Recommended!

DrNicola Wilson is Associate Professor of Book andPublishing Studies at the University of Reading, co-directorof the Centre for Book Cultures and Publishing,and a founding director of the Modernist ArchivesPublishing Project.Herresearch is in the history of reading, book history, and working-class writing.Her first book was Home in British Working-Class Fiction (Routledge,2015) - reviewed in the TLS as an important contribution to the study ofworking-class writing - and she is co-author of Scholarly Adventures in theDigital Humanities (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017). She has edited three academic books including The EdinburghCompanion to Women in Publishing, 1900-2020 (2024), edits an Elementsstrand for Cambridge University Press on 'Women, Publishing, and BookCultures', and over many years has worked to get the writings of Ethel CarnieHoldsworth back into print. Nicola grew up in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. She now lives in Pershore,Worcestershire with her partner and two children.

‘unexpectedlymoving… a tribute to the healing power of reading…’ Times Literary Supplement‘…enormouslyengaging history … a fascinating,gossipy and well-researched slice of publishing history.’ The Observer‘Afascinating guide to bygone concepts of “taste”… Recommended! is an engaging pieceof publishing history.’ The Spectator‘A deeplyresearched, stylishly written piece of narrative history, full of detail andtelling vignettes. An enormous pleasure to read.’ Dennis Duncan, author ofIndex, A History of the ‘In thisdynamically narrated and archivally-rich study, Nicola Wilson brings bookhistory to life. A must-read for today's “busy reader,” this book is a triumphof imagination, historical research, and storytelling.’  ClaireBattershill, author of Circus ‘A captivating book that garlandsits incredible research with an approachable chattiness.’ Stuck in a Book‘More meatthan the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’   Helen Meller,Lumb Bank and Arvon at HomeA deeply researched, stylishly written piece ofnarrative history, full of detail and telling vignettes. The organisation -around the five characters at the heart of the Book Society - workswonderfully, giving an emotional richness to the story. An enormous pleasure toread, while also deepening immeasurably my understanding of the literarybusiness of the interwar period out beyond the well-walked squares ofBloomsbury.DennisDuncan, UCL, author of Index, A History of the In this dynamically narrated and archivally-richstudy, Nicola Wilson brings book history to life as she takes us behind thescenes to show how Britain's first book club made its choices. Wilson arguesfor the importance of the Book Society as an under-acknowledged powerhouse inthe shaping of 20th-century literary tastes. Those tastes belonged of course tospecific individuals, each with their own personal story, and Wilson shows usthe intimate friendships; networks and connections; and at times bitter disagreementsbehind the book choices. The story of the Book Society is one that alsoaddresses some of the most pressing issues of our own literary moment - in thisera of influencers and algorithmic recommendations, whose stories are told?Whose are chosen for splashy promotions and wide distributions? What does itmean to be an 'outsider' in a cliquey literary marketplace? A must-read fortoday's 'busy reader,' this book is a triumph of imagination, historicalresearch, and storytelling. Claire Battershill, University of Toronto, author of CircusThis isessential reading for all those who love books and literature. The story of theBook Society, the club that in the 1930s opened up reading and book buying tothe man in the street, is of course the main focus, and how good to see HughWalpole's pivotal role in it fully recognised. But as Nicola Wilson takes usthrough the Book Society's 40 year history, setting the story against abackdrop of unfolding national and world events, she displays in the processher truly astonishing depth of knowledge of 20th century literature. This is nodry academic tome but a tremendously readable and insightful account of afascinating story. It is filled with engaging anecdotes and numerousquotations, many of which have not been published before, all gleaned from herwide-ranging research. This book is a very impressive achievement indeed.NicholasRedman, Chairman, Hugh Walpole Society'This original and revealing work describes not onlyhow books were promoted to reach a wider public long before the computer age,but also explores the relationships of those people involved in theenterprise. A highly engaging read. 'MargiBlunden, daughter of Edmund Blunden'It's been a huge pleasure to read this, andfascinating to learn more about the workings of the Book Society and mygreat-grandmother Sylvia Lynd's role in that. Nicola Wilson weaves thebiographical elements in and out of the Book Society story so well'LydiaSyson, author of Mr Peacock's Possessions