lavender and Old Lace by Myrtle Reed
The White Shield by Myrtle Reed
Cluny Brown by Margery Sharp
The Gipsy in the Parlour by Margery Sharp
D.E. Stevenson
Elizabeth Taylor
Gin and Ginger by Lady Kitty Vincent
Lipstick by Lady Kitty Vincent
The Benefactress by Elizabeth von Arnim
Princess Priscilla’s Fortnight by Elizabeth von Arnim
Father by Elizabeth von Arnim
The Happy Ending by Leo Walmsley
The Golden Waterwheel by Leo Walmsley
Love in the Sun by Leo Walmsley
The True Heart by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Swans on an Autumn River by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day by Winifred Watson
Fell Top by Winifred Watson
Some Must Watch by Ethel Lina White
The Wheel Turns by Ethel Lina White
The Dragon in Shallow Waters by Vita Sackville-West
The Hills Sleep On by Joanna Cannan
Three Lives by Lettice Cooper
The Thinking Reed by Rebecca West
Elizabeth Berridge
Margaret Drabble
The East Window by Margaret Morrison
There is a Tide by Agnes Logan
The Dogs Do Bark by Barbara Willard
The Gothic House by Jean Ross
The Visitors by Mary MacMinni es
A Lion, A Mouse and a Motor-Car by Dorothea Townshend
Sally on the Rocks by Winifred Boggs
O, The Brave Music by Dorothy Evelyn Smith
Faster! Faster! by E.M. Delafield
The War Workers by E.M. Delafield
Mrs Harter by E.M. Delafield
The Heel of Achilles by E.M. Delafield
Tension by E.M. Delafield
The Pelicans by E.M. Delafield
Frost at Morning by Richmal Crompton
Matty and the Dearingroydes by Richmal Crompton
This Little Art by Kate Briggs
Edith Olivier
A Fairy Leapt Upon My Knee by Bea Howe
David Garnett
Sylvia Townsend Warner
Pride of Place by Patience McElwee
Miss Elizabeth Bennet by A.A. Milne
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Infused: Adventures in Tea by Henrietta Lovell
Beware of Children by Verily Anderson
Spam Tomorrow by Verily Anderson
The Three Brontes by May Sinclair
The Three Sisters by May Sinclair
Katherine Mansfield
Mitford sisters
As It Was and World Without End by Helen Thomas
Edward Thomas
Love, Interrupted by Simon Thomas
Leaves in the Wind by Alpha of the Plough
Wintering by Katherine May
The Electricity of Every Living Thing by Katherine May
Oliver Sacks
Random Commentary by Dorothy Whipple
The Other Day by Dorothy Whipple
Very enjoyable! Looking forward to hearing about Five Windows and Four Gardens both of which I haven’t read. I have, however, read Angela Thirkell’s Three Houses, which you should squeeze in there!
Ha! Oh yes, good point – I wonder how high we can go…
What an amazing list! I’ll listen to the podcast this weekend. I have Four Gardens in mind for later this year–I bought it for Kindle last year. Most of these are new to me which is wonderful.
It was definitely more typing than usual :D
As I listened to the podcast and read the list, I was wishing you could have done a video. Would have been even better, so I could see those beautiful books myself. I am jealous as well. I live in Canada, and since I started listening to your podcast, I have gone to more second hand bookshops in search of these treasures. They don’t seem to be readily available. I have found maybe 4 older Virago’s , but that’s about it.
We are so lucky to have relatively easy access to secondhand bookshops here, diminishing though they are! And as a Canadian listener, was I right that Leacock is known but not read?
Yay! What a fun episode. Agree it would’ve been exciting to see a video version of this episode to look at all of those amazing book covers, but it was also fun to just imagine the gems in Simon’s collection. So happy that Rachel changed her opinions about aggressive book culling once she visited!! Very excited for the next episode – I received Dean Street Press’ Four Gardens by Margery Sharp for Christmas, so I’m going to try and read it before the next episode is released. Cluny Brown is the only Sharp I’ve read so far, and Four Gardens sounds so different (perhaps more contemplative by the back-of-the-book description), so I’m very interested to see how Sharp’s writing changes throughout her novels – so excited that Dean Street Press has republished so many of them!
Thanks Wym! Yes, a video would be great in an ideal world but I don’t think either of us have the skills :D And I was shocked when Rachel changed her mind on culling!
Sharp has such a range and is almost always really wonderful, so I’m excited to read these.
Wonderfully entertaining! I’ve missed looking at other people’s bookshelves, so this was the next best thing! I would have liked to hear about the Beverley collection thought!
Thanks Karen! Yes, I should have made Rachel linger there :D She did add one – replacing my copy of A Thatched Roof with a nicer edition.
Brilliant episode Simon, and as you say a LOT of books in that list. So many that I have actually read some for once – and even more of them are languishing on my shelves. I was so pleased every time I heard you say ‘but I haven’t read it’…
I’d never let Rachel within a mile of my house – it’s everything that she was surprised yours was not; overflowing bookcases, stacks of books everywhere, and at the moment a very, very small pile marked ‘charity shop’ (and the few books that are in it are largely there because I bought two copies by mistake…)
I’d love to see a picture of your shelves. When people post photos or videos of themselves in front of their books, I find myself trying to enlarge the picture so that I can read the titles.
And I’d never be able to make a video in a million years; you are not alone.
Thanks so much, Rosemary! Glad all the unread books weren’t offputting :D And let’s just say Rachel is generous in her interpretation of my shelves.
Some of the covers are now up on my instagram now :)
Loved to hear Rachel’s comments while going through your shelves, and I also wish we’d had a video. I have Four Gardens, a lovely hardback edition, and will read it before your next podcast. The sound was fine. I’d love to hear about your softcover book collection.
Yes, a video would be lovely if I were better at tech :D I’ll have to get Rachel back for the other rooms!
Great episode, and I can hardly believe that this is only a portion of your books! Would love another segment with more rooms in your flat.
And I am SO JEALOUS that you have the Milne play of Miss Elizabeth Bennet. The only copy for sale online is shockingly expensive. I’m very glad I saw it performed last year. I do remember hearing that there was another P&P theater adaptation about the same time, so it was shelved and hardly ever performed, I guess that’s why it’s so rare. Hopefully in a few years it will be available again after it enters the public domain!