Last weekend we drove north up to Inverness so that Jack could watch his beloved Dumbarton FC playing against Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Don’t ask – it was a disaster!
Anyway, on the road up we stopped off at the fairly famous bookshop at Pitlochry railway station. I was a wee bit miffed as they didn’t have many of the old hardbacks that I’ve been lucky in getting in previous trips there. However I did buy:
Merivel A Man of His Time by Rose Tremain – a 2012 paperback
Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster – a 1929 hardback
The Easter Party by V. Sackville-West – a 1953 hardback
From Priory books just off Pitlochry High Street I bought:
Pastoral by Nevil Shute – a 1950 hardback
A quick trip to Dingwall, a small town north of Inverness resulted in us discovering TWO second-hand book-shops there. I was flabbergasted and left wondering if the long hard winters up in the Highlands mean that there are a lot of keen readers around the area.
One of the shops has the wonderful name of Picaresque Books and Galerie Fantoosh as you can see from the photo. (Fantoosh is a Scottish word meaning overly fancy.) The shop is a mixture of old books and works of art in the shape of paintings, pottery and jewellery – it’s a lovely shop with very friendly owners.
Anyway, I bought:
Novel Notes by Jerome K Jerome – an 1893 hardback
Reputation for a Song by Edward Grierson – a green Penguin crime from 1955
Cork in the Doghouse by Macdonald Hastings – a green Penguin crime from 1961
Have you read any of these ones?
I came home feeling slightly disappointed by my haul, which I think you’ll agree must mean that I’m getting positively greedy in my old age!
Looks like a NICE haul to me!
Carol,
Yes I was lucky, especially getting Daddy-Long-Legs as I’ve wanted to read that for a while.
Thanks for dropping by!
Katrina
Oh, wowee–I have a very, very old copy of Pastoral with dustjacket, but to be frank, I don’t know where it is at the moment, except I never would have gotten rid of it. Perhaps it’s in one of the boxes which we have never unpacked since our move here 13 years ago. You know, I simply loved that book and the romance within. Read it decades ago, but it was a favorite. Nevil Shute is a master. I really should read all of his novels. On the Beach is one I reread on a regular basis.
Judith,
I’ll read Pastoral very soon then as you enjoyed it so much. I still have a few of Shute’s books that I haven’t got around to reading although I’ve had them a year or so. I’m wondering if we all have boxes of unpacked books, or books that we just can’t fit into the house.
I love Daddy-Long-Legs! It’s a lovely college story, and a sweet romance. And Pastoral is a great World War II story. I was very happy to find a good hardcover copy myself! (though mine is missing its dust jacket.)
Lisa,
I know that a blogpost I read recently was about Daddy-Long-Legs, and I had been under the impression that it was a book for small children before then. I think it must have been the use of the word ‘Daddy’ that made me think that. I read it almost as soon as I got home from Inverness and really enjoyed it.
Daddy-Long-Legs! That is an old favorite of mine. I’ll have to dig out my copy and reread it. I see from the comments that Pastoral is a WWII story and since I feel compelled to buy every WWII story I encounter I have a feeling a copy of that might be making its way to me very soon.
Jennifer,
I’ve read Daddy-Long-Legs already and I’m now hoping to find the rest of her books. I’m the same as you, drawn to a WWII setting. I always though it was because my mother was always telling me stories about it – instead of fairy tales! Of course she was a young woman during the war, but you won’t have that for an excuse! I hope you can find a nice copy of Pastoral.
I’ve read Daddy-Long-Legs, may still have a copy; Pastoral is among my Nevil Shutes.
You are lucky to find the Novel Notes by Jerome K Jerome – that’s the age and type of book I enjoy.
Have you ever read any W.W. Jacobs books? short stories, late Victorian-Edwardian era, quaint and amusing.
Valerie,
I was pleased to find the Novel Notes as like you I love nice old books. It cost me £8 so was the most expensive by far but his books always seem to cost around that amount.
I haven’t read any W.W. Jacobs books but have often seen them, I must give him a go. Although having said that I was haunted by Dornford Yates books that were everywhere I went, and then I’m sure you mentioned he was worth reading and since then I haven’t seen any at all!
I read Daddy-Long-Legs as a child. I’m curious about the Jerome K. Jerome book. I’ve read his ‘Three Men …’ books and loved them. I wonder if this one’s a funny one, too.
Joan,
I’ve only read his ‘Three Men’ books too. I have two identical very old copies of Three Men in a Boat, but when I picked up a copy in a bookshop just to see how much they were charging for it – I was amazed to see J’s grandfather’s name and address inside it. Someone must have borrowed it from him and never returned it I’m sure – about 100 years ago! Of course I had to buy that one too.
I loved Daddy-Long-Legs as a child! I don’t know how I’d like it now–I don’t enjoy books where the romantic relationship features a man who knows something all along that the woman discovers at the end. Too much of a power imbalance.
Niranjana,
I read it quickly and enjoyed it. I’m sure I would have felt like you if it had been a more modern book, but I’m quite forgiving when it’s an old book – not that that makes the imbalance any better I suppose.
I agree with your earlier posters: looks like a very good haul to me! I would be most interested in the Rose Tremain simply because I’m keen to catch up with her work. Those lovely old books look so nice in your photo!
Sandra,
I haven’t read anything by Tremain but I read an article about her recently and she seemed nice so I thought I should read some of her books.