Archives by Tag 'Virago Modern Classics'
Review: ‘Anderby Wold’ by Winifred Holtby
When I was sent a copy of the beautiful new edition of South Riding by Virago at the beginning of 2011 and was introduced to the writing of Winifred Holtby, it didn’t take me long to fall in love. I was fascinated by the dextrous way she handled such a large cast of characters, making all [...]
Review: ‘The House in Dormer Forest’ by Mary Webb
When by Mary Webb came up as May’s TBR Lucky Dip book, I was pleased for two main reasons. Firstly, it’s a Virago Modern Classic, which meant I could add another one to the ‘Read’ shelf on LibraryThing and not feel quite so bad about the large number still sitting glumly on the ‘To Read’ [...]
Review: ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen
Back in January, I reread Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, and mentioned that I planned to reread all of Austen’s novels at some point this year. Despite my great love for these books, it took me until May to get to the second book on the schedule which was , perhaps Austen’s best known work and [...]
Review: ‘Elizabeth and her German Garden’ by Elizabeth von Arnim
I very rarely plan what I’m going to read ahead of time, preferring to pick books from my shelves as the mood takes me, so it’s even more surprising when literary serendipity strikes. I really enjoy suddenly discovering that the book I’m reading is set in a place that I’ve just visited, references a book [...]
‘The Salzburg Tales’ by Christina Stead
Well, it’s finally happened: the honeymoon period is over. I suppose the day had to come when I encountered a Virago Modern Classic for which I didn’t particularly care, and it seems that that day is today. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that I actively disliked The Salzburg Tales by Christina [...]
‘Up the Junction’ by Nell Dunn
I never fail to be impressed by the variety of books published by Virago. Although there have been many relatively recent authors published as Virago Modern Classics, most of the books from this imprint that I’ve read so far have been those written in the early twentieth century. Set in London and first published in [...]
‘Try Anything Twice’ by Jan Struther
Jan Struther is best known as the author of the short novel, . However, during Virago Reading Week I posted about a fascinating notethat I had found taped inside a copy of Jan Struther’s which I acquired from a second hand book stall, and consequently I had to read this one first. I actually finished this [...]
‘South Riding’ by Winifred Holtby
My favourite place that I’ve ever lived is, without any hesitation, York. I lived in a cold, dingy cellar room where I used to become trapped in the house if it rained heavily because the area between my doorstep and the stairs up towards street level used to flood with almost a foot of water, but [...]
The Unique Pleasures of Second Hand Book Shopping
In my first post at the start of Rachel and Carolyn‘s Virago Reading Week, I mentioned how much I enjoy hunting these lovely green books down in second hand book shops. There is a particular joy in catching sight of that distinctive spine when it is least expected, and I often find myself emerging from [...]
‘Sense and Sensibility’ by Jane Austen
There are some books which it’s impossible for me to review with anything even vaguely approaching objectivity, and the works of Jane Austen feature very high up that list. I love everything about all of them, even the aspects which, critically speaking, might be weaker or less good. I don’t often reread books (too many [...]