Welcome to Litsy!

I‘m short on words today, but this little book, chronicling a perfectly unexpected day for a downtrodden spinster, was a delight. My edition featured the original illustrations and they only added to its loveliness

✅My #doublespin for October @TheAromaofBooks
#1001books

This 1938 book that was nearly lost to us (don‘t skip the preface) reads like the best, snappy, rom-com of the era. When a mistake transports a dowdy governess into a world of glamour, witty repartee, makeovers, society, nightclubs, charming friends, romance, a bad guy and more, she discovers what it means to live. As with most older literature, there are a few bits that didn‘t age well. I enjoyed the story while being glad for progress.

This is a fun fast paced window into society in the late 1930‘s, in which an out of work governess stumbles in to the life of a more privileged young actress and joins her in a day filled with visits from friends and parties.

I enjoyed this much more than I expected to. I loved proper Miss Pettigrew starting to admit to herself that maybe enjoying life has more merits than her elders would have led her to believe.
#doublespin

Airport reading!

It's not at all difficult to understand why this #persephonepick is such a popular one. What a charming, effervescent tale of a dowdy governess accidentally falling in with a Bohemian crowd and having the most extraordinary, life-changing of days.

#12bookof2021 #12booksof2021

1. The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny
2. Return books to library
3. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson

#WeekendReads @rachelsbrittain

If you love books with wit (the writing can be really, really funny), romance, happy endings, and a good bit of characterization, then Miss Pettigrew Lives for A Day should be at the top of your list.

This is a fun one for #deweysreadathon. It‘s zipping right along. My goal is to read for 12 hours today/tonight.
#deweys24hourreadathon #readathon

@iread2much Rachel, thank you for my #LittleChristmasSwap 💗. Several friends raved about this book last year, so I‘m very much looking forward to reading it. It‘s also my first Persephone Classic, what a lovely edition! The assortment of treats will be fun to try, I had no idea Kit Kat was available in matcha, and I‘m a huge matcha fan. Thank you dear!
And thank you @bookish_wookish for hosting 💜📚!

#3books that have been made into (Charming!) movies:

Enchanted April
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Orlando

Jessie , you are too good. Both books I really wanted & such beautiful copies. I would love to return your generosity , & I will when the restrictions end. You are a lovely friend, Thankyou so much.
Can you believe how quickly they arrived ✨✨✨magical books !
Take care & Thankyou so much XXX Cathy

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Quirky, light-hearted 1930‘s riff on the Cinderella story

#ephemeral #beautifulwords

This story was wonderfully charming! I would recommend it wholeheartedly, but the casual permissiveness of domestic violence, the racism against Jewish people, and the assertion that one character "isn't fit to be in the presence of a white woman" keeps me from going all-in. I know it was written 80+ years ago but ?. However, I did love the relationship between the two female leads and the sweet happy ending, and I give it a tentative thumbs-up.

So excited to finally be reading this! So many of my fellow Littens have talked it up so much that I knew it had to be my next read. Pictured here with a quintessential (basic?) summer drink. #booksandbooze #currentlyreading

Today's mail delivery can't be beat! #persephonebooks

And the final book I read yesterday...

Loved loved loved Miss Pettigrew! 💕 The book, rather like Miss Pettigrew, was charming, delightful and funny with some hidden depths behind the exterior.

Just what the doctor ordered!

I‘m going to count this for #classics for #jennyis30 (20/25) as it is a Persephone after all!

#weeklyforecast

The next two books on the #bookspinbonanza list are up next. Already made a start on Common Ground (at last @RachelO !). It was annoying me at first due to it being very local to me and including quite a few errors / artistic licence but I‘m enjoying it now.

I‘ve also just got The Mirror and the Light back on audio so will try to finish that in the next few weeks, before the Mantel talk at the Hay Digital Festival.

After The Enchanted April this is another delightful book in the #spinsterlit genre.

This one is about Miss Pettigrew, who works as a governess and has never been loved. One morning she is hired by the flamboyant Miss LeFosse and upon meeting her Miss Pettigrew feels this is gonna be the one day that she really lives. She decides to enjoy every minute. And she does. A funny and touching story.

#1001books #persephone #classicschallenge2020

On #InternationalWomansDay I give a shout-out to Miss Pettigrew, the heroine of my #currentread. You have to love this sweet innocent lady❣️

What a wonderful #Persephone again. And I am happy to read a #1001books that I actually enjoy for a change!

And WHY am I such a sucker for #spinsterlit?!

This book is an utter delight! Enchanting characters, witty dialogues, and I can‘t help but root for Miss Pettigrew who is honest, has a good heart, and quick to think on her feet. And what an extraordinary day Miss P had! There‘s one instance of racists remark, but I understand it‘s a different era. Lovely line drawings by Mary Thomsom and insightful introduction of the author in this Persephone edition. 👍❤️

#Booked2020 #hatheadcoveringoncover

Doing Saturday afternoon right. 😊 The tagged book is such a pleasant departure from my previous read. Thoroughly enjoying it!

#currentlyreading

#19in2019

Here are my 19 favourite reads (I think) of 2019. I was going to make a nice graphic but I‘m too lazy and just pulled the titles from my shelves. 😆

Thanks for inspiring me to do this, @Centique ! 😘

And here you go, @Cinfhen and @BarbaraBB ! 😘😘

Third time reading and each time it‘s charming. Loads of hilarious dialogue and I adore the main character Marred by touches of racism against Hispanic and Jewish people, which is typical of books written in the ‘30s, and not much like the film except in the overall plotline.

What‘s sweeter than honey? A Pettigrew #persephone #persephonebooks #anglophilesoflitsy

Woohoo! Congratulations, @GrilledCheeseSamurai , on your big 100k! 🎉🎉🎉 What a great giveaway! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

What does Litsy mean to me? I must say, it has very much become a social “checking in” time for me over the last couple of years and I look forward to seeing what everyone is up to (and reading) each day.

I‘ll tag a “new-to-me” Litsy user, @DavidDiamond !

#SixDigitSamurai

A fun romp and great palate cleanser after the more serious and complex stuff I‘ve been reading lately. If it didn‘t have the Italian slurs it would be a perfect romp. #1001books #1938 #englishlit #tbrtakedown

#beatlemaynia
#dayinthelife

‘Miss Pettigrew is a down-on-her-luck, middle-aged governess sent by her employment agency to work for a nightclub singer rather than a household of unruly children. Over a period of 24 hours her life is changed - forever.‘

to be read soon! 👒

Just what this Sunday afternoon needed! I‘m loving it, so far. 💕

#PersephoneBooks

More books for adults should be illustrated ( for this novel, by Mary Thomson). This was an enjoyable romp with lots of witty banter. Keep in mind though that this was written in 1938 so there‘s sexist views/vibes (ie a woman is nothing without a man) and the like. Miss Pettigrew is an “old dame” who isn‘t even yet 50 😏.

#1001Books

It‘s been a while since I‘ve last tackled a #1001Books, but I was overwhelmed at which one to get to next! So I did a random number generator — my plan was to keep trying until I got one I already had in my TBR (marked in red in the 1001books app).
Well, on my very first try, got number 487 which is this book! I‘ve had it in my TBR forever (#librarything tells me I added it in 2009 🙈). Here I go!!

A delightful Cinderella story set in the late 1930s where mousy down-on-her-luck Miss Pettigrew is mistakenly—and fortuitously—sent to the wrong address by an employment agency. The following 24-hour period is chock-full of adventures and various twisty plots with her new glamorous friends and their soap opera level romantic issues. She breaks out of her shell and finds she is quite spunky after all. #happyending #persephonebooks

Just picked this up from the library! Yay! Hope I like it as much as the book.

#libraryhaul

“All these years and she had never had the wicked thrill of powdering her nose...And all because she lacked courage. All because she had never thought for herself. Powder, thundered her father the curate, the road to damnation. Lipstick, whispered mother, the first step on the downward path. Rouge, fulminated her father, the harlot‘s enticement. Eyebrow pencil, breathed her mother, no lady...!”

Adored this! 5⭐️

#readingmyshelves #persephone

Gosh! This was always me in gym class. I‘d wait until everyone had cleared out before undressing, but I always wanted to be as carefree as all the other girls. Anyone else?! 🙋🏻‍♀️

#readingmyshelves #persephone

Dear, Miss Pettigrew. That‘s not a packet of Beecham‘s Powder for rheumatism. It‘s cocaine! ☠️

#readingmyshelves #persephone

Good morning! It‘s a French Toast and new book kind of morning. I wasn‘t a big fan of the film so haven‘t been in a hurry to read the book. However, after catching the Persephone episode of the Tea and Tattle podcast, decided to pull it off my shelf.

#CurrentlyReading #Persephone #bookandbreakfast #readingmyshelves #teaandtattle

#BookMail My present for my mum for Mothering Sunday has arrived #persephone 😍 #coversublime

Three wonderful but very different books #publishedinthe1930s. I found the beautiful copy of Beware of Pity in a charity shop last week and couldn't resist #uncannyoctober @RealLifeReading

My lovely sisters pitched in to get me a birthday gift. Did you all know that Persephone offers a subscription service? I get six books--one per month--and I get to choose a title. I'm half tempted to just tell them what I own and ask them to surprise me. 😂 But I would love suggestions of any Persephones you have loved! #persephone

Had a lovely afternoon outside reading and enjoying my last official day of summer vacation 😎

#AndItsAugust Day 24 - Comfort Reads

While it's less common to come across them, there are still "happy books" out in the world. When that's the kind of book I'm in the mood to read, here are some of the ones on my shelves toward which I gravitate.

Also pictured, my favorite warm-weather scented candle. The fragrance pairs perfectly with a comfy story.

Though some suspension of disbelief is required, this book has lots of 30s glamour, snappy dialogue and a supremely likeable heroine.

I love the little illustrations peppered throughout this Persephone edition! #illustrations #persephoneclassics

Thanks to a fortuitous mistake for Miss Pettigrew #itwasagoodday. #90sinjuly

Why was yesterday's prompt so hard to pick?? I don't know but I'm happy with my choice: Delysia LaFosse is a #totalbetty #characters2017

I adore this book. If the world is against you pick this book up and you'll be smiling in no time.

My #bookmail today is a bright and colourful bundle!