heavens to Nancy

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How many times does she appear on these pages?

as often as something wonderful is happening in Nancy's Mitford World-

© The Mitford Archive

used with permission

 &
without the help of

Beaton
&
Megan
&
Heywood Hill Ltd

where would I be without a little help from my friends?

 drawn by Beaton

 the Season of 1933

Cecil Beaton photograph of Nancy Mitford and friends 1933

&

translated by Megan Wilson  

for cover of Mitford's novel

THE PURSUIT OF LOVE

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&  

Heywood Hill Ltd Book Sellers 

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With a little help from the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, we have arranged for special boxed sets of the recently re-issued Nany Mitford novels to be on sale at Heywood Hill. The five novels fit snugly into a beautiful blue box, with "Love from Nancy" printed in gold on the top and on the back of each. (from the Heywood Hill site)

this has to be the "get" of the summer!

I hope you do.

From now until September 10th* Heywood Hill Ltd. will celebrate their most famous alumna in an exhibition LOVE FROM NANCY- Special things from the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire- Deborah Mitford, Nancy's  sister...

Heywood Hill, described by Evelyn Waugh during the war years as a 'centre for all that was left of fashionable and intellectual London,' employed Nancy to work in the shop in 1942. Now married, Mrs. Rodd would walk to the shop from  miles away Blomfield Road to Curzon Street.

excerpted from Harold Acton's Nancy Mitford A Memoir: 

"Many used the pretext of seeking a book for the pleasure of seeing Nancy. A brief chat with her would brighten the rest of the day for them. Among the habitues were Evelyn Waugh, Lord Berners, Sir Osbert Sitwell and Raymond Mortimer,and the very books seemed to join in the laughter during their exchange of gossip. Nancy's laughter rose above theirs in a carillon that was almost operatic, a specimen of coloratura."

The last day of the exhibit the Dowager Duchess will be at Heywood Hill to sign copies of her memoirs.

&
Highly recommended reading The Bookshop At 10 Curzon Street: Letters Between Nancy Mitford and Heywood Hill 1952–73

nancy mitford.com here ( the site designed by Megan Wilson)
more my bookcovers here

the 5 books in the set from Penguin , see the other books & more about the exhibit here

HEYWOOD HILL, 10 Curzon Street,London W1J 5HH

 

 

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march of the English Penguins

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Why one can not find these darling little PENGUINS in the States-I can not say? Never fear- head right off to ENGLAND for this most delightful series- PENGUIN'S ENGLISH JOURNEY. Twenty classic English romps through the countryside.

 

 

All available at AMAZON uk here
or PENGUIN here
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Classic PENGUINS

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She is too fond of books,and it has turned her brain. 

Louisa May Alcott

There are times when I just think- BOOKS. Actually-It's a lot of time. I do love them, and if nothing else comes from these posts I present to you-it will be I AM NOT ALONE. Books are tactile- the book cover is ART, is Design. I am drawn to a beautiful book cover- Are You?

On my 10 birthday I received my first real CLASSIC- LITTLE WOMEN. It is still one of my favourite books. When thinking about Holiday Gifts (is it time?), I suggest starting a beautiful treasured collection of books for a young lady or gentleman. It is never too early to start a life long love for books with children. PENGUIN has reinvented the CLASSIC with its charming covers.

PENGUIN commissioned Ruben Toledo to design several covers for CLASSIC LITERATURE- this being one. This Penguin LITTLE WOMEN edition is the one that introduced me to the March family.

 Louisa May Alcott- You've come a long way baby!

A fabric cover by designer Coralie Bickford-Smith.-Little Women.

& So has Jane Austen- another Ruben Toledo creation.

Ruben Toledo’s breathtaking drawings have appeared in such high-fashion magazines as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Visionaire. Now he’s turning his talented hand to illustrating the gorgeous deluxe editions of three of the most beloved novels in literature. Here Elizabeth Bennet’s rejection of Mr. Darcy, Hester Prynne’s fateful letter “A”, and Catherine Earnshaw’s wanderings on the Yorkshire moors are transformed into witty and surreal landscapes to appeal to the novels’ aficionados and the most discerning designer’s eyes- from PENGUIN'S site

Here are two more Toledo covers for PENGUIN

PENGUIN has selected  the best of literature's CLASSIC works,freed them of their stuffy jackets for embossed canvas covers designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith. Read the wonderful interview on the PENGUIN blog with Bickford-Smith here


 “As e-books take off as a convenient way for people to read, books are going to have to work harder to justify their existence as physical objects, which is where designers come in.” Bickford-Smith

all the books are available on Amazon and a number at Anthropologie . Of course the Little Women editions will find a place on my shelf with other collected copies.