Reviews

Frances Bingham, Valentine Ackland, A Transgressive Life

The Observer featured the book on 4 April 2021: ‘A new biography of Ackland, out next month, is to reveal the level of secret service confusion about this unconventional pair of writers at the beginning of the long period during which they were both objects of state scrutiny. All their correspondence was stopped and read by MI5 officers without their knowledge, and Ackland’s later attempts to enlist for significant war work were blocked.’

Ernest Bramah, What Might Have Been (1907)

‘What Might Have Been is an enjoyable novel that represents one of the better literary efforts in this sub-genre of popular fiction. Bramah writes with humour and a good degree of irony, and his troubling politics are tempered in part by an absurdist, satirical style.’ Foundation, March 2019

‘Smaller presses are also to be thanked for turning their attention to largely forgotten, more middlebrow authors such as Ernest Bramah, and doing us all a favour in the process …Bramah offers the vision of a left-wing state gone horribly wrong … this book was almost certainly on Orwell’s mind when he wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four‘, Times Literary Supplement, 24 November 2017

John Buchan, The Runagates Club (1928)

‘Buchan’s stories are entertaining enough for those fond of tales of horror and excitement with a gentleman narrator’, Times Literary Supplement, 6 July 2018

Melissa Edmundson (ed.) Women’s Weird. Strange Stories by Women, 1890-1940

‘A landmark anthology … Edmundson has curated a solid journey through weird landscapes … The notes/annotations at the back of the book by publisher Kate Macdonald should become an industry standard … This is an unmissable, urgent and era-defining work. ‘ – Gingernuts of Horror

‘I’ve been anticipating Women’s Weird from Handheld Press for months now and it has not disappointed … an excellent collection of stories that are agreeably scary whilst you’re reading them, and provide much more to think about when you’re not.’ –  Desperate Reader

‘It’s high time for the release of this new collection of short stories from Handheld Press, edited by expert on women’s supernatural fiction, Melissa Edmundson … Women’s Weird is a collection of stories covering a 50-year period, 1890-1940, illustrating the evolution of weird fiction and showcasing women’s contribution to it. There are a range of styles and themes on display in these stories, some closer to traditional gothic ghost stories, especially in the earlier years, but as soon as we get to Edith Nesbit’s “The Shadow” (1905), we have entered weird fiction territory … Women’s Weird is packed with weird gems.’ – Sublime Horror

Bookmunch were delighted with it: ‘Every story in Women’s Weird justifies its inclusion, and Edmundson’s terrific introduction does a great job of defining not only the weird, but shifting our view of history to centre women’s writing within the genre. The book feels entirely of the moment, and its selection of stories is completely perfect … An exceptional anthology, packed with brilliant fiction. In years to come this is going to be cited in essays as an essential part of the weird fiction canon.’

‘There are so many stories I loved in this collection, but the ones that stood out to me as unlike any of the weird fiction I’ve read before were those that located their horror within the mundane … “Couching at the Door” was perhaps my favorite story in the collection, and its exploration of the relationship between art and morality as well as the story of a hedonistic older man leading a beautiful young protege into depravity’ – The Gothic Library

Read this interview / essay with Melissa Edmundson in Cunning Folk magazine: ‘… for me, Weird is often “quieter” than horror. There’s something ominous waiting just below the surface. Unlike horror, there is also more left to the imagination.’

‘This book is the perfect companion to an evening of weird … The stories explore a vast array of ideas and occurrences that feed into our human psyche, the scares and the fear that we hear about in folklore and legend come to the surface in these stories. In some cases, these tales go beyond our primal fears and go into the world of the surreal, opening up new ideas and new fears for us to process.’ – Black Sunday

‘There are ghosts, hints of supernatural, cavemen, science, and even a story about a haunted saucepan. That was personally one of my favorites.; But that was a slight problem, every time I finished a story I found myself saying “oh that one has to be one of my favorites now” and before I knew it, well, I had 13 favorite stories out of 13.’ – The Caffeinated Reader

‘The range of authors and stories suggests that the Weird is perhaps more an approach than a genre, demonstrating the Weird’s ability to discomfort and disturb … Women’s Weird is an essential read for any fan or scholar of Weird fiction, and we are indebted to both Handheld Press and Melissa Edmundson for performing this service.’ – The Fantasy Hive

‘It achieves something I find unusual in anthologies: it is a satisfying read that feels complete in and of itself. Though I had my favourites among the stories, there isn’t a single one I would remove, and the stories are really well-arranged so that you sweep through the different styles and emotions effortlessly.’ – A Cat, A Book and A Cup of Tea

The Times Literary Supplement reviewed Women’s Weird for Hallowe’en: ‘The collection is a deliberate effort to attenuate, in the horror tradition, the dominance of men like M R James, Arthur Machen, H P Lovecraft and Ambrose Bierce, and restore to prominence innovative writers such as May Sinclair, Mary Butts and Margery Lawrence … The stories in Women’s Weird, spanning the period from the late nineteenth century to the eve of the Second World War, branch out from an older ghost-story tradition to “explore more universal imaginings of fear, unease and dread”. They show the continuing influence of Gothic and supernatural tropes and the effect of their collision with a modernizing world and women’s changing roles within it.’

Gabriela Frost wrote an essay for LucyWriters analysing the social commentary of the stories: ‘Women’s Weird invites us to ask: what did women writers in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Britain and America know to be truly frightening? … These women’s stories are not just overexcited fancies or plays on the public mood. They have a bearing on real life. They subtly extrapolate the traps and horrors not just of the supernatural – but of contemporary womanhood itself.’

From BSFA Review 9: ‘I … celebrate this anthology, and its thirteen stories, a number of which were entirely new to me. There isn’t a single weak story here. They’re often provocative, always entertaining, and they leave the reader in a thoughtful frame of mind.’

The Literary Ladies Guide has given Women’s Weird a good review, as did Bookish Chat and Madame J-Mo.

Amazing Stories were very impressed: ‘Another brilliant publication from Handheld Press, editor Melissa Edmundson has compiled a fitting collection of weird tales by a powerful class of women authors in the anthology Women’s Weird: Strange Stories by Women, 1890-1940. For those expecting typical ghost stories filled with mysterious supernatural elements familiar to the era, you’re about to be pleasantly surprised. Often filled with a social commentary that only women of the period can covey with such fluidity, the definition of “weird” becomes blurred and readers will find themselves pausing – a lot.’

‘Women’s Weird is a valuable, important work in the study of weird writing. It is a powerful reminder that, despite what we may be told, artists and artworks are rarely lost but rather become forgotten, or even actively suppressed, when they don’t fit the narratives of dominant cultural frameworks. Thankfully, we have scholars like Melissa Edmundson reminding us that this writing still exists and showing how it is still relevant today.’ – Daniel Petersen in Dead Reckonings, July 2020

Jennifer of the Ladies of Horror Fiction reviewed it in her Bookden: ‘It’s such a treasure … I absolutely loved it.’

Vector, the review of the British Science Fiction Association, said: ‘a welcome addition to the shelf … a strong collection of ghost stories written by women, mostly reflecting on the hopes and fears of women. I’d recommend it as a collection without hesitation … There isn’t a single weak story here.’

‘I enjoyed reading the Introduction and Notes almost as much as the stories themselves … There are numerous stories I haven’t encountered before, and each tells a tale which goes beyond the traditional ghost story and reminds readers of “the strangeness of the world”, as Edmundson quotes from Ann and Jeff VanderMeer. I particularly enjoyed those which featured symbols of domesticity evolving from the ordinary to extraordinary.’ – Horrified

Melissa Edmundson (ed.) Women’s Weird 2: More Strange Stories by Women, 1891-1937

‘Terrifically enjoyable, surreal’ – Washington Post

‘One of the best anthologies of the year’ – Bookmunch

‘Like the first volume, Women’s Weird 2 contains 13 stories of the weird and supernatural by women writers spanning the formative years of the genre … the tension between society’s expectation of domestic roles for women and women gaining more agency for themselves is made more explicit … In keeping with the high standard of all Handheld Press releases, the volume contains wonderful cover art, another fascinating introductory essay by Melissa Edmundson further illustrating the context of these stories and their place in the weird, and extensive explanatory footnotes from Kate Macdonald. This is another essential purchase for fans and scholars of weird fiction alike. ‘ – The Fantasy Hive

‘Women’s Weird 2 is altogether readable and compelling. It provides a better portal into this increasingly popular genre than many of the recently released books that promise to provide maps of the horror genre “for girls.” Editor Melissa Edmundson has produced a valuable collection for scholars and curious readers alike.’ – New York Journal of Books

‘shows how rich and diverse women’s weird fiction was in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in supernatural fiction.’ – multiple reviews of most of the stories are in the September 2020 section in Supernatural Tales

‘The primary strength of the Women’s Weird collections is at the intersection of an expert-curated anthology and making this material accessible to worldwide audiences. In helping the average reader rediscover a critical part of the past of the Weird, collections like this will heavily influence how the genre continues to develop. We will always have our Weird essentials, but with these collections, we are starting to get an idea of the bigger picture, and I, for one, cannot wait to see where this influence and understanding lead us.’ – What Sleeps Beneath

‘It’s a strong collection – which I had expected (13 tales included, and again I consider this a nice touch), and arguably more entertaining than volume 1 – which I found genuinely unsettling at times. This one is safe to read late at night – although Helen Simpson’s ‘Young Magic’ is the sort of thing that burrows into my imagination and sticks there (like a slug in an apple). Nothing especially bad happens in it, but it’s all very disquieting. As ever with Handheld’s books the introductions, bibliography, notes, and biographical details are a real bonus. As collections to read just for the fun of the thing I absolutely recommend both books, but the scholarly element really makes them something more.’ – Desperate Reader

‘Whether you’re into ghosts, demons, fish-men, or tentacled mystery beings, the stories in Women’s Weird 2 explore the full range of the Weird, and you’re sure to find new horrors unlike anything you’ve encountered before.’- The Gothic Library

‘many small and beautifully constructed worlds … all were superbly crafted and chilling in their own way … a particularly female collection – all the stories (apart from one) have strong women at their heart, either as narrators or protagonists, and the fact that they were all written by women makes the collection coherent and the tales all the more chilling.’ – Indie Book Network

‘This is a fantastic collection of stories that manages to add to the previous anthology perfectly – if you enjoyed the first, it’ll be a must read. Perfect for fans of Shirley Jackson and Mary Shelley, or for those interested in the ways women use speculative writing to explore their changing reality through the first half of the 20th century. As ever, read the enlightening introduction last, for fear of spoiling the twists! Unsettling, fascinating, and thoroughly enjoyable’ – A Cat, A Book, and a Cup of Tea

Horrifed loved it. ‘Melissa Edmundson provides an interesting introduction, which focuses on the interaction of the Weird with a developing modernity: ‘our ghosts change as we change; like us, they must adapt, and in so doing, reflect modern sensibilities and complexities’ … ‘A Dreamer’ by Barbara Baynton is one of those stories which might not have made it into a collection less concerned with a broad range of the Weird. A particularly short tale, it has no supernatural elements in it at all, but absolutely drips with dread and tension … ‘Outside the House’ by Bessie Kyffin-Taylor is my final pick; a Weird tale which – with its origin story about greed and wealth leading to a truly malevolent haunting by the ‘underclass’ – sits alongside ‘The Red Bungalow’ in demonstrating the new concerns of fiction writers of this period. It uses War iconography to conjure up a nightmarish No-Man’s-Land of smoke, fire, blackened bodies, skeletons, and human greed.’

‘While the stories in this collection represent an amalgamation of sub-genres ranging from outright ghost stories to “what did he bring back from the jungle?” pulpy horror adventures, the common thread of weirdness ties them all together. Many of the stories also have elements of surreal or disturbing domesticity (note how many of the titles include houses, rooms, etc.), which may be attributed to the era and the commonality of the authors’ gender.’ – Gingernuts of Horror

Zelda Fitzgerald, Save Me the Waltz (1932)

‘The Fitzgeralds seemed to be incapable of even attending a party without leaving written traces of the occasion. Scholars have had a lot of material to rifle through while attempting to decide who copied whom and how much Scott discouraged his wife … for those wondering what Zelda did do, Handheld Press have reprinted Save Me The Waltz,  her only completed novel, in a nice scholarly edition … Zelda excels at descriptions of places, witty phrases and bon mots; conversation is lively and loud, and some of the book’s best passages have the pull and snap of screwball comedy’,  The London Review of Books 

‘Templeton’s introduction to the current reprint illuminates the novel by providing an overview of the Fitzgeralds’ lives together and the period during which the novel was written … The novel draws heavily on autobiographical details including the broad strokes of many of the problems that contributed to her mental breakdown in 1930—a dysfunctional marriage, incipient alcoholism, exhausting ballet practice … There has always been a sense that there is a story about Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald that has not yet been told and deserves to be’, Modernism/modernity

In the Times Literary Supplement, Joanna Scutts reviews our edition alongside the Variorum edition of Zelda’s husband’s work: ‘the much prettier Handheld Press edition of Save Me the Waltz is the latest in a series of “rediscoveries” of Zelda’s only novel, which still calls for explanation and, to an extent, justification.’

The F Scott Fitzgerald Review said: ‘both handsomely designed and conveniently priced for classroom purposes … includes explanatory notes, which are particularly helpful for a novel laden with literary allusions, flora and fauna, and ballet terminology … The real attraction in this edition, however, is the introduction by Erin E Templeton … she brings a fresh perspective to the book informed by recent developments in modernist studies’ (vol 17, 2019).

Read the articles about how Handheld came to republish Save Me the Waltz. Handheld Press interview Fitzgerald_News_2019

Nicola Griffith, So Lucky (2018)

So Lucky is a book that will change the way you view the world and stands as a testament to Griffith’s writing skills. This is not a long book, but I don’t think any readers will feel short-changed by that.  The two essays and the interview at the end are a bonus and I read them equally avidly.’ – Crime Review

‘A terse and brutally urgent novel, So Lucky is a reminder that Griffith is one of the most important writers working today.’ DIVA magazine named So Lucky their Book of the Month for December 2018

‘A compact, brutal story of losing power and creating community … So Lucky is beautifully written, with a flexible, efficient precision that embodies the protagonist’s voice and character.’ New York Times Book Review

‘A psychological thriller, effective and chilling … A disconcerting but very necessary book.’ ― Dana Hansen, Chicago Review of Books

‘A short, fast-paced whirlwind of a novel … Spine tingling and in places downright terrifying.’ ― Independent

‘With great insight and power, Griffith chronicles one woman’s fight … the plot twists into a sophisticated thriller.’ ― Jane Ciabattari, BBC Culture

Read Nicola’s interview on Disability Arts Online about how So Lucky fits into her activist life.

Inez Holden, Blitz Writing: Night Shift & It Was Different At the Time (1941 & 1943)

‘A number of years ago, the Furrowed Middlebrow blog mentioned a book that sounded like just my thing: Inez Holden’s Night Shift. A short documentary-style novel about the lives of workers in a Blitz-threatened factory over the course of a week? Sign me up! Unfortunately there was not a single copy for sale online anywhere in the world, not even for ludicrous sums of cash. Every now and then I’d have another look, and every time there would be nothing. Now Handheld have republished Night Shift, along with Holden’s It Was Different at the Time, her diaries of 1938-1941. It’s available! It’s affordable! It’s mine! And it was worth the wait.’ Caustic Cover Critic

‘Whether her dialogue is invented or recorded — probably a mix of both — Holden was expert at capturing a whole person in their words. Whether it’s a long recollection by Mabs, one of the factory workers in Night Shift that’s almost a one-act play about battling Romeos, or just a line or two, Holden’s gift for exposition via dialogue is exceptional.’ The Neglected Books Page

‘From the very beginning of Night Shift, the reader is immersed in the chaos and destruction of the London Blitz as the sounds of an air-raid form the backdrop to the work of the women employed in the factory. As well as being a fascinating companion piece to Night Shift, It Was Different At The Time demonstrates Inez Holden’s observational skills and neat turns of phrase.’ – What Cathy Read Next

‘Night Shift was her most critically successful work, and is a largely autobiographical account of the lives of those who worked the night shift in a factory during the war, and publishing it alongside her diaries was a marvellous idea, as it allows you to then appreciate the real-life experiences that informed the events and characters she depicts. I absolutely loved reading these, and am delighted to have discovered Inez Holden.’ – Booksnob

Lucy Scholes in the Paris Review, writing about Holden’s other wartime novel There’s No Story There (which we’ll be publishing in 2021), said that Holden was ‘a writer of documentary realism with a serious socialist agenda, empathetically depicting the lives of the working classes’.

‘This edition combines two of these wartime texts, which can be seen as essential documents of the Blitz … Holden’s attention to the personalities and backgrounds of those she worked among, to their body language and habits of speech, renders her portrayals vivid and memorable.’ – Rod Mengham in the Times Literary Supplement, 20 September 2019

‘The thing that really struck me about Night Shift is how little has changed for women working in menial jobs. The concerns about wages being paid properly, the way they talk and complain, the relationship with the men in charge, and their relationships with each other will all be familiar to anybody who has worked in a low paid job with a lot of other people, especially a lot of other women. Other people must have written about this, but I can’t think of another example off hand of anyone doing it with the empathy or respect that Holden does.’ – Desperate Reader

Inez Holden, There’s No Story There (1944)

‘Holden is challenging the idea that the working people have nothing interesting about them. On the contrary they are individuals, willing, resourceful and exploited. The title appears on the final page. A former journalist is asked why she doesn’t write about Statevale. ‘There’s no story there,’ she replies. We, who have read thirteen chapters, know otherwise. What makes this novel so successful is Inez Holden’s powers of observation, her ability to write believable dialogue and her ability to use all the senses in describing Statevale. I really enjoyed this volume.’ – Bookword

from What Cathy Read Next: ‘The men and women who worked in the real life counterparts of the Statevale munitions factory imagined in the book, were far from ‘ordinary’. It was dirty, dangerous work as the book vividly depicts … Holden’s sense of empathy is most clearly demonstrated in the character of Julian, silently transporting dangerous materials around the factory whilst all the time engaged in an internal dialogue of ‘what ifs’ until the intensity of another character’s story prompts him finally to speak.’

from Desperate Reader: ‘This book came out with Margaret Kennedy’s Where Stands A Wingèd Sentry and it is absolutely worth reading both together because both feel like they show a part of wartime history that’s under-represented. In Where Stands A Wingèd Sentry it’s Kennedy’s willingness to share her fears and prejudices, in There’s No Story There it’s all about the behind the scenes work.’

from Great War Fiction: ‘‘There’s no story here’ is what a journalist says, dismissing the factory as not newsworthy. Inez Holden proves her wrong in one sense, by showing the workers there as varied and lively, and making a collective effort that is extraordinary … Holden was clearly a good reporter. Her novel is first-rate social documentary.’

‘There’s No Story There is a richly absorbing novel about conscripted workers at a huge factory in the north of England. Holden’s characters in Night Shift produced camera parts for war planes; in this book there is more at stake, for the workers at Statevale make bombs and shells. Careless talk might cost lives across the home front but in this munitions factory it is careless movements which prove fatal … A vivid composite picture takes shape, one depicting not only collective effort but also personal struggles, hopes and fears.’ – The Herald

‘There’s No Story There is another window onto a less familiar part of the landscape of wartime memory – one that isn’t made into films or Sunday night tv drama, and if it was much written about at the time has since been allowed to languish back into obscurity. The title is an obvious clue as to why this might have happened … Nothing about this book was precisely what I expected, all of it was much more than I could have hoped for.’ – Shiny New Books

Peter Haring Judd, The Akeing Heart. Letters between Sylvia Townsend Warner, Valentine Ackland and Elizabeth Wade White (2013)

Helen Sutherland in the Sylvia Townsend Warner Journal (April 2020) definitely approved of our revised edition. ‘In reviewing [the original edition of] The Akeing Heart … I identified a number of shortcomings, some of which were sufficiently serious to damage the book considerably as a basis for further research. Nevertheless, in conclusion I argued that “in an ideal world The Akeing Heart would be picked up by a publisher, given the benefit of a firm editorial hand and issued in a revised edition”. Well, sometimes you just get lucky, and fortune, in the guise of Handheld Press, has smiled on The Akeing Heart, making the ideal actual … although the content is unchanged, the well-judged and sensitive editorial interventions have created an entirely different reading experience: the distractions are gone and the women’s voices can be clearly heard.’

‘Peter Haring Judd has curated the most thrilling, romantic and heartbreaking accounts of a major 20th century literary love story. Covering the period of the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War, in 1930s New York and Connecticut and in 1950s Dorset, this is an intense and beautifully written exploration of two decades in the lives of four women.’ DIVA magazine (2018)

Margaret Kennedy, Where Stands A Wingèd Sentry (1941)

‘Where Stands A Wingèd Sentry was published by Yale University Press in 1941 in the US … but never in Britain until now by Handheld Press, which has a mission to rediscover forgotten stories. It has struck gold with this absorbing and engaging slice of social history … This is a fascinating book, an important example of contemporary home-front literature.’ – Cathy Rentzenbrink, The Times

‘She talks about politics but also writes with equal verve about floor polish and how the certainties of ordinary life can be whisked away in an instant.’ – Sunday Express

‘Margaret Kennedy’s skill as a writer is in evidence throughout this memoir. I enjoyed her sketches of people, such as the woman who posts pro-German leaflets (like an antivaxxer on social media); the refugee couple from Vienna who have seen terrible things; her friend who denies that anything bad is happening … She comments upon class issues, pouring scorn upon the ‘Gluebottoms’ who arrive seeking safety and expecting service they had enjoyed before … The presentation of this memoir in this new edition is excellent. There is a useful and interesting introduction by Faye Hammill.’ – Bookword

‘One of the many things I loved about the book is the persistent sense of defiance and fortitude. I found this remarkable given the author did not know at the time whether the war would end in victory or defeat. For anyone interested in women’s writing or the experiences of those on the ‘Home Front’ during the Second World War, Where Stands A Wingèd Sentry is a gem waiting to be discovered amongst the growing list of titles published by Handheld Press.’ – What Cathy Read Next

‘There’s a lot in Where Stands A Wingèd Sentry that feels like it could be being written now. The same surprise at feeling ourselves living history, not knowing what’s coming, wondering if it will be a social leveler, if something better can be built on the ruins of the old normal, growing awareness of social disparity and anger at the visible effects of poverty on children’s bodies. There’s plenty about fear, isolation, and fifth columnists (which seems appropriate after [the March 2021] riots in Bristol) too. Margaret’s fears for her children are quite hard to read.’ – Desperate Reader

from Ninja Book Box’s March Books of the Month: ‘These diaries are a beautiful combination of bleakness and fear, paired with everyday things and the general hilarity which can be found in small daily stories … This is the first time I’d heard of Margaret Kennedy, but included in the book (and in all of Handheld Press’s books) is a brilliant introduction giving context and background information about the author and the book’s publication history.’

from Shiny New Books: ‘Beautifully produced, as always, by Handheld, with excellent explanatory notes, this is a really valuable reprint both for anyone interested in the history of WW2 in Britain and for the views of an intelligent and literary observer. As Faye Hammill points out in her useful introduction, written in the summer of 2020, the extreme anxiety of the 1940s has been mirrored in our own time, though with a different cause – a time when, as she says, “British people began to move about, to work, and to relate to one another, in new and unprecedented ways”.’

‘This is far from being a gruelling read. Kennedy’s powers of observation and her sense of the absurd made me laugh out loud … Kennedy writes brilliantly about the way that every day life somehow continues even in times of great stress and anxiety.’ – A Reading Life

Rebecca Wynter and Pink Dandelion (eds), A Quaker Conscientious Objector (2020)

‘Worth the wait for the intrinsic value of the letters themselves; the interest of the writer’s life; the illustrations the letters provide for an understanding of developments in British Quaker history in the twentieth century and in particular the secularisation and politicisation of the Society. The Introduction by Rebecca Wynter and Ben Pink Dandelion makes a valuable and accessible guide to Wilfred Littleboy the man, to his letters and to the Society of Friends in the twentieth century.’ – Journal of the Friends Historical Society

‘The excellent 46-page introduction gives a history lesson sufficient to locate Littleboy in a time when the Quietist period had ended and Friends felt renewed vitality.’ – Friends Journal

‘The personal papers of individual men and women who chose to say “No” to that war and suffered the consequences occasionally see the light of day in a more general publication about war resisters but rarely are they published in their
own right. This collection of the British First World War conscientious objector, Wilfrid Littleboy’s Prison Letters, is one of those rarities and all the more welcome for it … as a
record of one man’s experiences as a CO they are exemplary. Handheld Press and their editors are to be thanked for making it possible for us to share them as they are for having brought other hitherto private papers of CO testimony to a wider readership.’ – Cyril Pearce in Peace & Change

Rose Macaulay, Non-Combatants and Others. Writings Against War, 1916-1945

‘It’s an impressive collection, and as well as giving a fascinating overview of Macaulay’s views on war, it also makes marvellous reading. Non-Combatants really brings home the devastation of war, something we haven’t seen at close quarters in the UK for some time; and it’s a chilling reminder of how easy it is for a country to slip into right wing intolerance with all the awful consequences that brings.’ – Shiny New Books

‘A stylish and well-produced collection of her writings’ – Bookword

‘The redoubtable Handheld Press has brought out Non-Combatants and Others together with a selection of Macaulay’s essays of reportage and reflection for the Spectator, Time and Tide, and other periodicals, written between 1936 and 1945, and “Miss Anstruther’s Letters”, a heart-wrenching and highly autobiographical short story of the Blitz. Reading the whole in sequence is to witness a deliberately cultivated indifference towards war harden – many would say strengthen – into pacifist resolve.’ – Catherine Taylor, Brixton Review of Books

‘An excellent collection of writings against war – Rose Macaulay was a committed pacifist in the years before the Second World War … this novel and the non-fiction pieces that follow it provide an extraordinary sense of the pain and anger that so many felt towards the suffering that war brought with it.- ‘ HeavenAli

Rose Macaulay, Potterism (1920)

‘Rose Macaulay’s perceptive post-war observations about the 1920s have great relevance for what we are living through now. Handheld are republishing Potterism in August, and what with ‘woke’ culture and confidence in the media currently undergoing a bit of a wobble, there couldn’t be a more apposite moment to read it.’ – Dove Grey Reader, August 2020

‘A current concern that has its roots in those days was the attitude, in the press as much as in wider society, of British exceptionalism, ‘we hate all foreigners’. Potterism, published in 1920 … had something to say about this attitude, especially when expressed as anti-Semitism. She was an advocate of values, truth and integrity.’ – Bookword

‘The reason to read Potterism, though, is that it’s far more than the sum of its parts. It’s slyly funny, perceptive, clever, compelling, relevant – everything you might want to read over a lazy weekend. It’s also full of razor sharp observations, which makes it a book I want to re-read (possibly with a pencil for some underlining) with attention to tease out some of the things Macaulay has to say for more lengthy consideration. Which is the hallmark of a Handheld book – they all have a lot going on just under the surface.’ – from Shiny New Books

‘Wrapped up in the actions and words of this cast of characters is a timely and authentic portrait of the time. There is a simplicity to the writing, a wit that is stark, sharp and revealing. The novel is steeped in the feeling of the age. Tackling subjects such as spiritualism, rise of socialism, emerging changes in class structure, antisemitism and much more, here is a biting social commentary on the press; its uses and misuses.’ – from Bookbound

‘Rose Macaulay’s sharp satire on British journalism … makes it abundantly obvious that our current lamentable newspaper coverage – with honourable exceptions – has very deep roots indeed.’ – A Life in Books

‘That this novel should be re-issued at a time when many people are concerned with the rise of fake news and Facebook algorithms is very timely. That a novel first published in 1920 should chime so loudly one hundred years later makes it surprisingly relevant.’ – HeavenAli

‘Potterism was first published in 1920 and was recently republished by Handheld Press, and if ever there was a book for now this is it. It’s somehow reassuring to discover that human nature changes very little … That reactions to extreme life and world events remain equally unpredictable and perhaps, dare I say, are occasionally bizarre and incomprehensible … With its themes of women’s lives, and the limitations of marriage and childbirth, along with a fascinating element of anti-semitism (Rose Macaulay was most definitely not anti-semitic but portrays it astutely) I must now confess that I read this cover to cover back in July, and couldn’t put it down.’ – Dove Grey Reader

‘Beautifully produced with a stylish cover design – very much in line with the book’s early 20th-century setting. In essence, the novel is a satire, one that allows the author to cast a critical eye over many subjects including socialism, spiritualism, religion, the ethics of war and, perhaps most importantly, the powerful nature of the newspaper industry … a timely and rather prescient commentary that continues to resonate one hundred years on’ – JacquiWine

Rose Macaulay What Not (1918)

‘What Not is barely mentioned in biographical writing about Macaulay, said Kate Macdonald at Handheld, “probably because it wasn’t much noticed at the time, due to its withdrawal and lack of advertising on its reissue. The plot’s themes and subject matter were also challenging, not anything like as accessible … as they are now”’  The Guardian (10 December 2018),

‘The book is a protest against social control, but a love story at heart. As Kitty and Nicholas’s love grows like an “embryo”, Macaulay emphasises its naturalness: “their relationship burgeoned like flowers in spring”. Her writing is stirring, funny, uniquely imaginative. This book should not be forgotten again’, The Guardian (28 March 2019),

‘published towards the beginning of one of her more fruitful periods, What Not is a forgotten gem in a prolific career’, The Times 13 April 2019

Margaret Drabble reviewed What Not in the Times Literary Supplement: ‘It is a more sombre work [than Brave New World], with a sense of end-of-war fatigue that has more in common with the mood of Orwell … full of interesting sociological and historical observations, about the status of women newly enrolled in government employment by the war machine (Macaulay herself had worked in the Ministry of Information, as had Wells and Arnold Bennett) and about minor points of etiquette, such as whether “you can suitably go to church with a dog in your muff”.’ 7 June 2019

‘This edition continues Handheld Press’s commitment to reprinting classic sf and fantasy, but this work is especially important as it presents Macaulay’s novel as she intended it.’ Paul March-Russell in Foundation, 2019.

‘The feel of the book, with its raw satire and a populace at breaking point, seems very relevant to Brexit Britain just now, so the Handheld Press’s re-publication is well-judged. A wonderfully complex book which questions whether being truly rational is better than being personally fulfilled …’ Hall’s Bookshop, on GoodReads.

From Nick Hubble in BSFA Review 9: ‘it probably makes sense to see What Not as a comically resigned lament for the impossibility of evading the cruel stupidity of life without imposing a system that is even crueller and more stupid. However, there is also just the faintest suggestion in Kitty’s momentary out-of-body experience, in which she realises the entire society depicted in What Not is no more than a “queer little excited corner of the universe”, that other worlds are possible.’

From the Women’s Revew of Books: ‘Throughout What Not, Macaulay’s writing moves smoothly from concise observational beauty … to biting social commentary lampooning both public pretensions and unchecked governmental power. What Not has a delicious snark, which, for all its antiquated turns of phrase, makes the novel feel surprisingly fresh. With its depiction of a successful revolt as a mass movement, rather than the fight of a few enlightened individuals, What Not is a rare dystopia. Asking many questions about the ideologies wielded by charismatic leaders in the service of authoritarianism, whilst centering the experiences of working, independent women, What Not is a century old and yet unexpectedly relevant.’ (June 2019)

James Machin (ed.) British Weird. Selected Short Fiction, 1893-1937

‘Tempting, macabre treats … not only classic stories but also less familiar ones’ – Washington Post

‘Altogether Machin’s anthology is a very successful attempt to condense a long and extraordinarily rich era of quality fiction into just nine stories, also providing a good mixture of the renowned and the less well-known. It’s highly recommended for readers who are new to the stories of the period, while also rewarding long-term fans. ‘ – Gingernuts of Horror

‘This book is an absolute must-read for anyone with even a passing interest in the pre-WW2 era of the British Weird, and the stories have been chosen with obvious care. Machin has avoided the temptation towards an over-emphasis on the folk-horror weird of the cultish countryside by including more modern-feeling and urban pieces, and there’s a refreshing variety of voices’ – Horrified

‘British Weird is essential for anyone with an academic interest in the Weird. Machin’s introduction wrestles with the perennial question – what exactly IS the Weird? – and manages to unearth new insights and approaches. As is standard for Handheld Press releases, Kate Macdonald’s erudite notes are particularly helpful for untangling the many arcane references that crop up in the stories and separating the obscure from the fictional. The anthology also reprints Mary Butts’ seminal 1933 essay ‘Ghosties and Ghoulies: Uses of the Supernatural in English Fiction’. Butts’ essay is a companion piece to Lovecraft’s essay ‘Supernatural Horror in Literature’ (1927) in terms of being an early attempt to lay out the groundwork for the genre of Weird fiction and define what it is and who was writing it. Butts proves herself as knowledgeable and as passionate about the field as Lovecraft, but in place of Lovecraft’s staunch atheism, Butts acknowledges her belief in the supernatural throughout, making for a more discursive read that throws up fascinating insight into Butts’ beliefs and writing practices whilst serving as a thoroughly in-depth guide to the early days of the genre.’ – Fantasy Hive

‘This anthology is a beautiful selection of chilling tales which steps out of the cosy drawing rooms of more mainstream offerings and onto the uncanny moorlands that lie beyond.’- Sublime Horror

‘This is a thought-provoking as well as enjoyable collection. Machin’s introduction is excellent, as are Kate Macdonald’s notes, it works brilliantly as a collection of stories to while away dark nights with – especially as there’s plenty to make you be grateful to be safe at home, but there’s a lot more to think about here if you want to. Highly recommended! – Desperate Reader

Vonda N McIntyre, The Exile Waiting (1975)

From BSFA Review 9: ‘Unfortunately, [Vonda N McIntyre] never got to hold this handsome volume before passing away in April 2019. The inclusion of an excellent and detailed afterword by Una McCormack, as well as a list of McIntyre’s writings and helpful suggestions for further reading, make this an invaluable memorial. Also included is a fascinating short story, ‘Cages’, appearing in print for the first time since 1972.’

From Foundation 135 (March 2020): ‘McIntyre’s characters are plunged into both a literal and a metaphorical void, from out of which a light is shed upon the illusion and violence of power. In retrospect, a lineage can be drawn from McIntyre to such contemporary authors as Becky Chambers and Kameron Hurley. As readers, not only of sf’s past but also its future, we are hugely benefited by having the roots of that genealogy restored and made available to us.’

Gerald O’Donovan, Vocations (1922)

‘O’Donovan left the priesthood due to strained relations with his conservative and philistine bishop. His alienation from the church was accelerated by the encyclical letter of 1907 Pascendi dominici gregis, a condemnation of the errors of Modernism. In the story of the Curtin sisters, he indicts late Victorian Catholic values, warped by the privileging of religious vocations over marriage. He is scathing about the waste of youthful potential, especially of women, and realistic about how the pursuit of personal autonomy carries a high price.’ The Dublin Review of Books, November 2018

Jane Oliver & Ann Stafford, Business as Usual (1933)

We are delighted that Business as Usual made it to six Best Books of 2020 lists, for Captive Reader (her actual Best Book of 2020!), Stuck in a Book, A Life In Books, Reading Selfishly, Desperate Reader and Jacqui Wine.

From the London Review Bookshop blog: ‘sometimes I accidentally manage to pick up a book so joyful that even my bleak outlook on life is momentarily altered … [Business as Usual is] told through her letters home and interdepartmental memos, and it will make you wish you still wrote letters, and lament the fact that, even if you did, they’d never be as witty and charming as Hilary’s.’

From Red Magazine online: ‘It pushed all my bookish buttons … This is my platonic ideal of a novel.’

From WI Life, the magazine of the Women’s Institute: ‘fizzes with wit and verve. Its a fascinating insight into 1930s London life and the world of the department store and even earned the praise of Mr Selfridge himself.’

From the Sunday Express magazine, ‘The great charm of this book lies in the fascinating period detail evoking a bygone world, and it’s a must-read for fans of Persephone Books’ rediscovered classics.’

From the Times Literary Supplement, ‘part comedic workplace romance, part gritty social realism … The novel’s epistolary form (Handheld Press have thankfully reproduced the original layout, simulating letterheads, telegrams, shop memoramda, etc) together with charming line illustrations by Ann Stafford, make for lively and engaging reading, while also offering an exposé of the difficulties of single women in negotiating a pre-Second World War male-dominated workplace, trying to survive on low wages and even lower self-esteem.’

From Dove Grey Reader: ‘I was delighted when it arrived tissue-wrapped to reveal that delightful cover. It was one of those to open at the breakfast table, start reading and carry on … If you enjoyed books like High Wages by Dorothy Whipple or Ladies Paradise by Emile Zola  then you will certainly enjoy Business As Usual, not only for its wonderful insights into life in a London department store but also for insights into women’s lives in the 1930s.’

Three months before publication, the first review was a five out of five cats rating from A Cat, A Book and a Cup of Tea! ‘It dives into the mundanity of everyday life, but thrives on the strength of its narrator and her witty skewering of the society around her.’

From Shiny New Books: ‘In the depiction of Hilary’s colleagues and the department store’s customers we get a wonderful portrait of 1930s retail, which included the important lending library that so many people of this period relied upon. It feels like a very realistic, faithful portrait – humorously depicted. This story of a year in Hilary’s life is absolutely delightful, Hilary’s voice is so warm, witty and bright she is immediately engaging. Striding out on her own for the first time, Hilary has to negotiate all the pitfalls of working in retail and living independently away from her family.’

From Katrina Robinson: ‘Business As Usual (published March 2020) by Jane Oliver and Ann Stafford, is dedicated to ‘The People Who Work From Nine to Six’, and has a gorgeous retro cover, this one reproduced from a 1932 issue of The Morris Owner (sort of like a 1930s Top Gear magazine), with in-line quirky line drawings by Ann Stafford. It’s the story of Hilary Fane, with newly minted university degree, recently engaged to be married, and determined to take a job for a year before the wedding to support herself. Told through Hilary’s letters to parents and fiancé, and through interdepartmental memos, the world of mid-20th century London retail life is brought into focus … Sharply observed, ruefully amusing, and a joyous rediscovery.’

JacquiWine said: ‘an absolutely delightful novel, likely to appeal to fans of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, The Diary of a Provincial Lady and 84 Charing Cross Road. Very highly recommended indeed, particularly for readers interested in British social history’.

From bagfullofbooks: ‘This is just a lovely, lovely book. So endearing and just what I needed at this time.’

From Bookword: ‘It’s a very satisfying novel with some especially attractive features … The letters, memos and drawings all add to the charm  … Hilary’s breathless and upbeat attitude carry her through the difficulties of having very little money in London and through the love story that emerges in these pages … Along the way we have learned much about the life of the working girl and what went on behind the scenes in big stores and subscription libraries in the ‘30s.’

From First Page to Last liked it very much: ‘I loved everything about this delightful book, from the first letter to the last memo. It is one that I know I will return to many times. The very definition of feel-good. Highly recommended.’

A Life In Books loved it: ‘a glorious piece of escapism … hugely entertaining. Hilary is funny and bright, her letters full of gentle fun-poking often illustrated with amusing line drawings’.

Desperate Reader was enthralled by the realism of the retail history: ‘good on the unglamorous but sometimes surprisingly impressive behind the scenes systems that make a really big shop function, and on company culture. I got really emotional about how Hilary describes Christmas; “I’ve kept Christmas with the best but I’ve never provided it before. I hadn’t an idea what December could be like for the people who did.” If you’ve experienced this you know. If you haven’t it is hard to describe as how exhilarating, exhausting, and hellish it can be. There is a charming romance in here, and it’s mostly a light and funny book, but the details and compassion for the working people it describes are what make it something so much more than a charming period piece for a lazy Sunday afternoons reading. I genuinely cannot recommend this highly enough.’

A French blogger loved it too: ‘Vive, spirituelle et drôle, Hilary est aussi une irrésistible gaffeuse. Son don d’observation nous vaut une réjouissante galerie de portraits et des saynètes désopilantes sur les relations vendeurs-clients ou l’hystérie du shopping de Noël. Mais si le ton se veut principalement amusant et léger, le talent d’Oliver et Stafford est de savoir glisser au passage des aperçus révélateurs et parfois plus sombres sur le Londres des années 1930, les barrières de classes, les embûches rencontrées dans la quête d’un gîte et d’un emploi, les conditions d’existence de la low middle class, les aspects les plus durs de la condition féminine durant l’entre-deux-guerres.’ – Locus Solus

‘Business As Usual is an absolute gem of a book – I adored it! It has successfully secured its place as one of those books I will always treasure, and take great comfort in re-reading … a tongue-in-cheek and wonderfully atmospheric record of adventures job hunting, economising, negotiating public transport, surviving department store work and leisure time experiences, told in Hilary’s unique and engaging correspondence. Beautifully descriptive of society at the time, yet utterly timeless in its observations and as relevant now as ever.’ – MegReadz

Eddie Thomas Petersen, After the Death of Ellen Keldberg (2013), translated by Toby Bainton

‘The author’s professional experience as a filmmaker finds its way into the excellent atmospheric portrait of the place and the people who inhabit it … Petersen has created an interesting and surprising tale, with touches of macabre humour. It’s a slow-burner of a murder mystery that lingers in the reader’s mind for a long time, as much as blood on snow and the smell of freshly caught fish. Snow and darkness hide old painful secrets and new alliances promise the solving of mysteries and resolving of painful personal issues. Don’t expect fireworks and you will enjoy this subtle analysis of family relations.’ Crime Review.

‘a thoughtful, atmospheric novel that’ll win plenty of fans … Eddie Thomas Petersen has put together an exciting narrative that’s also laden with interesting ideas, all making for a surprisingly rich experience – whether it’s exploring nature vs. nurture or the purpose of art. It’s shrewdly paced, at times beautiful and at times horrific, and it’s always compelling. An excellent read as the dark winter months start to draw in.’ IndieLitFic

‘a wonderfully compelling novel, both a revealing family saga and a mystery’ – Ali Hope

Una L Silberrad, Desire (1908)

‘When well connected socialite and girl-about-town Desire Quebell takes a shine to the rather staid but steady novelist Peter Grimstone who could have predicted what would happen next … First published in 1908, Desire has been brought back into print by Handheld Press and a very worthy return it is. I was surprisingly gripped and there are moments of real tension as the challenges mount for both Desire and Peter against a backdrop of family rivalry and sabotage.’ – Dove Grey Reader

J Slauerhoff, Adrift in the Middle Kingdom (1934), translated by David McKay

‘a gritty, realistic, and beautifully detailed snapshot of life in inter-war Amoy and Shanghai’, from China sf commentator Jonathan Clements, author of A Brief History of China

‘Slauerhoff’s depiction of China is gritty and uncompromising’ The Fantasy Hive

From Simon Lavery, ‘It’s expressed in terms of a modernist European alienation narrative, and comes to its hallucinatory, mystical conclusion in a kind of Chinese-Elysian poppyfield of earthly-heavenly delights.’

‘McKay has delivered a fluent English text, choosing to smooth out Slauerhoff’s terse style.’ Anna P H Geurts for The Low Countries

Elizabeth von Arnim, The Caravaners (1909)

‘There is so much comedy here – the Baron shamed into performing menial tasks which he sees as being beneath him, problems with horses, mud, cultural differences galore. Elizabeth von Arnim has an eye for such absurdities and reproduces them gloriously.’ – from HeavenAli

‘Perhaps the greatest achievement of this wholly delightful book is the way our view of Otto is gradually modulated as the story proceeds. At first he appears simply like a buffoon and it’s only too easy to laugh at his ridiculous views and at his total inability to understand and interpret the feelings and actions of his fellow travellers. As time goes on, though, he seems increasingly pathetic, lost and confused. Alas, he has learned nothing from his week’s holiday.’ – from Harriet Devine

‘The Caravaners comes with an excellent introduction, and useful notes at the back. It’s an entertaining and extremely funny book, as well as being evidence of von Arnim’s incredible skill as a writer.’ – Shiny New Books, September 2019

‘It was a joy from start to finish. I would have read it in one sitting if life and time allowed but to be honest I would have missed a treat had I done so. This intelligent and deeply humorous book is one to be savoured.’ – Bookbound

‘The Caravaners by Elizabeth Von Arnim, first published in 1909, and which I had bought as a special offer from Handheld Press … I’m about a hundred pages in and delighted not only by the story and the writing, but by one of those serendipitous moments when you discover that the date on which you are reading is the exact date something happens in the book. It is August 2nd when the German Baron and his wife set off on what is proving to be an ill-fated but hilarious holiday, travelling by horse-drawn caravan around England, and so I’m feeling like a tag-along and I really can’t stop laughing.’ – Dove Grey Reader

‘a satire of the highest order … The Caravaners is a brilliantly-written novel, one that casts a sharply satirical eye over such subjects as misogyny, class differences, power dynamics in marriage and Anglo-German relations during the early 20th century. Plus, of course, the delights and follies of caravanning in the inclement British weather. I absolutely loved it.’ – JacquiWine’s Journal

Sylvia Townsend Warner, Kingdoms of Elfin (1977)

‘Handheld Classics’ republication is a triumph, complete with a beautiful Arthur Rackham cover and a blurb from Neil Gaiman.’ Paperback Preview Book of the Month, The Bookseller, 27 July 2018.

‘A book for anyone who has heard the horns of Elfin in the distance at twilight, as much as it is for readers who crave fine literature and are certain that elves and their kingdoms are bosh.’ Neil Gaiman

‘The subtlety of Warner’s vision, and ultimately of her empathy towards her fellow beings, is a refusal despite all inclinations to separate the rational and the irrational, the material and the immaterial, the earthly and the yearning for something else. She might have dismissed faith but she understood the impulse towards an elsewhere.’ The Times Literary Supplement

‘A conception of Fairy that is dominant in English-language writing —a magical land populated by strange beings who look like humans and act like sociopaths. Terry Pratchett’s elves, for example, who are terrific and beget terror. Warner’s kingdoms obviously belong to this tradition of Fairy’. Strange Horizons

Nick Hubble in the British Science Fiction Association Review, summer 2019: ‘Under the surface there is something inexorable which gives these stories an exquisite, but nonetheless mortally sharp, edge.’

‘The writing is beautiful, full of subtle literary flourish. More than once I found myself rereading sentences simply in order to savour their perfectly-formed elegance, their economy. Towards the end of her long life of writing, Warner was clearly a fairy queen of sentence-weaving. Her style is sly, witty, beautifully-observed, luscious. As I say, a gem of a book.’ – Simon Kewin

Sylvia Townsend Warner, Of Cats and Elfins (2020)

The Guardian liked it very much: ‘Each tale is a beautifully realised imaginative world, resonant with folklore and a rich appreciation of nature.’

The Times Literary Supplement found the stories ‘cut from crystalline prose, they are strange, wonderful and often wickedly funny, as when Apollo responds to a farmer’s complaint: “Stupid prayers are often soonest answered, for no deity can stand them”.  This is storytelling as enchantment and it feels like an answered prayer to fall under Warner’s spell.’

Fantasy Hive was keen: ‘”The Duke of Orkney’s Leonardo” is a story of an ill-fated child’s gruesome transformation, with undercurrents of queerness and sly undermining of gender norms. It could sit happily with the best stories in The Kingdoms of Elfin, and makes the collection worth the asking price alone … The bulk of the collection is given over to The Cat’s Cradle Book. Warner, like most right-thinking people, loved cats and she and her partner Valentine Ackland looked after many. The Cat’s Cradle Book brilliantly captures the character and sensibility of cats. Much like Warner’s fairies, they are sleek, beautiful, charming yet capricious, and self-reliant; existing parallel but aside to mere human concerns. Warner brilliantly draws the line between the stark coolness of folktales and the attitude of cats by attributing her folktale-inflected stories to cats, reminding us that the earlier versions of fairy tales and legends are from an older time in human history, and are much concerned with darkness and death.’

Shiny New Books liked it a LOT: ‘can’t recommend highly enough’

Desperate Reader loved it so much they didn’t want to finish it: ‘it gave me that magical feeling of finding something that could have been written just to amuse me. It’s a sense of recognition within a book that I associate more with childhood and teen years than being an adult reader so finding it here was a real gift.’

Sandra Unerman in the BSFA Review said: ‘Cat lovers be warned: the cats die as often as other characters. Sylvia Townsend Warner’s settings and characters are both recognisable and intriguingly strange and her plots take unexpected turns. But her impersonal style gives her narratives a particular, sardonic flavour, which the reader can relish, while being kept at a distance.’

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