Manderley Press turns one!
Welcome to the very first Manderley Press blog post!
I can’t believe it’s been a year since we published our very first book. Since then we’ve had three more book launches and countless amazing reviews, been shortlisted for a national design award, reprinted our books several times and sent boxes and boxes of Manderley Press books out into the world.
For those of you who have just discovered us, Manderley Press is a new independent publishing company – named for the house in Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca – which finds forgotten or out-of-print books that were deeply inspired by a house, place or landmark, and brings those lost titles back to life for a contemporary audience.
Every publication features a specially commissioned introduction and front cover, with the author and artist chosen for their connections to the places at the heart of each title.
Manderley Press titles are all exquisitely produced small hardback editions, quarter-bound in real cloth, with head and tail bands, and printed on high quality paper in the UK.
We love our front covers so much that we have created beautiful art prints of each one, and these are available to buy on our website, all signed by their respective illustrators.
Our books span the cities of Edinburgh, London and Waterford, as well as the tiny Channel Island of Sark. They cover everything from a Tudor childhood and a daring rescue during the Second World War, to a ramble around the Scottish landmarks that inspired Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous novels and an introduction to toxic relationships and thwarted desire in turn-of-the-century rural Ireland.
Future blog posts will introduce each title in more depth, and keep you up to date with the latest Manderley Press news. In the meantime, here’s a brief introduction to each of our books, with a link to the website, where you can read more about the titles and their contributors:
Edinburgh: Picturesque Notes by Robert Louis Stevenson
Introduced by Alexander McCall Smith
Illustrated by Iain McIntosh
Scottish History | Armchair Travel | Legend and Myth | Literary Inspiration
The Armourer’s House by Rosemary Sutcliff
Introduced by Lara Maiklem
Illustrated by Isabel Greenberg
Children’s Classic | Tudor London | Heart-Warming | Historical Fiction
Appointment with Venus by Jerrard Tickell
Introduced by Rosa Rankin-Gee
Illustrated by Edward Bawden
Intrepid Adventure | Wartime Tragedy | Young Love | Cow-Napping
The Fly on the Wheel by Katherine Cecil Thurston
Introduced by Megan Nolan
Illustrated by Fatti Burke
Vintage Bestseller | Irish Novel | Illicit Love Story | Strong Women
You can buy Manderley Press titles in all good bookshops, but we recommend ordering online if you would also like a matching bookmark. All our titles are beautifully wrapped in tissue paper and tied with a silk ribbon (with a matching postcard or bookmark tucked inside) before being posted in protective recyclable packaging. Art Prints are wrapped carefully in acid-free tissue paper and posted in strong cardboard tubes.
So in a nutshell, that’s Manderley Press!
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With my best wishes for a wonderful week ahead,
Rebeka x