My local charity shop has been a treasure trove over the past few weeks and I nearly passed out the day I went in and found 13 pristine Persephone titles complete with their bookmarks. Alas, only one of which I hadn't read before and I am trying very hard to cure myself of the habit of buying just for the sake of it. But there has also been a slew of more interesting than usual Viragos (the ones with nice covers) and I have convinced myself that a genteel local lady bibliophile must have recently died (peacefully, I hope, rather than buried under a bookshelf avalanche) and that all these desirable books came from her drawing room/library.
I was rummaging again this afternoon, tempted by one of the Viragos, when the thought flitted across my mind that I never seem to come across any of Noel Streatfeild's grown-up titles. And just as I was struggling for the name of her alter ego, I saw it right in front of me ... a ballet story from 1948, and also Poppies for England set in the aftermath of the war. Has anybody read them? Very light summer reading by the look of it, but I'm very pleased with my £1.99 bargains. I loved Saplings and was torn between amusement and horror at the wonderfully silly Whicharts - which has warped my memories of Ballet Shoes forever more.