Slightly Foxed

The independent-minded book review magazine that combines good looks, good writing and a personal approach. Slightly Foxed introduces its readers to books that are no longer new and fashionable but have lasting appeal. Good-humoured, unpretentious and a bit eccentric, it’s more like a well-read friend than a literary magazine.

Come behind the scenes with the staff of Slightly Foxed to learn what makes this unusual literary magazine tick, meet some of its varied friends and contributors, and hear their personal recommendations for favourite and often forgotten books that have helped, haunted, informed or entertained them.

20: An Issue of Enthusiasms

Slightly Foxed Editors Gail and Hazel take us between the pages of the magazine, bookmarking articles along the way. Crack the spine of the quarterly to discover T. H. White taking flying lessons, smutty book titles, a passion for romantic ruins, John Berger shadowing a remarkable GP, a rebellious Mitford ‘rescued’ by a destroyer, a night to remember on the Titanic and much more besides. From correcting proofs to welcoming writers with a host of experiences, the story of putting together an issue of enthusiasms unfolds. And in this month’s reading from the archives, a hapless apprentice at the Hogarth Press recounts his disastrous stint with the Woolfs.

Please find links to books, articles, and further reading listed below. The digits in brackets following each listing refer to the minute and second they are mentioned. (Episode duration: 36 minutes; 33 seconds)

Books Mentioned
We may be able to get hold of second-hand copies of the out-of-print titles listed below. Please get in touch with Anna in the Slightly Foxed office for more information.
Slightly Foxed Issue 66
Basil Street Blues, Michael Holroyd: Slightly Foxed Edition No. 29 (6:00)
England Have My Bones, T. H. White is out of print (6:47)
Inside of a Dog, Alexandra Horowitz (11:04)
The Letters of Charles and Mary Lamb is out of print (13:04)
No Voice from the Hall, John Harris is out of print (14:33)
The Family from One End Street, Eve Garnett (15:15)
A Taste of Paris, Theodora FitzGibbon is out of print (15:33)
A Fortunate Man, John Berger (19:38)
Rosemary Sutcliff’s Roman novels: Slightly Foxed Cubs (21:15)
Hons and Rebels, Jessica Mitford: Slightly Foxed Edition No. 52, published 1 September 2020 (21:53)
A Night to Remember, Walter Lord (23:50)
A Boy at the Hogarth Press, Richard Kennedy: Plain Foxed Edition (24:55)
House of Glass, Hadley Freeman (31:47)
All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr (34:00)

Related Slightly Foxed Articles
Underwater Heaven, Margaret Drabble on Charles Kingsley, The Water-Babies in Issue 66 (5:45)
Harvey Learns the Ropes, Andrew Joynes on Rudyard Kipling, Captains Courageous in Issue 56 (6:24)
On the Shoulders of Giants, Andrew Joynes on T. H. White, England Have My Bones in Issue 66 (6:30)
– Sarah Crowden on smut: Something for the Weekend in Issue 32 and All in the Mind? in Issue 44 (7:57)
Unsung Heroes, Alastair Glegg on learning to read at prep school in Issue 60 (9:59)
Dog’s-eye View, Rebecca Willis on Alexandra Horowitz, Inside of a Dog in Issue 65 (11:04)
In Praise of Pratchett, Amanda Theunissen on Terry Pratchett, Small Gods in Issue 33 (11:33)
Streets, Streets, Streets, Felicity James on the letters of Charles and Mary Lamb in Issue 65 (13:06)
These Fragments, Jon Woolcott on John Harris, No Voice from the Hall in Issue 66 (14:33)
Keeping up Appearances, Kate Tyte on Eve Garnett, The Family from One End Street in Issue 66 (15:15)
Simply Delicious, Clive Unger-Hamilton on Theodora FitzGibbon, A Taste of Paris in Issue 66 (15:33)
An Early-Flowering Climber, Ursula Buchan on the plant-hunting and garden writings of Reginald Farrer in Issue 66 (16:01)
A Well-tempered Gardener, Michael Leapman on the garden writings of Christopher Lloyd in Issue 59 (17:00)
Putting up Useful Shelves, Sue Gee on Richard Kennedy, A Boy at the Hogarth Press in Issue 20 (24:55)

Other Links
Slightly Foxed Editors’ Diary (0:28)

– Sign up to the free Slightly Foxed email newsletter here 
Little Toller Books (14:18)

Opening music: Preludio from Violin Partita No.3 in E Major by Bach
Reading music: Dark Hallway, written and performed by Kevin MacLeod courtesy of incompetech.filmmusic.io
The Slightly Foxed Podcast is hosted by Philippa Lamb and produced by Podcastable

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