*** Breaking news! ***

My apologies that this blog has got a bit creaky and cobwebby of late. There has been a lot going on (mostly positive—and indeed, a very interesting personal announcement will follow here in due course…). But at least now I get to make a big comeback with some very exciting middlebrow news!

When Dean Street Press founder Rupert Heath tragically passed at far too young an age a little over a year ago, it seemed that that would be the end of new releases for DSP's golden age mystery series and for the Furrowed Middlebrow series, though I at least took comfort in the fact that our (96!) existing titles would remain in print.

But I am ecstatic to be able to share that WE ARE BACK!

Rupert's indomitable sister, Victoria Eade, who worked alongside him at DSP, has, since his passing, been working tirelessly behind the scenes to get DSP back into a position to release new titles (!!). And I'm genuinely honored that the first new release from the revived Dean Street Press, set for release on August 5th, will be a Furrowed Middlebrow book!

Drum roll please…

When Victoria contacted me a couple of months ago and asked if I had one particular title that I felt must be back in print, I did not hesitate for a moment. I knew it had to be Eleanor Farjeon's delightful Miss Granby's Secret, one of my favorite discoveries from last year and the absolutely quintessential nugget of joy that we could all use these days. You might recall I finally published my rave review of it here after holding off for some time because I hadn't wanted to risk another publisher swooping in. I didn't know at that time that the opportunity to publish it might arise after all, but fortunately, no swooping was done in the end (except by us), and the book is ours. 

And we even have a cover already:

What's more, I'm thrilled to report that the brilliant Elizabeth Crawford will be contributing a new introduction to the book. I've actually just read it, hot off the—er—email, and it's truly wonderful. How she manages to squeeze so many fascinating tidbits of information into just a few pages, and tie them all in to enrich our reading of the book, is beyond belief, but I do so love what she does. And since many people who know Farjeon's name from her children's books have no idea that she wrote grownup fiction at all, I think everyone will be particularly interested in what Elizabeth tells us about her. Elizabeth's website is here, and by kismet she is currently featuring a post describing her illustrious and fascinating career—do check it out, I think many of you will be interested in her work if you're not already familiar.

A big thanks to Elizabeth, and a huge thanks to Victoria for making a Dean Street Press comeback possible. I'm confident Rupert would be ecstatic as well. Here's hoping that you're equally excited that Furrowed Middlebrow #97 is becoming a reality (and that other titles may follow in due course). And the biggest thanks of all to YOU lovely readers as always for your kind support and encouragement. I hope you're all doing well!