I like books on books, and I'm a sucker for books highlighting forgotten books, or books that never have received their due attention. In his "Introduction" Russell warns that the word "forgotten" is a slippery word, and that in recent years some of the books in his list have been revived, some by Tartarus Press, run by Russell and his wife Rosalie Parker. In fact, what
Fifty Forgotten Books really is, as a book, is a shadow history of Tartarus Press and other books that have led Russell in that direction as a reader and publisher. The result is a pleasant, light-reading traipse around Russell's book collection, including memories of shops where he bought various books, and of the friendships he made because of them. Oddly, this small paperback has an attractive cover which is hidden by a more plain dust-wrapper.
