I recently wrote about
Fidra books, and expressed my delight that so many out of print children's books were being made available once more. Another publisher doing something similar are
Girls Gone By Publishing, who I came across when I started
collecting Chalet School books. GGBP aim to "re-publish some of the most popular girls' fiction from the twentieth century, concentrating on those titles which are most sought after, and difficult to find on the second-hand market" and have done a fantastic job in making some of the more obscure Chalet School titles available again. I was able to complete my collection of Chalet School books with their help; I would love to own all of the Chalet titles that they have republished, but unfortunately finances have not permitted this, since I can't quite justify owning another copy of a book I have already or replacing a collectable book... They have also published a number of "fill-in" titles, but I have not read any of these.
Other authors who they publish include (the list below should give you links to the relevant bit of the GGBP website)
I have all of the Antonia Forest books, and would love to have more of the other authors. I loved reading Lorna Hill and Malcolm Saville as a child, and I'm particularly curious to see the book
Evelyn finds herself by Josephine Elder having enjoyed the titles by her that Greyladies have republished. The books are only generally available from the publishers, or via independent booksellers, but I was delighted to spot a selection in Foyles when I visited (and came away with an EBD for my collection).
Are there any other publishers re-publishing children's books that I should know about? And are there any authors that you would like to see back in print? (I will follow up with my answer to this later in the week!)
Bettany Press is another one that you might like to check out.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen that Girls Gone By are doing a reprint of the Chalet Cook Book later this year?
Thanks Geraldine. I remember reading about Bettany Press but had forgotten. Just visited their website and must order a copy of The Chalet Companion.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I will have to get The Chalet Cook Book. I loved their reprint of the Chalet Newsletters.
Oops, just bought The chalet companion and Behind the chalet school...
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Pleased to hear about the purchases, enjoy them both, should I be apologising about the damage to your bank account?
ReplyDeleteIf you like Girls Own you should visit the Haunted Book Shop (http://www.sarahkeybooks.co.uk/) next time you're in Cambridge and head to the upstairs room. Be warned it gets very expensive very quickly! My other half makes me hand over my credit card before I go in LOL
ReplyDeleteI've only recently been introduced to the Chalet School books, thanks in part to friends donating old paperback copies because they've been buying up the newly released GGB editions.
ReplyDeleteSadly, I can't think of any independent booksellers with children's reprints like GGB or Greyladies here in the states.
Karoline - I meant to visit that bookshop as it was recommended to me by a friend whose OH loves it. But I couldn't find it when I was there! I must return to Cambridge, and must make sure to note where it is.
ReplyDeleteMakedoandread - thanks for popping in. Lucky you getting old pbks of the CS - although I have to say I wouldn't part with mine even if I bought a GGBP edition because the old ones have a charm of their own.
Verity, you are my source of knowledge when it comes to children's literature re-publishing so I can't help any. The only ones I know of are GGB and the handful of titles by Persephone. At least I was able to direct you in the way of the display in Foyles. I REALLY want a GGB edition of The School at the Chalet :(.
ReplyDeleteClaire - visiting Foyles was such a delight as I have never seen those titles in a shop before. I think I am so fortunate in that I read widely as a child, and my father had access (through the university) to an outdated collection of books at the education department which used to be used by students on teaching practice - it used to be an infrequent treat to go there and choose books which were just not available in the public library. The GGB School at the Chalet is wonderful, it is sumptuously illustrated.
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