Friday, May 31, 2013

The Hopeless Wish List (Updated)


A melancholy list of my most lusted after but elusive titles:

any novel besides Mrs. Lorimer's Family


A Chelsea Concerto (1959)



the early mysteries



the unpublished novels


virtually everything except There Were No Windows

Norah Hoult, whose books have vanished like Amelia Earhart
A Room in Regent's Park (1942)
The Death of the Nightingale (1948)


The Family (1915)



Ding Dong Dell (1943)


The Lark (1922)


Finding E. Nesbit's The Lark is no, er, lark

The Underground River (1929)



Ordinary People (aka People of My Own)



Virtually every book Edith Pargeter 
wrote is a dime a dozen--except one

the World War II novels


the early novels


A whole slew of other promising World War II novels




  1. Glad you found us (Valancourt Books). Interesting post and a lot of authors and works I'm not familiar with. We're actively working to include more women writers on our list (at present, the list has only a couple: Hilda Lewis, R.C. Ashby, Jennifer Dawson, and we're trying hard to get some works by Isabel Colegate and Gillian Freeman). I'll have a look at some of these you mention to see if they might be good fits for our list.

    1. Hi, James. Thanks so much for commenting! I've already come across several interesting works I'd never heard of on your website, and have already ordered the Ashby title. The Hilda Lewis book is tempting me too.

      Glad to hear you're looking at other women writers. I always recommend Edith Olivier's quirky and sometimes rather Gothic novels to anyone who will listen, and I wonder if Richmal Crompton's early "horror" and ghost stories might fit your list?

  2. Scott, I managed to find a copy of People of our own for less than $40.00 so I bought it since you suggested it was so rare. So far, I am enjoying it very much. The publisher is a very obscure one I've never heard of (ok, that doesn't mean all that much) and I wondered if that could have been why it is so rare. I belonged to someone named Betty O'Boyle in 1942 and then to a seminary library later on.

  3. Well, Kristi, they say that great minds think alike. I just ordered a copy earlier today. Until now, the copies I've seen have been in the neighborhood of $100, so what were the chances we'd both find it for less in just a few days? Glad to hear you're enjoying it!

  4. Hi I just bought Edith Oliver's the underground river for my mum, she said it was a children's book she loved when growing up... Can't wait to see her face when she gets it! I will message back when i get chance to read... :-)

    1. What a great gift, Matt! I'm sure she'll be thrilled, and I'm happy to know someone else will be reading Olivier! Please do share what you think about it when you have a chance to read it. I'd love to know more about it.


    2. Yeah wasn't easy to find... Had it as a notification on eBay for ages... Must be very rare like u said

  5. hi there! I have e.nesbits the lark if you're interested! its the 2nd edition one with the red cover! and I know what you mean by rare add i've only ever found one other copy the same as mine on Amazon, but they've took it of now. anyway, my email is or you can find me on face book under the same name. thanx and look forward to hearing from you yours sincerely mandi


