Handheld Press

24/07/2024

Happy Birthday to Zelda Fitzgerald, born 124 years ago on 24th July 1900!

In her lifetime, her creative talents were overshadowed by those of her husband, the famous and feted F Scott Fitzgerald. But it was not unknown for him to incorporate extracts from her diaries and letters in his own novels. Meanwhile Zelda’s sole published work, Save Me The Waltz, received scant attention when it was first published in 1932.

Today, Save Me The Waltz is regarded as a classic narrative of the American Jazz Age seen through a woman’s eyes, and Handheld was delighted to bring it back from the shadows with a new edition in 2019 and an introduction by Erin Templeton, Professor at Converse College, South Carolina.

“…revealing just how exotic the expatriate years in Paris and Italy were. The second half of the book, which describes life as a would-be ballerina, is the best treatment of the agony, and the satisfaction, of art.” – The Guardian

“a nice scholarly edition … Zelda excels at descriptions of places, witty phrases and bon mots; conversation is lively and loud, and some of the book’s best passages have the pull and snap of screwball comedy’ - The London Review of Books

22/07/2024

It's Kate's birthday - and we celebrate this every year with a Birthday SALE. £2.99 discount off ANY title, for today only (22 July 2024). Use discount code W**D (see newsletter for gardening news) in the shop. Free P&P for UK orders.
https://handheldpress.co.uk/our-catalogue/

22/07/2024

It’s that time of year again – Kate’s Birthday - and we celebrate by giving YOU the gift of a £2.99 discount off ANY title. This offer is for ONE day only – 22nd July 2024 and expires at midnight. Use discount W**D (there’s been a lot of those removed from the new garden lately) in the shop (see bio for link). Free P&P for UK orders. Happy Birthday to Kate, and Happy Reading to all.

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10/07/2024

Well, *someone* loves it.

09/07/2024

We’ve saved one of our best for last…

July 9th is publication day for Handheld’s final book, Sylvia Thompson’s The Gulls Fly Inland, a wonderful romantic tale of a passionate love affair, set in the years leading up to the Second World War, against an alternating backdrop of Paris, London and Boston.

Sylvia Thompson enjoyed both commercial success and a serious literary reputation, and The Gulls Fly Inland was lauded in its day….

“…a novel made memorable by perpetual contrast. Blitzrieg and the true, quiet story of deep human emotions behind the headlines” said the New York Times in 1941.

…and is fast winning new fans today:

“I think it’s a stunning read; I really can’t understand why it’s been out of print so long, and indeed why Thompson has slipped out of view … This is a striking book, cleverly constructed and incredibly evocative. It makes particularly powerful reading because of the time and setting, and if the rest of Thompson’s work is this good I definitely want to track down more. The Gulls Fly Inland is a fitting book for Handheld to issue as their last title and they will be sadly missed.’ – Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings

You can hear more about how Handheld resurrected this wonderful novel at one (or both!) of our FREE talks in the coming days:

Wednesday 10th July 5-6pm: ONLINE talk with Handheld’s Kate Macdonald, “Rediscovering lost author Sylvia Thompson”

Thursday 11th July 2-3pm: FREE ONLINE and IN PERSON talk with Handheld’s Kate Macdonald and Professor Faye Hammill, who wrote the introduction for our edition, at the Guildhall Library, London.

See our bio for registration details.

09/07/2024

Out today! Our last title and it's a stunner. The Gulls Fly Inland, a transatlantic affair and the Fall of France. Swooningly romantic and austerely stiff-upper-lip.

The Gulls Fly Inland is a glorious romantic novel of the love affair between a stoic Frenchwoman and a mercurial American during the Second World War.

08/07/2024

What a way to start the week! A perfectly glorious, comprehending and delighted review of our edition of Faith Compton Mackenzie's Tatting & Mandolinata, published last month.

Tatting and Mandolinata by Faith Compton Mackenzie

07/07/2024

Our first book stall at and the doors have opened! Plant stalls on either side and no leaks in the barn roof as it's not raining. Marvellous.

04/07/2024

The Gulls Fly Inland - Sylvia Thompson’s glorious, passionate novel of the years leading up to the Second World War is a sumptuous romance set in the imperturbable correctness of demi-monde Paris, and in fast-moving 1930s London and Boston.

It’s got 1920s schoolgirls, 1930s transatlantic travel, pre-Fascist Italy, the Fall of France, refugees in the USA and a love affair thwarted by a snobbish servant which may yet revive in the crucible of war. Fabulous!

Publishing Tuesday 9th July.

Wednesday 10th July 5-6pm: FREE ONLINE talk with Handheld’s Kate Macdonald, “Rediscovering lost author Sylvia Thompson”

Thursday 11th July 2-3pm: FREE ONLINE and IN PERSON talk with Handheld’s Kate Macdonald and Professor Faye Hammill, who wrote the introduction for our edition, at the Guildhall Library, London.

See our bio for registration details.

“Let me give high praise to The Gulls Fly Inland” Frank Swinnerton in The Observer 1941

“…a novel made memorable by perpetual contrast. Blitzrieg and the true, quiet story of deep human emotions behind the headlines.” – New York Times, 1941

04/07/2024

A wonderful first review for The Gulls Fly Inland! 'At any moment it will become love' ...

It’s a constant mystery to me (and many others, I know) why some books/authors fall out of favour whilst others continue to be read; and I’m always thankful for the wonderful publishers…

03/07/2024

A taste of The Gulls Fly Inland ...

In my decision to go with Charles Wentworth there were, I suppose, two principal motives: first, to give Vernon (even though he would never hear about it) a real cause for jealousy. Secondly, to fall in love, if possible, with Charles himself …

… I am sure that he had not the least idea that he would be my first lover, since I had given in to
his proposals with what must have seemed to be sang-froid). While we lunched he assured me that this would never be for him ‘just an ordinary affair’; although, evidently, it did not occur to him that he might have made me a more honourable proposal …

… His perfect comprehension of our situation made him, not less respectful to me, but respectful in a more personal manner, since as a man he also observed me — with connoisseurship, as an Englishman observes an animal …

… In my room the curtains had been left open — the whiteness of the bed was in full moonlight (more as in a tragedy than a farce), and the fragrance of the red roses was very strong …

… And in that hotel room, in which I was, finally, by this adventure that was half deliberate, half hazard, to deny Vernon’s existence for me (and by the same gesture to refute the significance of love itself by the facile amusement and intoxication of a ‘love affair’), I remained, transfixed, between the window and the moonlit bed, utterly possessed by this remembering of Vernon.

Published on 9th July, Preorders going out now.

The Gulls Fly Inland is a glorious romantic novel of the love affair between a stoic Frenchwoman and a mercurial American during the Second World War.

02/07/2024

Publishing next week, this absolute beauty.
It's got 1920s schoolgirls, 1930s transatlantic travel, pre-Fascist Italy, the Fall of France, refugees in the USA and a love affair thwarted by a snobbish servant. Just glorious.
https://www.handheldpress.co.uk/shop/womens-lives/sylvia-thompson-the-gulls-fly-inland/

27/06/2024

On 9th July The Gulls Fly Inland.

'Tante Julie put on a silver-fox cape and a little hat of violette-de-Parme tulle which matched her dress. She said good night to me, saying: ‘Sleep well, child,’ and kissing me on both cheeks while she kept Otto’s gloved hand drawn through her arm. He said, as he went, that he would come one day to es**rt me, if I would permit him, to visit his collection of porcelain.

They went out taking with them an atmosphere of ripe expert enjoyment. The ripeness, the savour, coming, perhaps, from her: the expertness from him. The atmosphere of Boston seemed very far away.'

The Gulls Fly Inland is a glorious romantic novel of the love affair between a stoic Frenchwoman and a mercurial American during the Second World War.

26/06/2024

Going out in style! And so we introduce the author of our last book The Gulls Fly Inland….the fabulous, glamorous Sylvia Thompson (1902-1968). A huge success in her day, she published a total of 16 novels, one co-authored play and a large number of stories, serials and essays which appeared in at least 40 different magazines and newspapers. She wrote her first novel at 16, to alleviate her unhappiness at boarding school. A chance meeting with a ‘large, kind young man’ at a dance proved the touchpaper to her literary career. He, an author himself who also worked in the publishing industry, asked to see the manuscript, and then sent it to Oxford publisher Basil Blackwell. To Sylvia’s astonishment, Blackwell accepted it and The Rough Crossing, a novel of school life, appeared in 1921.

She went on to have great commercial success combined with a serious literary reputation and public prominence. As well as Blackwell, her publishers included William Heinmann, Michael Joseph, Penguin and Little, Brown (Boston)…and now Handheld Press! We’re delighted to be resurrecting The Gulls Fly Inland, the marvellously romantic story of a trans-Atlantic affair set against the backdrop of the Second World War and the Fall of France. First published 1941, back again on 9th July, 2024.

“Let me give high praise to The Gulls Fly Inland” Frank Swinnerton in The Observer 1941

“…a novel made memorable by perpetual contrast. Blitzrieg and the true, quiet story of deep human emotions behind the headlines.” – New York Times, 1941

11/06/2024

Published today, the first and last works of Faith Compton Mackenzie, long submerged under the ubiquity of her husband Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie. She was a biographer, memoirist, short story writer, music journalist and novelist. And a sly and witty writer.

Tatting is a novel in the idiosyncratic style of Sylvia Townsend Warner, about newlyweds adrift in a Cornish parish among some formidable women.

06/06/2024

Next week sees the publication (June 11th) of our last-but-one Handheld title, Tatting and Mandolinata by Faith Compton Mackenzie.

The perfect example of Handheld’s raison d’être, dusting off and resurrecting the undeservedly long-forgotten, Faith Compton Mackenzie’s literary life was completely eclipsed by that of her famous husband Sir Edward Montague ‘Monty’ Compton Mackenzie. Sir Edward was the celebrity writer of his day, sometime member of the intelligence services and friend to royalty.

Such a partner might have stifled anyone’s creative endeavours, but Faith, already an accomplished pianist and now surrounded by artists and writers, began writing stories, biography and memoirs in the 1920s, and published two novels after the Second World War.

Mandolinata, a collection of fourteen short stories, was her first book (1931). The stories, about love, s*x and bad marriages, were all written in the 1920s and set in Capri, Rome and London, a reflection of the peripatetic nature of her married life, and perhaps its challenges.

“Nobody does imagery quite like Faith Compton Mackenzie. A glorious collection – evocative, beautiful and wry” – Fergus Butler-Gallie, writer and priest.


Tatting (1957) was Faith’s final novel, set in Cornwall and featuring an eccentric High Church Anglican vicar beset by a parish of formidable women. Many of the characters had their genesis in the very real people Faith encountered when she and Monty spent the early years of their marriage in Cornwall having initially been invited there by Monty’s friend, the Reverend Sandys Wason.

“Deceptively simple, like a sampler worked by a very sophisticated Sunday semptress…the feeling of mischief is alive in every sentence”, wrote the TLS on Tatting in 1957.

If you’d like to register for either (or both!) of our FREE online talks (Tuesday 11th June and Wednesday 19th June) please register via our bio above.

30/05/2024

The penultimate Handheld Classic! To be published on 11th June.

Faith Compton Mackenzie's 1920s stories in Mandolinata are all about s*x, love and bad marriages.

In Tatting, in an Edwardian Cornish parish, Guy has decided that he wants to explore ordination rather than poetry as a career.

Tatting is a novel in the idiosyncratic style of Sylvia Townsend Warner, about newlyweds adrift in a Cornish parish among some formidable women.

28/05/2024

Handheld is at for the first time. One is shopping for books, the other is listening.

23/05/2024

Hopefully you can read this, but if you can't and really want to see it, let me know and I'll send a pdf version.

The founder of Handheld Press, Kate Macdonald, has revealed more about the pressures behind the indie’s closure, including the impact of Brexit and the cost-of-living crisis. 

21/05/2024

A feast of summer reading for you with an interconnected collection of books.

May is the birthday month of remarkable poet, environmentalist, communist and peace campaigner, Valentine Ackland (born 20 May 1906). Her work was overlooked during her lifetime but was celebrated with the emergence of women’s studies along with her commitment to living her life on her own unconventional terms.

But perhaps her enduring legacy is her relationship with renowned author Sylvia Townsend Warner. They lived and worked together for 39 years, despite the challenges of Valentine’s drinking and her compulsive affairs.

Five Handheld publications owe their existence to these two women:

The Kingdoms of Elfin by Sylvia Townsend Warner (Handheld 2018). Tales from a fantasy land of elfins. “A glorious sequence of stories” – Neil Gaiman

The Akeing Heart by Peter Judd (Handheld 2018) (not pictured). Biography. The story of the tangled triad between Sylvia, Valentine and the American poet Elizabeth Wade White told through their letters. “…the most thrilling…and heart-breaking accounts of a major twentieth century literary love story.” – DIVA magazine.

Of Cats and Elfins by Sylvia Townsend Warner (Handheld 2020). A new collection of stories from the worlds of elfins…and now, cats. “…a beautifully realised imaginative world, resonant with folklore and a rich appreciation of nature.” – The Guardian

Valentine Ackland: A Transgressive Life by Francis Bingham (Handheld 2021). The definitive biography. “The first full-length study of this poet’s live and work…her poems well deserve Frances Bingham’s sympathetic and considered appraisal.” – the TLS.

T H White by Sylvia Townsend Warner (Handheld 2023). The lauded biography about the author of The Sword in the Stone and The Goshawk. “…a rediscovery, with new notes, index and bibliography, and an excellent introduction by Gill Davies…clearly a labour of love from a small independent publisher with a proven interest in Warner’s backlist.” – the TLS.
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21/05/2024

Coming soon! The June issue of The Critic will have a fine profile of Rosemary Sutcliff illustrated by Wendy Bryant's portrait of her, as used on our edition of Blue Remembered Hills.
https://www.handheldpress.co.uk/shop/disability/rosemary-sutcliff-blue-remembered-hills/

14/05/2024

The House of Silence, the tenth and last Handheld Weird, is out! To celebrate, we’re running a Special Offer on all our previous Weird titles to give you the chance to complete your collection at a discounted rate!

Indulge in the Handheld Weird Completists’ Sale, 15-17 May 2024. Use code WEIRD at checkout for a £2.99 discount on any of the Weirds (except The House of Silence).

14/05/2024

E Nesbit's The House of Silence is out today, and we've already had this nice review! 'Frankly they’re all good – there isn’t a dud in there. “The House of Silence” really is an excellent collection of stories and although I’m a little wary of reading things which are too spooky, I absolutely loved it.'

The indie publisher Handheld Press has made regular appearances on the Ramblings, as I’m a real fan of their beautifully produced books. As well as reprinted fiction, they’ve also relea…

12/05/2024

This week, on May 14th, our tenth and last Handheld Weird is published. The House of Silence is a collection of remarkable and chilling ghost stories by E Nesbit. We’re marking the event with two FREE online talks: Tuesday 14th May 2-3pm and Wednesday 22nd May 5-6pm. Dare to be there?! The link to register is in our bio…

09/05/2024

Next week our tenth and last* Handheld bursts into print. (But it's already in the bookshops.) Have you got them all?
https://handheldpress.co.uk/shop/fantasy-and-science-fiction/e-nesbit-the-house-of-silence/
* There are two more non-Weird books to come! And then we'll be DONE.

07/05/2024

And the last, but by no means least, of Handheld birthday posts this week is for the marvellous John Llewelyn Rhys born 7th May 1922 (and died 5th August 1940):

John Llewelyn Rhys, the son of a Church of England vicar, was born in Abergavenny, Wales. After school in Hereford he earned his living by writing short stories. But while he had a clear gift for writing, he was equally captivated by flying. He gained his pilot’s licence unusually quickly in July 1934 and became an RAF reservist in 1935. Nevertheless, he continued to write, and aviation became his muse. Inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the legendary French aviator and author, he worked to lift the literature of aviation into the realms of art. His life was cut tragically short when he was killed in a flying accident at the age of 29 just before the Battle of Britain.

He published just two novels in his lifetime: The Flying Shadow (1936) and The World Owes Me A Living (1939). His last work, England Is My Village (1941), a collection of short stories, was published posthumously and won the Hawthornden Prize in 1942. His complete works were republished by Handheld in two volumes in 2022.

‘Shot through with beautifully lyrical writing on the thrills of flying’ The Aviation Historian on The Flying Shadow.

‘Elegant character studies of aviation types of this period, also meditations on alterity, on operating at a remove, on living a life that is often very close to death … a fascinating perspective on a well-trodden area of historical enthusiasm’ – Times Literary Supplement on England Is My Village.

07/05/2024

Una L Silberrad 8th May 1872 (died 1st September 1955):

In contrast with the exciting life of Elinor Mordaunt, Una Silberrad, her exact contemporary, was born in Ess*x, and led a much quieter life. She never married, had no children and tended to travel within England rather than outside it. But she was equally industrious. She published over 40 books, most of them novels, as well as short stories and some non-fiction. And her middlebrow output (intended for a conservative, middlebrow audience) nevertheless had an undeniable subversive streak. Her female protagonists may look for love but are not driven solely by ‘making a good match’ and they often led independent lives in fields as diverse for the period as science and politics.

Desire (first published in 1908, republished by Handheld in 2018) is example of the New Woman novel, exploring how women could live and work independently at a time when this was a daring idea for middle-class women.

‘…more than a romance, more than a coming-of-age book; it is a strong narrative of a woman and man whose strength of purpose rises above the normal, who therefore threaten the status quo in an ultimately positive way’. Shiny New Books on Desire.
We are all sold out of hard copies of this title but it is still available as an ebook - see our bio for the link!