You can probably tell that I like to mainly collect fiction pre-1980. A lot of rare and vintage book collecters prefer non fiction, and make a living from it. But as a novelist, the books I am most attracted to are the books I read or knew about growing up: D H Lawrence, Catherine Gaskin, Angela Brazil, C. S. Lewis and many, many others.
It’s always a thrill to pick up an old novel that has been enjoyed by many people and touched their lives in some way. If you look through the shop’s catalogue, you’ll see a tendency towards collecting certain authors. Some of my favourites are Daphne du Maurier, Georgette Heyer, anything by the Bronte’s, Elyne Mitchell, F Scott Fitzgerald, Louisa Alcott, and Ian Fleming.
Over time, I thought I would show a glimpse into why these authors have a special place in heart, beginning with Elyne Mitchell.
As a teenager, I was horse mad. I was lucky enough to own a few horses and also attend riding school. Never enough to compete, but I did a bit of bush riding. Mitchell’s books about wild brumbies were dramatic, funny, quirky and my first introduction to the romance of the Australian bush. There was also something in the stories that spoke to freedom and closeness to nature. Like very many books they haven’t aged well in terms of the male-female dynamics and role modelling attributed to the horses (also reflecting human behaviour), but that aside, they are still one of my all time favourite series.
We’ve had a couple of Silver Brumby books in the shop and they both sold quite quickly.
