All Virago/All August

Was going to resurrect the old thread but it is already too long.

Suggestions please on reading material for August. Most of us have read the better known Viragos, so could we recommend some of the lesser known/less discussed titles this year. The quiet sleepers we all over look as opposed to Illyrian Spring and the like.

The New House
Thank Heaven Fasting
Sunlight on a Broken Column
The White Bird Passes
Daddy Was a Number Runner
Novel on Yellow Paper
Palladian
The Living Is Easy

I'm not sure if these qualify as "lesser known" but perhaps less discussed.

Can I beat the drum for Not So Quiet by Helen Zena Smith? One of the most powerful anti-war novels i have ever read.

I too, am not sure how lesser known these books are but they are some of my considerations. Now mind you, my library of VMS is half what most of yours are but here goes:
The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West
Cousin Rosamund by Rebecca West
Virginia by Elizabeth Glasgow
The Lying Days by Nadine Gordimer
Where the Apple Ripens by Jessie Kesson
Daughter of Earth by Smedley
We Were That Young by Rathbone
Mad About Women by Yvonne Roberts
The Haunting of Sylvia Plath by Jacqueline Rose
The Wedding by Dorothy West
Not So Quiet by Smith
Beyond These Walls by Janina Bauman I am especially excited to read this one.
Liana by Martha Gellhorn and one I have been saving: The Ballad and the Source by Rosamond Lehmann
So that is the list of the moment, could change at any time, but for now my All Virago/All August looks like it is coming from this list. August is my favorite reading month followed closely by January and July. I am wondering: "Hey, why does Orange get two months and Virago only one?" Perhaps readers don't devote themselves exclusively to the Orange books but do the Viragos. IDK. I seem to want to read only Orange during January and July and only Virago during August. But I am most likely a minority.
hugs all round,
belva

Thank you for getting this going so early Barbara.
big hug............

My goodness, I haven't heard of many of those, let alone read them! More to add to the list then.

I'll second Elaine's recommendation of Not So Quiet. And add for anyone who decides to read it that "Bovril",which is mentioned frequently in the book, is beef tea. Apparently it's still around, too.

Eta I can't believe that I left Crossriggs off my list. Shame on me.

I think Not So Quiet was read a lot a year or two ago. There were several discussions on it and I finally got to it last year. But I will have Thank Heaven Fasting very soon thanks to Andrew and I own almost everything else on the list. I've read about half the books on Belva's list. Can someone tell me why I should read Jessie Kesson? I have three of hers unread. Also The Orlando Trilogy by Isabel Colegate and The Friendly Young Ladies by Mary Renault. Anyone read those?

I also keep urging Dorothy West on people. The Wedding is one of my favorite Viragos.

My recommendations would be

The House on the Strand - Daphne du Maurier
Manhattan When Young - Mary Cantwell
Letters to Constance - Mary Hocking

I say I want light reading for summer and yet two years ago I read Cindie, Death Comes for the Archbishop and Story of an African Farm during August, all three of which blew my socks off. Last year I read Mae West and a bunch of Virago lightweight stuff and it was all a waste of time.

Hi Barbara,

I wrote a review of Kesson's Where the Apple Ripens. On my review list it is Dec 27,2010 but since it is the only review on LibraryThing, it is easy to find. I quite like the book, but it is not really a keeper and I think I put my copy on PBS because I knew I wouldn't be rereading it.

OMG Barbara, Story of an African Farm is one of my favorite Viragos (of those that I have read...you have me totally beat to heck) And it does blow your sox off!~!

If I am in a lighter mood in August, (as I am now) I may just huddle down to a Daphne du Maurier fest/feast as I have most of hers and I do think they would keep me busy through ALL VIRAGO/ALL AUGUST. Thanx for a great idea m'lady.
hugs,
belva

>7 romain:: The White Bird Passes really moved me. Janie grows up in the slums with her mother, a prostitute. The love between mother and daughter shines through the sordid background.

I discovered VMCs a little over a year ago, and some of the best books I've read this year, and would recommend, have been:

Cassandra at the Wedding, by Dorothy Baker
Saraband, by Eliot Bliss
Sisters by a River, by Barbara Comyns
Crossriggs, by Mary and jane Findater
The Tortoise and the Hare, by Elizabeth Jenkins
The Lacquer Lady or A Pin to See the Peepshow by F Tennyson Jesse
The Ladies of Lyndon, by Susan Kennedy
The Three Sisters, by May Sinclair

If you're in the mood for Virago Travellers, I suggest Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, by isabelle Bird, or Up the Country, by Emily Eden.

Yep - a DuMaurier fest would meet all requirements. I can also recommend The Scapegoat if you haven't read that.

I see Crossriggs keeps coming up Kasthu, so perhaps I should read that too. The thing is, come August who knows what I'll be in the mood for but I'm telling you my Virago TBR pile is at least a hundred high so I'm sure to find something. How I wish I was yet to discover The Tortoise and the Hare and the Tennyson Jesses.

The White Bird Passes is a SLIM volume Andrew so perhaps I will think about that one too :)

Yes, Crossriggs is a good one! There are many more favorites, but many of them are the obvious ones (Diary of a Provincial Lady, the Molly Keanes, I Capture the Castle, etc.). I've got an entire shelf's worth of Viragos to choose from (43 to be exact, according to my tags on LT), so i should be busy, too. I love F Tennyson Jesse's books--I've got Moonraker on the TBR pile, too, which I think is going to be high on the pile this August. Can't wait for August to get here!

Jessie Kessoon's books (White Bird Passes, Where the apple ripens) are so beautifully written.

I've been a silent member of this group, but would love to join in an All Virago All August read. Not sure what I'll pick, but some of my favourite VMCs include: (these are potentially a bit less known - obviously Provincial Lady and Jane Austen are my favourites...!)
The Love Child by Edith Olivier
Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead by Barbara Comyns (indeed, anything by her)
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Crewe Train by Rose Macaulay
William by E.H. Young

I think I'll be reading more E.H. Young, and perhaps The Unlit Lamp by Radclyffe Hall; Cassandra at the Wedding and Crossriggs mentioned above...

Welcome Simon - I've only read one on your list! More food for thought. I know I'll wind up supplementing the Viragos with some murder mysteries, so I really should read worthy Viragos rather than the dross I indulged in last year. I am leaning towards one of the Kessons, William by E H Young and at least one DuMaurier. And The Sheik of course.

Hello Simon. I am so pleased that you have found your voice in this lovely group.

Since perusing my shelves and looking at the reading/recommendation lists of others I have more possibilities than I could hope to read in a months.

At the moment these are the six books most likely.

The Wild Geese by Bridget Boland
Bid Me to Live by Hilda Doolittle
Susan Spray by Sheila Kaye-Smith
I'm Not Complaining by Ruth Adam
Painted Clay by Capel Boake
Never No More by Maura Laverty

There are reasons why, and a few more things on my blog, and I am pleased to report that I am getting a good few clicks on links to this thread, the group, and the VMC master list.

I must echo Verity's words about Jessie Kesson.

And I must mention that A Pin to See The Peepshow is a particular favourite, in part because I recall that, quite a few years ago now, it was the first book I brought home from the library to read knowing nothing about it except that it had one of those green covers, which could only be a good thing ...

Nice to see you here, Simon! I've been following your blog for ages and know that you are not the silent type. So chime in please !!!

Jane, I envy you the pleasure of reading I'm Not Complaining for the first time.

I've got a few things lined up as possible AV/AA reads:

Volume one of Pilgrimage by Dorothy Richardson
Peking Picnic by Ann Bridge
The Love Child by Edith Olivier
The Ante-Room by Kate O'Brien
Conversation Piece by M. J. Farrell
The Crowded Street by Winifred Holtby

I might not wait until August with some of these, however, since they've been in the TBR for a while.

OMG Andrew - a treasure trove, except for Pilgrimage about which I have heard nothing good. You'll have to let us know but, in my head at least, it is one of the stinkers that everyone avoids. Anyone able to put me right?

I don't know anyone who's read the Richardsons, but I would like to read the series by end of year. The individual books are fairly short, so it should be doable. Provided it doesn't suck, of course.

Thank you lindsacl! I will try not to be silent here :) So many places to talk about books...!

Nearly missed this! I will definitely be taking part this August though I probably won't read ALL Viragoes , if only because they might get tatty when I go on holiday!
I will probably start with One Fine Day by Mollie Panter-Downes which was a secret santa present from Jen. Very gratefully received as it had been top of my wishlist for ages.

These are my recommendations. With most of them, I seem to be seconding other peoples!

Thank Heaven Fasting by E.M Delafield
A Touch of Mistletoe by Barbara Comyns
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Jenny Wren by E.H Young
The Love Child by Edith Olivier
The Crowded Street by Winifred Holtby
The Lying Days by Nadine Gordimer

Edited to add: I am also interested to hear if anybody knows anything about The Orlando Trilogy. I also have a copy and would love to be given a little push towards it!

Edited again to add that The Spoilt Kill might be a good one for you this August, Barbara. A superior murder mystery and a Virago Modern Classic!

One Fine Day is superb.

I'll be taking part in this as well, but like Dee won't read ALL Viragoes (Viragos? What is the plural, anyway?). I'll make my selections on the spur of the moment, no doubt inspired by you lovely people.

Just chiming in to further recommend Sylvia Townsend Warner, who has been among my favorite writers and writer-personalities for some years now, especially due to the marvelous collection of her correspondence with William Maxwell which I read before I even read most of her fiction. She left marvelous letters and diaries, which give me such a pang of wishing I could have known her.

That correspondence with William Maxwell - The Element of Lavishness - is absolutely sublime. I finished reading it the other day, and it's probably the best published correspondence I've ever read. I went a bit mad and ordered 7 different volumes of Warner short stories yesterday!

I went a bit mad and ordered 7 different volumes of Warner short stories yesterday!

I've been trying to refrain from doing that since reading STW's collection Winter in the Air recently which was just stunning. The only other one I've bought so far is Kingdoms of Elfin but I suspect it's only a matter of time.

Of course, I'm off to check out the William Maxwell correspondence now...

I got Lolly Willowes from the library on my way home this evening. I do own it, but it's part of a hardcover omnibus which is much too heavy to carry to and from work every day.

>28 Leseratte2:: I think you'll enjoy Lolly Willowes. It has delicious ironies beneath surface respectabilities, exquisite descriptions of everyday pleasures and an outrageous ending- what's not to love?

Well actually, the conversing with the devil doesn't seem to be loved by all but this is best read with tongue in cheek and as a statement about Laura's lack of choices.

I can think of other fictional characters whose conversations would bother me more. Anybody in an Ayn Rand novel, for example.

The other correspondence collection that I've read and reread with great pleasure is the Lyttelton/Hart-Davis letters, which are collected into 3 volumes and make great bedside books. They're erudite and witty and even when they're being sexist or obscure, they're never boring.

As for Sylvia, my favorite novel of hers is The Flint Anchor which seems not to be available now, but I hope someone will reprint it soon. It's a sly satire on the Victorian family saga and also works as just a Victorian family saga.

For knitters who are also STW fans:

Lolly Willowes

I loved I'm Not Complaining and was thinking of it during a Virago Bookclub discussion of South Riding a few weeks ago, as it is another story of a 1930s teacher.

In preparation of ALL VIRAGO/ALL AUGUST just in case I want to read something I don't own I went to AbeBooks, found and ordered:
Fraulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther by Elizabeth von Arnim,
Persimmon Tree and Other Stories by Marjorie Barnard,
Tortoise by Candlelight by Nina Bawden,
Saraband by Eliot Bliss,
Her Son's Wife by Dorothy Canfield,
Camomile by Catherine Carswell,
Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather,
Touch of Mistletoe by Barbara Comyns,
The Ha-Ha by Jennifer Dawson,
Paris was Yesterday by Janet Flanner,
Curious, if True by Elizabeth Gaskell,
Stricken Field by Martha Gellhorn,
Nightingale Wood by Stella Gibbons,
Adam's Breed by Radclyffe Hall,
Knight of Cheerful Countenance by Molly Keane,
The Reef by Edith Wharton,
and a real treat for self: Our Three Selves, the Life of Radclyffe Hall by Michael Baker

Belva, you must have been a Girl Scout. You take the "be prepared" motto VERY seriously !!

Indeed.............lol!~! But when you have been a very good girl, thrift-wise, for such a long time you just can't always help yourself. ;-)

I don't know that I will manage all Virago all August, but I'll certainly be giving them their due next month. Now that the majority of my collection has been packed off to the new house that I don't get to live in for another two months I don't think I have enough left here to sustain my reading for that long!

Since I seem to be doing All Virago All Summer, I've added a few more to the pile:

Her Son's Wife by Dorothy Canfield
The Three Sisters by May Sinclair
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
One Fine Day by Mollie Panter-Downes
A Legacy by Sybille Bedford

I won't be doing All Virago either, but I'll surely do one or maybe two. I expect I'll just put in my hand, draw out a few plums, and read the best of the bunch.

Nice list Andrew. You have picked some good ones.

AND THE OFFICIAL COUNT-DOWN BEGINS.

********15 DAYS TO ALL VIRAGO/ALL AUGUST*******


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The only problem is that I hold off all July on Viragos so as not to waste one I could read in August.

That could be a problem for some of us and it sounds like you really are missing one this month. I would go ahead and read one if you are getting itchy. I mean there IS nothing better to read.
I am reading all Orange this month except for the book for my R/L book club and one other so I will definitely be more than ready by the time the first arrives.

I just pulled two nonvirago editions from my PBS bookshelf. Jonah's Gourd Vine and The Ballad and the Source will be joining me on the plane ride from Chicago to Heathrow to Stratford. This should hold me until August 2 when I go to the Sue Ryder and Oxfam book stores to see what Viragoes are available for August in Stratford on Avon.

Loved, loved, loved Jonah's Gourd Vine. Hurston is so wonderful. I hope you enjoy/appreciate it as well Elaine.
hugs,
belva

> 44 aha - I think you'd better get the train to Hall Green from Stratford, join me on a pleasant walk or quick bus journey and come to my Oxfam in Kings Heath, which usually has a shelf of green spines ...

Sounds like a plan!

Elaine

Sounds like a plan! Would love to do it!

Elaine

How wonderful for the both of you to be able to have a meet-up including shopping for the lovely greens.
Enjoy ladies.

******13 DAYS TO ALL VIRAGO/ALL AUGUST******


glitter-graphics.com

Are we ready? For a Virago? ALWAYS!~!

Can any other Viragoites get to Birmingham in August?

It's a bit too far for me - I'll be on holiday near Chester, so only half as far away as normal, but not quite close enough. Have a good meet up though!

Oh golly. It's a bit too far for me too. Damn.

Wish I could...:-(

What I wouldn't give.........................

Ooh, Birmingham would usually be a possibility for me but I will be visiting family in the south of England during the first week of August. I'll probably be geographically closer but I don't visit them much and think they would take a dim view of me nipping off to Birmingham. Next time though!

I don't think we're necessarily doing the first week in August, are we? Soupdragon, could you make it here another week?

>57 LyzzyBee:: I have a work audit in August (which almost makes me regret leaving teaching) and other family members visiting so it could be tricky but if you two make a date I'll see if I can fit it in! If not, I'm in for next time (I've already checked the train times)!

ETA: There is something weird about this message. Two 57s!!?

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Ten days until ALL VIRAGO/ALL AUGUST!~!

We are at a seven day count down dearies.


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Only six more days until ALL VIRAGO/ALL AUGUST

I'll sneak into Wednesday's spot to say that I'm starting early with The Constant Nymph. Then I know that I want to read The Orlando Trilogy and something by Rosamond Lehmann or Sylvia Townsend Warner or both. That won't be All Virago, but it will be some. And I reserve the right to change my mind after *CN*.

Only four more days until ALL VIRAGO/ALL AUGUST!~!


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Belva, as overjoyed as I might be to be close to All Virago All August, the countdown reminds me of the fact that in four days I shall be back in my office!! :-(

Ah... but some of us, who have been working summer school the entire month of July, will be home in August! Mind you, I'll be power washing and restaining the deck, then doing DIY inside for most of that. Not complaining though. Lucky to have a job and lucky to have time off at all.

I am grateful to have a job, indeed I am! It is not so much the idea of having to go back that bothers me, but the very long commute and the fact that I shall be in contact with some very unpleasant people again, every day. But such is life.......

I'm on holiday from 30th July til mid August (hurrah!) so I shall take VMCs away with me. But am going to be as spontaneous as possible in deciding which ones.

As long as you enjoy. And everyone of us is different and thank God for diversity. It is what makes the world go round, not love. So all of you just do what you want and what feels right to you. That is what makes ALL VIRAGO/ALL AUGUST work for us. Not the feeling like you must read all month. The month is a gift to all of us to do it however we want.
hugs all round,
belva

I will be staying with my mother on the south coast (of England) for the first week of August. I plan to bring with me two Virago Modern Classics: My Antonia and I Capture the Castle. I'm also wondering whether to bring The Go-Between with me, not a Virago but it does sound like a good one for the summer. I will get to One Fine Day when I return. It was going to be my first August VMC but as it's a particularly nice copy I don't want it to get tatty on my travels!

I've recently started The Death of The Heart by Elizabeth Bowen so will probably continue with that before starting on any of the above. I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying it as I felt quite detached from The Last September, the only other Bowen I've read. With this one, I had less expectations but am just lapping up the wonderful writing!

I won't have internet access while I'm away so will report back when I return.

Dee - I loved The Go-Between and, yes, it is a perfect hot summer read. My first E Bowen was The House in Paris. Didn't do a thing for me. But I've enjoyed several others by her, very much.

I am still debating my books for August. I have heaps of things to read but am dithering. I will do The Sheik and I will also do a Jessie Kesson, if only because I have 3 of hers and they are all short. I was going to do William but now think I'll do Miss Mole instead. In the end I'll probably read the first page of half a dozen books and see what grabs me.

You're not even the tiniest bit tempted by Pilgrimage, Barbara? Seriously, though, I might get through Volume II this month if I apply myself but I suspect I will only read The Tunnel and spend the other three weeks with more accessible authors.

@#72:
Barbara;
I am reading a Jessie Kesson also for A.V./A.A. Where the Apple Ripens, a book of shorts. Can't wait!~!
______________________________
@#73:
Andrew;
My beautiful Zoe arrived yesterday. I was so pleased. Thank you so very much.

"You are not like other women, Zoe, you are stronger for both good and evil, and it may be that you will be tried. Women like you, seldom pass through life easily."

***********shivers************

hugs all round,
belva

I've been hoarding Viragos for a while now, so I've got a lot to choose from this month. I think I'll start with The Land of Spices, which has been sitting on my TBR shelf since June of last year.

@#75;
Kasthu;
The year I found Kate O'Brien through The Land of Spices turned into a Kate O'Brien year. I love her writing and just fall into her books. I was (still am) hunting for every title of hers that I could find. The one you have chosen is a stand out 5 star read. Oh, I do hope you love it.

Monday is just two days away. So excited for my favorite reading month to begin. I hope you all are too. Catch you there.


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Another Kate O'Brien fan here. I really enjoyed Without My Cloak and The Ante-Room is in my TBR pile.

I remember picking up Without My Cloak in the library years ago, when I was a poor trainee accountant with no book budget, and it was most definitely love.

Yes, I do love Kate O'Brien; I read Mary Lavelle late late year and really liked it.

♥Kate O'Brien♥

♥(((Kate O'Brien)))♥

Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow will be our day
and we will say: "A very happy tomorrow to you!"

I plan to begin with Where the Apple Ripens by Jessie Kesson, a book of her shorts. Orange July got me all warmed up for ALL VIRAGO/ALL AUGUST!~!

82 and 81 ... ditto :)) Land of Spices .... is one of my favourites. I have a beautiful hardback edition which I keep here in France. My absolute favourite is The Last of Summer again a hardback edition with a delightful dust cover. It is dated 1944.

Happy August, everyone! Somehow I started three non-VMCs at the weekend, and didn't get very far with any of them, but I think I'm going to shunt them to one side and start the month with Red Pottage!

I've been rallying the troops over on my blog - if anyone likes seeing blurry photos of half a Virago collection, this is your place to go! (ahem) http://stuck-in-a-book.blogspot.com/2011/08/all-viragoall-august.html

I've just finished my first Virago for this month - I 'cheated' by starting it a while ago - William by E. H. Young (can't get a touchstone). It was as wonderful as all E. H. Young's books and a good start to the month.

I think I shall go on to Kate O'Brien - I have Mary Lavelle and The Ante-Room available and unread.

>87 CDVicarage: - isn't William wonderful? I'm only 14pp into Red Pottage, but already loving it. Very 1890s.

I'm another fan of The land of spices, and have Without my cloak on the Virago tbr shelf. But I'm starting AV/AA with The camomile by Catherine Carswell.

>87 CDVicarage:,88: I read William a couple weeks ago while on holiday. It was indeed wonderful. I still need to write my review but highly recommend it! Andrew (Leseratte) was crowing about it not too long ago, which inspired me to move it to the top of my reading queue.

Simon, your blog is lovely, and the pictures of your Viragoes are clear enough for me to check out titles and realize that I don't know about a bunch of them! I must eagerly ask you to explain sometime what it is that you love about Ivy C-B. At this point, she's a taste I don't want to acquire.
I'm not really into The Constant Nymph yet, but I will be!

Simon - great pictures. Thanks. I think I own RP (checks shelves to confirm)... yes.

I got up at midnight and read The Sheik or may be I cheated also :) I had two responses to it, and found myself alternating between the two as I read. One was - Gosh! This is a cracking good read! And what fun it would be to be kidnapped by a lusty Arab/pirate/Cherokee Chief etc (all the stuff of those Harlequin semi-porn we all read at one time and for which most of us make no apology.) Political correctness be hanged, let's suspend disbelief and just go for it.

But then there was the other Barbara. The pursed lipped feminist vegetarian who was appalled by this man who shot horses he could not break, and beat servants who answered back. Who found herself thinking cynically of Stockholm Syndrome as the heroine fell in love with her abuser, who wondered what she did when she got her period, how she kept clean, and how she managed without flush toilets. But most of all I wondered what happened to her as she aged, in a tent, in the desert... no face cream, no shopping, no books, trapped by a brood of children, with a husband busy in the next tent with his latest kidnap victim.

None of these latter issues would've been raised if this had been a Harlequin romance. I would've read it and tossed it aside without a backward glance. But the fact that it was a Virago left me wondering - What did they want me to take away from this book? Was I supposed to be entertained, horrified, or educated? In the end I decided to abandon my political disapproval and just go for being entertained and on that level I enjoyed the book hugely.

I've only just joined this group thanks to Simon's blog. My favorite Virago authors are (in no particular order) EH Young, Rosamund Lehmann, Barbara Comyns and Rebecca West. I'm away from home all month but I have three VMCs with me and will read them all -- they are:
E H Young, The Misses Mallett
Antonia White, The Sugar House
May Sinclair, The Life and Death of Harriet Frean
I bought the last two a couple of days ago at a bookstall on the South Bank in London.

>93 drharrietd:: Welcome! I too have found Viragos while browsing the South Bank book market. What a wonderful place it is! Barbara Comyns is one of my favourite authors, who I would not have discovered if her books were not VMCs.

Welcome, drharrietd!!! I hope you will enjoy our - not so little any more - group.
:-))

Barbara, as I was reading your comments on The Sheik I found myself nodding. Exactly my feelings at the time I read it, but how entertaining!

Yes Comyns is wonderful. I haven't read all of hers yet but have loved the ones I have -- The Vet's Daughter in particular.

Welcome drharrietd and to all for this wonderful month.

As I've mentioned (ad nauseam), this has been my summer of reading Daphne du Maurier to coincide with All Virago/All August. I did get an early start with My Cousin Rachel, The Parasites and The Loving Spirit. For August, I'll be reading Jamaica Inn and Frenchman's Creek to start. Interspersed with Daphne, I may throw in another Winifred Holtby (while waiting for more du Mauriers to arrive!). A recent read was The Land of Green Ginger which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I've posted the link to this thread on FB with hopes of attracting more participants. Funny though, most of my FB friends are the lot of you!

Edited to add - I just picked up a copy of The House of Dolls by Comyns that looks hilarious!

Currently reading The Getting of Wisdom, love it, and may read Maurice Guest next. Haven't really planned ahead and I have several to choose from. I will list them on my profile page as I go.

#31 NancyKay - looking into STW's The Flint Anchor, I see that the original title was The Barnards of Loseby. Very interesting! Although not a Virago, you can obtain an edition of The Barnards of Loseby at a more reasonable price!



HERE's another interesting site on Sylvia that I came across.

Hello Harriet, I'm so pleased that you have found your way over here.

I had a list of books for the months, but Our Spoons Came From Woolworths caught my eye, I picked it up, and then I just had to read it again.

There is definitely something about Barbara Comyns!

>92 romain:: But then there was the other Barbara. The pursed lipped feminist vegetarian... this paragraph cracked me up!

>93 drharrietd:: Welcome Harriet!

I'll probably read only one VMC this month but it's going to be a Comyns: Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead.

Welcome drharrietd and to all who have joined our month of green reads. I hope that we, one and all, enjoy our 1 or 20 Virago books that we read in this special ALL VIRAGO/ALL AUGUST month. I just call
it The Green Month now.
I can't believe how many of you have joined in and all of the posts. I forced myself to do some work this A.M.
before signing on and I have so enjoyed all of your
posts this morning.
I am really looking forward to beginning my first book
for the month, Where the Apple Ripens by Jessie Kesson, tonight. Hubby began his vacation today so he wants/thinks I should be out in the yard working alongside him instead of reading. ***silly husband***
Enjoy your green reads everyone and thank you for joining our special month of Virago.
hugs all round,
belva

Great to see you here, Harriet!

>91 LizzieD: - thanks Lizzie! And I adore Ivy C-B for her turn of phrase, and the incredible patterns of language she puts in people's mouths. Nobody would ever speak like any of her characters do, but she knows that, and revels in it. I love how they spend pages and pages pedantically (and, to my mind, hilariously) arguing over some tiny detail, and then slip in a murder, or incest, or something like that... Of course, they all have the same titles (more or less) so it's impossible to remember which plots belong with which books...

Also on the Kate O'Brien train, with The Land of Spices.

>104 Stuck-in-a-Book:: From the back cover of A House and Its Head -

"It is as if one's next door neighbor leaned over the garden wall, and remarked, in the same breath and chatty tone, that he had mown the lawn in the morning and thrust his wife's head in the gas-oven after lunch."

Welcome from me too, Harriet!
Thanks for the explanation, Simon. I think that what you revel in is what I deplore in Ms. C-B. I know that my worshiped Elizabeth Taylor revered and loved her, but I just can't see it. I don't have a lot more time to grow up, but I expect that I'll try her one more time before I give up completely. I do have a lot of other green to read before she's all that's left though.

Just finished Pilgrimage Vol. I. And I still don't know what to make of it. Really all I can say is that the characters are more clearly defined in Honeycomb than in the previous two "chapter novels" as Richardson called them, and that her style has evolved a bit more. I wish I had the brains/education to figure out what exactly keeps me going in this series so I could share it with the rest of y'all. It's rather like watching a surreal silent film which relies mainly on close-ups, montages, and the occasional inter-title to tell what story there is. That's about as close as I can get.

Now I will take a well-deserved break and read something a bit more traditional. With all the Kate O'Brien love going around, I think it might be The Ante-Room. My first instinct was to grab A Touch of Mistletoe, but that would leave me with only one Barbara Comyns left to read. : (

Today I read Where the Apple Ripens, which is a small book of short stories by Jessie Kesson & I must say that this is the first Virago that I have read with a very distinctive herky-jerky writing style. I have never before read Kesson and she is said to be one of Scotland's most beloved of writers so I will read more of her and perhaps my brain will finally at some point learn to accommodate her method of writing. For me this was a 1 1/2 to 2 star read. It just didn't work for me due to the writing style. Perchance five years from now I will be rating Kesson a 4.5 or 5.
On to The Fountain Overflows which seems, at this point, to be lovely.

Belva, The Fountain Overflows is one of my favourites.

I've finished The camomile, which doesn't seem to have been widely read or loved here. I had never heard of it until joining LT and ogling other people's collections. I very much enjoyed it, anyway; it's written in journal form, 2/3 of which is posted to a friend at intervals, the remaining section is for the heroine to have somewhere to vent her private thoughts. This made it a very fast read for me, as I found the narrative voice engaging and was eager to follow where it led. It's the story of a young woman who is discovering who she is and her place in life, as she questions her need (or not) for marriage, a career and her role/place in society. I will try and write a proper review on the work page, but for now, I can add this to the list of VMCs that I recommend highly.

I too love The fountain overflows and must get around to reading the second and third volumes of the story.

I am enjoying The Fountain Overflows very much ladies & laddies. Love the way it is written. I can just see the mother's mouth pursing as she listens and/or speaks to the father. He is an absolute gem, isn't he? And I love the interaction with the children; so very normal up to this point.

I have just finished The White Bird Passes which was an easy and pleasant read. I agree with Andrew that the relationship between mother and daughter was really lovely. Despite being a novel it was written more as a series of short stories, some more interesting than others. The curate's rotten egg - parts of it were excellent but other parts were just a tad mundane. A nice book but definitely not a great one.

I'm three chapters into The Ante-Room and finding it rather grim so far. I see Barbara Pym climbing to the top of Mt. TBR in the very near future.

Rebecca ... but not the VMC version. Rather the precious 1940 edition from my dear Mummy's library - she even signed it Marjory Barker ....

I flew through The passion of new Eve - not my favourite Angela Carter. I think she is at her best in short stories and essays. I liked her descriptions of a post-Apocalyptic America, which reminded me at times of John Brunner's New York in Stand on Zanzibar and Elizabeth Hand's DC in Winterlong; but unlike those books, the characters in New Eve were just there to Represent Something Important, rather than having real personalities. Still, I'm glad to have read it - not least because I see that I bought my copy at the University bookshop, which means it has been on my tbr shelf for over 15 years . . .

Now I've moved on to Faces in the water, not the Virago edition, rather a copy that I borrowed from my sister and need to give back to her soon. It's very good so far, though disturbing in its portrayal of the treatment of patients in various institutions for the mentally ill.

Claire, I'm delighted to hear of another Elizabeth Hand fan. It's been several years since I read her, but I thought that she was so much better than Donna Tart, for instance, who was getting a lot of noise at about the same time as I was reading Waking the Moon.
Julie, what a triply precious copy of Rebecca you have!
And I plan/hope to finish The Constant Nymph today as I read around a bridge (!) afternoon. (I don't love the game, but I love my 3 friends whom I would never see otherwise.)

I am reading The Life and Death of Harriet Frean. Feeling quite depressed by it all.

But it is really good, isn't it Mary? I thought it quite good.

>118 urania1:: But Harriett Frean is short, so you're not slogging through hundreds of pages of depressing. Depressing or not, I thought it was a great little novel.

I just finished Willa Cather's Shadows on the Rock from my mother's library. Inspired by a visit to Red Cloud, Nebraska and Cather's childhood home, I'm catching up on Cather novels I haven't read. Review to come when I get home and can type on a better keyboard than this netbook I'm using for lurking and keeping up with my email and bank statements.

Finished Red Pottage and I thought it was brilliant - one part sensation; one part satire; one part New Woman novel; one part 1890s luxuriance; one part warm-hearted. A wonderful admixture.

>121 janeajones:: Shadows on the rock is one of my favourite of Cather's novels, though it seems to get overlooked in favour of the Midwestern ones.

>117 LizzieD:: Yes, I too enjoyed Waking the moon - great characters, and I always enjoy a college/school setting.

I did finish The Constant Nymph which I liked less than Elaine did. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy it, but I got along better with The Ladies of Lyndon, and I'm not sure why. I think that I was not pleased with the depth of Lewis as a character - there being little to none - and that bothered me as much or more than his cavalier treatment of the women in his life. I didn't warm to Florence either, and that made me uncomfortable. But Tessa was a dream!
Now I'm off to A Note in Music, but Simon, you are making me want to take up Red Pottage. Attract/Attract!! and so little time!

I've finished Mary Lavelle and (mostly) enjoyed it. I loved the descriptions of Spain and Mary's reactions to the countryside, the towns and the Spanish people; the characters of the children and the other Misses were vivid and enjoyable, but as for Mary herself I found her (to use Nigel Molesworth's description) to be Utterly Wet and a Weed.

My next Virago is Precious Bane.

>124 LizzieD:: I thought A Note in Music was a fine novel, and I was particularly interested by what she had to say about relationships and communication. And you reall should red Red Pottage. That is one of my favorite VMCs.

My, but you folks are just skipping through the Virago books. And so many interesting and differing titles.
I am a little better than half way through my 2nd: The Fountain Overflows.
Life has been so busy with the hubby on vacation. Run, run, run.......... today the All-School Reunion of our town and kids & grands along with the great grand in for a BBQ & swim. But I will get to read in bed tonight.
You guys n gals are great!

I just finished Blow Your House Down by Pat Barker. Written from the point of view of the Sheffield prostitutes during the time of the Yorkshire Ripper, it cannot be described as an enjoyable read, but it certainly was a powerful book that pulled no punches. Barker paints a picture of a profession that, aside from the Ripper, is nothing short of soul destroyingly, boring; made palatable only by the friendships between the women, and liberal supplies of alcohol.

Like the other early Barker books it is not tidily written. Indeed, the final section - about the Ripper's first non-prostitute victim - felt like a short story tagged on to make the novel a more acceptable length for publication.

I'm about to start Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead. Really looking forward to it.

I loved Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead. It was horrifying and hilarious and to my mind second only to The Vet's Daughter.

Yes. It will change your outlook on life!

Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead is my favourite Comyns (with The Vet's Daughter second) - enjoy! Or perhaps enjoy is not quite the right word... wonderfully surreal.

"horrifying and hilarious" and "surreal" for sure. I am finding it one of the most unusual books I've ever read!

Sounds really good. I need to bump it up!~!

I'm getting into The Squire - interestingly written and intriguing so far ...

Who was changed is probably my favourite Comyns - but I haven't read The vet's daughter yet. And the skin chairs runs it close.

I just finished Faces in the water and posted about it on the What Virago are you reading thread.

I finished my first Virago yesterday: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. It was as charming and delightful as I expected and also unexpectedly funny and moving. I loved Cassandra, of course and also Topaz whose eccentricity I found somehow familiar and believable. I have known "Topaz"'s myself and could well see how Cassandra was both fond of and exasperated by her!

I have just started Told by an Idiot, my first ever Rose Macaulay and it definitely won't be my last. I'm only a few pages in but the writing is just wonderful.

GOLD STARS FOR SOUPDRAGON!~!~!
Congrats! You will love the green girlfriend, I am just sure. Looks good on you too. ;-)

Soupdragon, I bought Told By An Idiot eight years ago, and still haven't read it, but I can definitely recommend Crewe Train and Keeping Up Appearances and Dangerous Ages - the only RM I've read so far that I didn't much like was Staying With Relations

Thanks, Belva. I'm not sure what I've done to deserve gold stars but it's very nice to have them :-)

Simon, I'm glad Macaulay gets your recommendation. I recently received Crewe Train in a ReadItSwapIt swap and I'm enjoying TBAI so much I may well go on to that afterwards. I also have a copy of The World my Wilderness which Sakerfalcon made me want to read!

I read all the Rose Macaulay books I could get hold of years ago, in the late 80s and early 90s - have acquired Virago copies of the 3 Virago ones and better condition paperback copies of some of the others I owned - I have a totally falling apart copy of Dangerous Ages and looking at it closely discovered it was published in 1937 - it's 3 years older than my dad! Sadly it's in no way collectable.

Told by an Idiot made me a Macaulay fan.

I love, love, loved The Fountain Overflows and the sequel arrived by post today. YEA!~!
A funny thing happened on the way to the forum:
I thought that I had a 3:00 apt with my therapist (who is 1 1/2 hours away) so I get there about 2:30 and am reading my next Virago Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont, also my first Elizabeth Taylor, and my therapist comes out, goes back in, comes back out and says that my apt is for tomorrow at 3:00. Arghhhhhhh; I had it in my date book correctly but had copied it onto my desk calendar incorrectly. As luck would have it she had a 6:00 P.M. cancellation that I could have so I got to sit for 3 hours + and read my book in it's entirety. And I love, love, loved it as well. Elizabeth Taylor writes beautifully and this book was filled with little nuances of humor and some laugh out loud moments.
'Well, another Sunday nearly gone,' Mrs Post said quickly, to cover a little fart. She had presence of mind.' I laughed so hard sitting there in that office that 'I' almost tooted. LOL!~!
And I noted that Ludo was reading George Gissing.
These are really good books we are reading. Loving it!~!
~belva

Which Gissing was Ludo reading, Belva?
I'm still working on The Ante-Room. It got off to a slow start; it's kind of a sequel to Without My Cloak in that it's about the Mulqueen branch of the Considine family, but this book is not a multi-generational family saga. Instead, O'Brien adheres to the Aristotleian unities of time, place, and action. Quite a turnaround from her first novel.

It doesn't say Andrew.
'The launderette (coin-operated) had overhead fluorescent lighting, which enabled him to read easily his George Gissing.'
I would like to think that it is The Odd Women.
Are you enjoying/appreciating The Ante-Room?

I loved Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont and give it 5+ stars but my poor old heart was broken at the end. I didn't want it to end like that but it certainly was in keeping with the beautiful story. Her daughter, Elizabeth; what a bloody cold hearted bitch!~!
I really want to read another Elizabeth Taylor as she writes like an angel but I am going to choose one from my list of books that I wanted to read for the month and that book is: The Lying Days by Nadine Gordimer. It is about South Africa and I love books on Africa, almost any book on Africa. I don't know why they thrill me but they do.
Good Reads All,
~belva

I would say that I'm appreciating The Ante-Room rather than actively enjoying it. The mother's terminal illness is painful to read about. I hope I will like Mary Lavelle better.

146: Mrs Palfrey and The Lying Days each hold a special place in my heart!

I read Mrs Palfrey shortly after my grandmother's death and the lead character kept reminding me of her. The Lying Days was, I think, my first ever Virago Modern Classic which I read when I was seventeen. I identified with Gordimer's approach to adolescence and it sparked an interest in South Africa which led eventually to my travelling in Southern Africa when I was twenty.

Oh Soup, how I envy you that trip. I would love to go one day. I loved Palfrey and am just absolutely falling into Lying Days. Loving it thus far.
And isn't it wonderful when you read a book and catch a bit of a loved one's character in one of the book's? I hope that warmed your heart.

149: It is and it did, Belva! I'm sure I was projecting but I really did seem to see my grandmother in Mrs Palfrey!

149> Belva -- I've not read Lying Days -- actually hadn't heard of it before, but now I must pick it up. Nevertheless, I have to recommend Burger's Daughter -- maybe Gordimer's best -- at least my favorite.

It is going on my list Jane. BAMM!~! There it is. I am loving her writing. Did you realize that she was a Nobel Prize winner? I didn't!
I am having such a good reading year that I can hardly believe it. So few duds. Love it!~! Thanx Jane. :-) ♥♥♥

Finished The Ante-Room on the train this morning. Rather a grim way to start the day, I must say. It was good, but don't read it if you're depressed. I think I need another dose of Barbara Pym to counteract it.

I loved Burger's Daughter when I read it, some time ago now.

I won a twitter draw for her collected non fiction writings a few months ago, an amazing 740 page volume - I still have to write a review.

I finished Red Pottage this afternoon. Sorry guys but it wasn't one of my favorite Viragos. I took against the male lead character from page one ("an inferior man... without moral backbone") and spent the entire book worrying that the heroine would lower herself to marry him (Maybe she did/maybe she didn't... I won't spoil the book for others.) But, in my mind at least, the real couple were Rachel and Hester and the entire book could've been reduced to one page. 'Rachel and Hester have been friends since nursery school. As adults, they acknowledge their love for one another, and build a life together.' The End.

Just packing for my holiday - only a week but you have to take more books than you think you'll read in case one (or more) of them disappoints. I have chosen three Viragos: Precious Bane, Celia and Cotters' England. I shall also have my Kindle with me which has Diary of a Provincial Lady, several by Elizabeth von Arnim, Margaret Oliphant and Willa Cather as well as a good selection of Classics. I hope this will be enough...

#153 I like the idea that you need a dose of Barbara Pym to recover from The Ante Room though I will still try to find a copy for myself.

#154 what a great prize that was!

#156 All that for only a week! Next month I'm going to Europe but I may not take any books as I've found it's a waste of time and luggage space on this sort of trip as I don't read even one page.

#157 Well, mine is going to be a sit around and read holiday - we've got a cottage in the country - but, no, I don't seriously expect to read all that. I think having a kindle has made me less disciplined about what I read. When I was restricted by available luggage space as to how many books I could take I just had to read what I had, even if it didn't quite take my fancy at the time. With a kindle there's always something else to try. And now my children are grown-up and don't come on holiday with us I've got more space for print books anyway!

#158 - Sitting around and reading in a country cottage sounds like the absolute ideal holiday to me! Lucky you!

I finished Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead, described around message #133 as "horrifying and hilarious," and "surreal." And indeed it was. It didn't "wow" me as much as it did for some of you, but I liked it well enough and will definitely read more Comyns.

Currently reading Myself When Young.

Dropping in briefly to say "hi" on a very slow connection at the S-U-A Library. So far have read only two vmc's.

Winter Sonata by Edwards where the characters seem to walk up and down the hill and look at the bare branches of trees and

Women Against Men by Jameson, a very angry, interesting book.

I see LizzyBee tomorrow!

Elaine

Regards to you both.

>162 Liz1564: - I will be joining you an Lyzzybee tomorrow. : ) Should be fun. Hope you are enjoying Stratford Upon Avon

PEA GREEN WITH ENVY!~!

Elaine; I loved Gordimer's The Lying Days, thanx to you. I hope you are really enjoying yourself. Will be thinking of the three of you at your meet-up tomorrow.

I completed The Lying Days in bed last night. What a wonderful book with great writing, a great story-line.....I loved it. But then with the rex I had, I knew I would and it is about South Africa and I am crazy for books on Africa. I liked the way Gordimer wove her characters with light & dark colors as they should be and I liked the way that she rushed no part of the story, not even the end. All in all, a 4 1/2 star read for me.

Now I am moving on to the second in a three book series by Rebecca West, a new Virago author for me and I love her as well. Continuing from The Fountain Overflows, I am reading her This Real Night and finding it very good so far.

I just realized that all of my reading this month has consisted of new-to-me Virago authors. Loving it!~!
~belva

Most of the VMC authors I've read this summer are authors I'm going back to for seconds, with the exception of Willa Cather, Dorothy Richardson, Pamela Frankau, Sylvia Townsend Warner, and Ethel M. Dell. I'm three books away from reading the complete novels of Willa Cather. Less impressive: I'm ten novels away from finishing Pilgrimage. And the next installment is really long for Richardson. : (

Belva, it's good to hear The Lying Days is as wonderful as I remember it. It's twenty five years since I read it and it's probably due a re-read.

I started off trying to read VMC authors I hadn't read before. I've succeeded with Rose Macaulay and Dodie Smith (unless you count the dalmatian books which I loved when I was ten) and intended to go on to Willa Cather and Molly Keane. (It seems ridiculous that I have so many Molly Keane/ M J Farrell books and have never read any of them! What if I don't like her?! ). I don't seem to be able to leave Macaulay though. I finished Told By an Idiot and Crewe Train and am now reading The World My Wilderness and Jane Emery's biography: Rose Macaulay.

I agreed to a swap for Pilgrimage 1 yesterday and am quite excited about it despite the ominous comments I've been reading!

Well, my holidays didn't see any VMC reading, except Red Pottage - got caught up in Westwood and One Day - but I'm still hoping to read at least one more VMC this month, even if it doesn't turn out to be the mountains I'd hoped for.

Dee- reading Pilgrimage really isn't all that dire. Just don't go into it expecting a traditional plot or any sort of resolution at the end.

>168 Soupdragon:: Dee, I have a similar Molly Keane problem -- own several and have read none! I hope to resolve that I the next couple months.

I just finished two VMC's: My Antonia by Willa Cather and Mrs Miniver by Jan Struther. I really enjoyed My Antonia but was ever so slightly disappointed by Mrs Miniver. I think I expected it to focus more on daily life during WWII but most of the book was actually pre-WWII. It was interesting to contrast the optimism and pulling-together spirit in Mrs Miniver with the sense of despair and hopelessness at the end of the war from Sarah Waters' The Night Watch though.

>172 souloftherose: - the book was actually published in 1939, wasn't it? And really has very little to do with the film - I love both book and film, but as completely different entities.

168, 171: Same here, but I did just finish my first one, Two days in Aragon. It was a wonderful read, such fascinating characters, and I loved following their interactions. No-one is 100% likeable or horrible, and I was totally gripped at observing their lives over the two dramatic days in which the book takes place. The depiction of the doomed world of the anglo-Irish gentry reminded me of Elizabeth Bowen's The last September, but Keane's portrayal is less distant and you care more about her characters. I will definitely be reading more of her books now!

#173 Yes it was - that really should have told me it couldn't be set during WWII! I haven't seen the film, I just had a look at the blurb online and it does look quite different. I've added it to my rental list.

I do wonder whether my disappointment with Mrs M was just because I was expecting something different. I did enjoy her writing and I will try and reread it at some point.

Heather - I had the same problem with Mrs Miniver. Apparently Hollywood bought the rights to little more than the name and spirit of the woman. It was what they imagined Mrs Miniver would've done during the war. I also had to distance myself and judge the book purely on its own terms.

I am 2/3rds of the way through The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte. I have - of course - read the Brontes but really had no idea what was going on at home. I did know that Branwell was given credit for the books. I thought this was purely because he was a man but actually it was because he and his sisters lived in a fantasy world. Their characters were created collectively and constantly reworked and embellished in family discussions. Unfortunately, while Branwell was down at the pub getting smashed, his sisters were at home committing the fantasies to paper.

I could go on and on about this book. It has really grabbed my attention, perhaps only because the subject matter is all new to me. For others it might be totally old hat.

>174 Sakerfalcon: - that's the only Molly Keane I've read, and I really enjoyed it - I read it quite close to The Last September, which I really struggled with, and much preferred Keane's novel - even if, sentence by sentence, Bowen is the better prose stylist.

>174 Sakerfalcon:, 177: Claire & Simon, I have Two Days in Aragon so perhaps I will start with that one too!

164: Thinking of you and the two Lizzies (sounds like a Virago) in Birmingham today. Wish I could have joined you but I wouldn't have been able to make it home in time for my friend's birthday do :(

169: Oh, what do you think of Westwood, Simon? I'm very tempted by it but am trying to resist and wait for the copy my local library has on order.

170: I'm usually pretty ok with lack of plot and resolution if the writing is good enough. I've learnt from experience not to recommend those sort of books to my friends though!

Claire, I'm beginning to worry about the number of books I've read this year on your recommendation! They've all been fab though- so thank you! I may well join Laura with Two Days in Aragon. It does sound like my cup of beverage!

>179 Soupdragon: - Westwood was really good - not a comic novel at all, although it had plenty of amusing moments - it was poignant. Lynne Truss writes in the intro that if Cold Comfort Farm is Gibbons' Pride and Prejudice, Westwood is her Persuasion. Obviously that only holds up to a certain extent, but I can see what she means.

There's not a huge amount of plot - it's more about people. And I can feel some of the details slipping from my mind already... but definitely worth abandoning your self-control!

I've just ordered Westwood and Starlight - I cross post my more substantial reviews on a couple of consumer review websites which pay a pittance but had managed to accrue a few pounds over the last year, so spent ages planning a book splurge (like I don't have/buy too many already). I was also sent an Amazon gift certificate this morning. VMC's edition of Nightingale Wood is highly recommended too.

I read nearly all Molly Keane's books when I was younger (there were a couple that Virago reprinted later) and adored them, I'm planning to reread them now but have only got to Mad Puppetstown so far. I'll be interested to see whether you do like them, Dee.

I just found and ordered a copy of The Vicar's Daughter, which I had not realized until I did not have until now. Fancy that!

We had a lovely time today and I have acquired the Storm Jameson Elaine mentions above! All details and links to pics on the fabulous finds thread (thanks Ali!)

Westwood is definitely calling me. I like that Jane Austen analogy, Simon! I have just bought so very many books recently. I don't seem to have any qualms about going mad in second-hand book shops but shopping for new makes me feel guilty. Mind you, that hasn't stopping me buying or pre-ordering those newly reissued Elizabeth Taylor VMCs. I've been after a copy of Palladian for ages so how could I not? And whilst I usually prefer my VMCs to be green, I do like the new Taylor covers.

Lucky you, Luci, having Amazon vouchers to spend. You deserve them, of course for all your wonderful reviews! I do have a copy of Nightingale Wood. Perhaps I will read that while I'm waiting for Westwood to arrive at the library.

Liz, I'm glad you had a wonderful time. I wish I could have joined you. It was looking so possible and then it wasn't :(

Soupdragon - do let us know when you are free and we'll have a lovely get-together!

>185 LyzzyBee:: Thank you, Liz!!

I would love to visit Birmingham before too long and will probably bring some Bookcrossing books with me when I manage it. I often pick up Bookcrossing books when I'm visiting my mum on the south coast but Bookcrossing has never really taken off in Hull so I'm always a bit stuck regarding how to pass them on. Last time, I posted the book to another bookcrosser who had it on her wishlist. Leaving a book "in the wild" just doesn't seem to work and we don't seem to have any official drop-off points. I keep meaning to talk to my friend who owns a bar about establishing one there!

I know you are (or were?) involved with Bookcrossing and it seems to be pretty popular in Birmingham so perhaps you could introduce me to some bookcrossing points near you?!

Dee

Dee - come up and meet the Birmingham Bookcrossers then - we can arrange a mini-meet! Well, Ali can, she's more active than me now! And we'd love some fresh blood .... books, I mean, for the BC zones.

Going off topic- sorry! Finished The Squire this morning!

>187 LyzzyBee:: Sounds like an excellent plan, Liz- thank you! I will get in touch when things have quitened down here. And maybe I'll prepare a few extra books with Bookcrossing stickers in anticipation!

Hope you enjoyed The Squire. I liked it but don't remember much about it except that the protag was very child-focused!

>179 Soupdragon:: Glad you've enjoyed them all!

The squire is on my tbr pile . . . not sure how I will get on with such a child-focused book though!

I just snagged The Squire from Paperbackswap, and it's on the way to me now!

The Squire is amazing - I will review it properly soon. It's very woman-centred and child-centred and must have been way ahead of its time in its description of birth, breast feeding, babies, siblings ... it feels very true (although I don't have children myself) and is a bit like spending time with a friend who's just about to give / just given birth. Very immersive!

I've just finished The roaring nineties. It's a good read, but I empathised heartily with Sally (the heroine) at one point where she wishes the men would talk about something other than gold! There is a LOT of detail given - pages of banter and anecdotes between the miners, and huge sections concerned with the physical and political hardships of the gold industry. Prichard's Socialist politics are clear, and even though I skimmed in places, I felt passionately about the injustices she describes. My favourite sections were those with Sally and her friends though, where we see life on the goldfields from a female, rather than male, point of view.

Maybe I need to read The squire next to redress the balance after all that testosterone!

I have read 5 Viragos so far. It's been 3/2 in favor of enjoying them. I had a list I planned to work off and I did read both The Sheik (sneaked in early) and one of my Pat Barker's off that list. I also planned to read I'll Never be Young Again by Daphne DuMaurier but instead chose The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte which I'd planned to ignore for the rest of my life. Funny how that goes, isn't it? The hand hovers over the bookshelf and then alights on some obscurity.

I plan to read The Happy Foreigner next but for the time being am Viragoed out.

Nearly finished with This Real Night by Rebecca West, a very good follow up book to The Fountain Overflows. After this one, I am moving on to Red Dust by Gillian Slovo.

"In a small dusty South African town three people returning after many years away are about to meet their pasts. From New York comes top lawyer Sarah; from jail, and in chains, comes ex-deputy policeman Dirk Hendricks; from the new government, about to face his former torturer, comes Alex Mpondo M.P. And in the town two old men wait -- one for news of his son's murderer and one for his darling girl's return. Crackling with tinderbox energy, the scene is set . . . " (from the back of the book)

"A beautifully written novel with the pace and twists of a thriller and the atmosphere, scents and space of Africa. Slovo has drawn a cast so vivid that these torturers, heroes and victims will live in your mind long after the book is closed." (from The Guardian)

looks interesting to me and a break-away from what I have been reading and yet a Virago.

Well, my holiday was very good for reading. In the week we were away I finished two Viragos and two novels by E. F. Benson. The Viragos were Precious Bane and Celia.

I enjoyed Precious Bane and found the descriptive passages lovely. It was mostly easy enough to guess the meaning of the dialect words although some had me mystified. However it was another of those books which you know are not going to end well - although Prue finds pleasure in her life and her surroundings and marries happily, those around her are not so lucky. Sometimes the 'mystical nature' aspect got a bit too much and I couldn't help thinking that they needed Flora Poste.

Celia was wonderful, as have been all E. H. Young novels, so far, and I'm getting worried because I haven't got many more left to read.

I think I'll go on to Winter Sonata next.

I am halfway through Red Dust and while it is a wonderful novel, I am yet puzzled that it is a Virago. Still going hmmmmmmmmmm?

CDV; I can't wait to read Winter Sonata myself. I keep putting it off however, because it sounds so very lovely but is (I believe) Dorothy Edwards only novel.

No, Belva, there is also Rhapsody.

Oh goody!~!~! Thank you Paolina. However it is a book of shorts. Still.................

Just finished Red Dust by Gillian Slovo; a page turner for me.

The Place: a village in South Africa
The Time: post Apartheid; during the Amnesty hearings
The People: Lawyers and Police Officers mainly
The Story-line: Sarah, an attorney born and raised in the village but moved to New York, is called back by her mentor to help with an Amnesty hearing. A young man was killed by a police officer during questioning/torturing and the officer is now wanting to tell all in an Amnesty hearing in order to be freed from prison.
Some court room drama and people drama in this one. No blood and guts but a nice tight dramatic piece of historical fiction based on real events. (non specific to the story) (3 1/2 stars)

Next up: A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor

And, by the way, I believe you have a copy of Rhapsody, Belva!

I do, I do. As soon as you posted that there was also Rhapsody, I went to my book page to check and sure enough.......there it was. I am such a silly monkey & like my husband always says: "We all know that you (meaning me) have no _ucking patience." lol!~!
Thank you Paolina.
big hugs,

:-))

Just joining in this discussion. Am having an Elizabeth Taylor summer, partly because of the The Glamour of the Gods exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. Photographs of Elizabeth Taylor reminded me of 'The Other Elizabeth Taylor'- really must read the Persephone book of the same name.

So have begun 'The Devastating Boys'- just love it. Short stories, but something of each stays after the story has finished and you move onto the next one.

Caro;
I am finding the works of Elizabeth Taylor are affecting me in the same manner. I am currently reading A View of the Harbour and about 2 books ago I read Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont and still that one is worming it's way round my brain. Her writing is so subtle and understated that it just rather hangs long afterward. I am loving her books.
An Elizabeth Taylor summer sounds grand.

>204 rainpebble:: An Elizabeth Taylor summer sounds grand. It sure does!

Elizabeth Taylor is grand in any season!
I just finished A Note in Music and enjoyed it a lot. RL's descriptive powers are almost over the top, but I believed all the characters and enjoyed the book. Yet another VMC writer to add to my favorites list!
I'll start The Orlando Trilogy before the month is out, and two and a piece make a successful AV/AA for me! (Oh, to read like Belva!)

Oh, but you probably have a life dear Peggy. I am retired and spend a great deal of my time reading. The house simply tumbles down around me. LOL!~!
I want to read The Orlando Trilogy soon as well but it probably won't happen unless it is this winter. Enjoy.

Well I have now finished The Happy Foreigner which is set in a part of France I know moderately well and which was also an easy read. It did not, however, hold up well against Not So Quiet which covered a similar time and subject. In the preface Anne Sebba warns that despite the backdrop of WW1, this is not a book about war. 'Its core is the relationship between a man and a woman'. Well I would hasten to disagree with Ms Sebba. Its core is the relationship between the thoroughly conceited Fanny and her mirror. Other women are almost non-existent in the novel and men only there to be dazzled by her beauty. Doubly disappointing as I picked it up with high expectations of reading a war novel.

@ Barbara;
Well, that one didn't fare well, did it?.? I haven't added it to my library as of yet so perhaps may not do so. I do have Not So Quiet and it has been eye-balling me for ever so long. I believe that I acquired it through duplicate copy gifting, perhaps even from you.
I am sorry you were disappointed with your read and hope your next one is a page turner.
hugs,
~belva

I am about half way through A View of the Harbour and must say that I am enjoying it. All of the little tiffs and thoughts, innuendos, peepings, etc that go on in this Elizabeth Taylor novel quite crack me up. And the bed-ridden old woman especially gets me in stitches. She may not be able to be up and into things but she certainly can start a lot from the bed. Love E.T.
Even though this is a very busy month for us this year (for some reason, usually we just idle through August), I am really enjoying AV/AA.
~belva

I'm nearly half way through The wedding by Dorothy West, and am very much enjoying it.

>208 romain:: Your analysis of the relationship at the core of The happy foreigner made me grin. But I shall not be likely to add the book to Mount TBR any time soon. Which is just as well, given that it already rivals Mt Everest.

>210 rainpebble:: I loved A View of the Harbour for all the same reasons!

I finished A View of the Harbour last evening and loved it. I am finding Elizabeth Taylor to be one of the best Virago writers in that she writes in an such an understated manner, is very subtle, and grows her characters very quietly. Love her writing. I loved the way this one ended and must say that while I should have been prepared for it, I was not.
Am off task now with my RL/BC and Orange read: The Help by Kathryn Stockett and just 60 pages in, I am loving it as well. I have been so fortunate in my reads this year. Almost all of them have been wonderful. It is so nice when the duds don't come in runs.
I am hoping that I will have time for one or two more Virago reads in August after finishing The Help.

I'm on to The Misses Mallett at the moment - about 60 pages in and very much enjoying it. Very acerbic and great characters - can't wait to find out what happens next. I believe Miss Alison is reading it too, as we said we were going to read it together when we were down at her sister's caravan in the Herefordshire countryside on Tuesday ... although I think hers is being cradled by her very own Baron Von Kindle and mine's a Green from the nice man in Oxford, so not quite the same reading experience.

I'm reading Our Spoons Came from Woolworths.

I have just discovered this wonderful group via Simon's lovely Stuck-in-a-Book blog. I am so excited that I have joined up just in time to participate in AV/AA, and I will be reading Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles which I last read in 1989. During the 1980s I used to select most of my reading by the dark green covers of the Virago Classics, but for the last 20 years I lost track of them while I was bringing up my 3 children. I was thrilled to find that I had 3 originals still on my bookshelf, (I remember borrowing most from the library) and they are: Two Serious Ladies, No Signposts in the Sea by Vita Sackville-West and The Yellow Wallpaperby Charlotte Perkins Gilman. I also have a more recent publication of Elizabeth and her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim which I bought some years ago because I loved that book so much. It has a very attractive new cover, but I must admit that I do prefer the original dark green ones. Looks like I am now hooked onto a wonderful new obsession...I know that I am going to have to find all those Viragos that I have read and all those that I haven't. It's going to be fun!

Hello and Welcome Ms Bee!

I am also a born again Viragoite- started reading them in the eighties, stopped for a while and started collecting with a vengeance when I joined LibraryThing! It is a wonderful obsession and this forum certainly does fuel it!

>216 MsQueenBee:: welcome! It's always a pleasure to have new members join us.

Welcome to our little group MsQueenBee. I hope you come to love it here as so many of us have. And we are all obsessed with the little green spines. I look forward to your reads and your posts.
~belva

Welcome Queen Bee. I also read Viragos in the 80's, then stopped. Started again in the 90's when they turned up in a local remaindered bookstore, then stopped. And now am back at it with a vengeance.

Welcome, Queen Bee! You have come to the right place at the right time. Reading VMC's early and then returning seems to be a theme here.
>208 romain:, 209, 211 - Dissenting View: I read and reviewed The Happy Foreigner a couple of years ago, and I liked it a lot better than Barbara did. I didn't see that Fanny was any more in love with herself than any other very young woman. I didn't think it was among the best I read that year, but it wasn't the worst by a long shot. If you already own it, don't chuck it!

But Peg, she managed to write a whole novel that only talked about herself and the men who admired her. No other women included and the war devastation described only as a backdrop to all the lonely men who could not take their eyes off her. (She WAS quite lovely.) Not So Quiet on the other hand, described hardship and solidarity among women doing the exact same job as Bagnold and was really anti-war. I have read other Bagnolds I enjoyed more but would still say that Not So Quiet is (by far) the better book

I am at a loss what to read next. My house is clean, and I will be lying on the couch most of the afternoon waiting for Hurricane Irene. But what to read? It almost has to be something I can pick up and put down as needed.

Barbara, when you are at a loss regarding what to read and it needs to be something you pick up & put down................run for Anne of Green Gables. She is good for any port in a storm. Stay safe dear heart.

Barbara, I don't know that I'd give it 4 stars as I did two years ago, and I haven't read Not So Quiet (but I look forward to it), so I can't compare them. I think what I liked about it was that she let the man go and made a life for herself without him. Fanny and E. Blyton were very young. To quote Anne Sebba's introduction a little farther in that same paragraph you quoted, "---it is not a book about war. Its core is the relationship between a man and woman and the development of the woman within that relationship. --- Bagnold never intended the book to be a vehicle for the discussion of the horrors of suffering in wartime or the liberation of the spirit offered by opportunities in self-sacrifice. Her own uncomplicated enjoyment of life left her ill-equipped to deal with these themes."
Between us I think that we have given other Viragoites plain guidelines as to whether this is something that they want to read. Good for us!
As to what you should read next, I know you'll find the right thing. Keep letting us know that you are safe. We have even seen the sun a little this afternoon but not right now. My friends at the lake don't have power, so I won't head back there for the wrap-up of the weekend until tomorrow morning.

Peg - I've sent you a private message because I wanted to bolster my case against dear Enid by the use of spoilers.

I lay on the couch this afternoon and watched Blackbeard the Pirate. Don't ask me why because it was perfectly dreadful. I did manage one chapter of The Little Ice Age a scholarly tome on the 5 century cold spell that hit the earth during the Middle Ages. Then I cooked dinner being sure to use stuff from the freezer, in case our electricity goes out.

This hurricane is very confusing. It is now so mild out there I am thinking of taking the dog out for his evening walk. Hurricane? What hurricane?

Belva - I did watch the tv series of Anne but have never read the books. I very much enjoyed the series and looked forward to it every Sunday.

>225 romain:: Isn't it rainy, Barbara? It sure is here and I don't think I'm that far from you. But other than that, mild so far.

@ romain; you really need to read the books some day Barbara. They are quite lovely if a bit juvenile. When I am worried, depressed or upset; that is always where I go. Works nearly 100% of the time. just sayin'.....

Stay safe ladies. Praying for all of our friends out there.

I just finished the loveliest little book of letters by Helene Hanff entitled 84, Charing Cross Road. I was quite taken with it and so sad at the end that Helene was never able to make the journey 'across the pond' to meet and visit her dear friends from the bookshop. A very charming book and I highly recommend it. (5 stars)

My next Virago is another new author to me. Although I have all of her books this will be the first of hers I have read. It is Barbara Pym's Exellent Women. I hope that I enjoy it half as much as I did 84, Charing Cross Road.
~belva

Belva, those are two wonderful books. I'm reading a Pym right now too!

Which one have you chosen Laura? I am certainly enjoying this comedic little charmer I am reading.

Belva, I read Crampton Hodnet -- just finished it yesterday during the hurricane, and my review is now posted.

Oops, forgot to post on this one - have got my All Virago All August total up to 2 by reviewing The Squire and The Misses Mallett, at least I think that's right ...

Still reading Excellent Women. Should finish it before I close my eyes tonight.

>216 MsQueenBee: Belated welcome, very glad my blog pointed you in the direction of this group!

My All V/All A attempts haven't really happened - only read 2 - the second being The Misses Mallett which I'm about 100pp from finishing. And I don't like it anywhere near as much as her later work...

>233 rainpebble:: I adored Excellent Women, just loved Mildred!

>234 Stuck-in-a-Book:: Someone else was saying recently that they weren't keen on The Misses Mallett- possibly Mary/Urania. I've only read Miss Mole, Jenny Wren and The Curate's Wife but enjoyed them greatly.

After a healthy start I didn't add to the four Virago Modern Classics I read at the beginning of the month- mainly because of library book reservations which arrived together and demanded reading.

I read I Capture the Castle which was a complete delight plus the three Rose Macaulays which have been published by Virago. I haven't written full reviews but have said a bit about each on my 75 challenge thread.

I am about to start Good Behaviour by Molly Keane but very much doubt it will be finished before September!

I am Viragoed out for the month but did get through the following:

The Sheik - loved it
Blow Your House Down - excellent - subject matter does not allow me to say I loved it
The White Bird Passes - pleasant
The Happy Foreigner - serious meh
The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte - loved it
Red Pottage - meh

I am so grateful to Belva for instigating this month because it encourages me to actually read some of my huge pile of Viragos. The problem I am now having with Viragos is that I have read all the ones that initially excited me and have got down to the duty reads. But there are still surprises among those duty reads and still several authors I haven't touched at all. Molly Keane is one. I read one of hers and hated it and have never opened another and have yet to open a single E H Young or Mrs Oliphant.

>236 romain: Wow, well done! I got sidetracked, and I had such big ambitions for getting through my Virago tbr pile... I don't know where the time went.

>235 Soupdragon: I love Miss Mole and William by EH Young but this one feels like it has the worst excesses of Thomas Hardy in it...

I've finished Winter Sonata (thanks again, Dee) bringing me to 4 for the month. (Five, if you count the one - William by E. H. Young - I finished on 1st August but mostly read in July.) They were Mary Lavelle, Precious Bane and Celia. I enjoyed the E. H. Youngs the most. Winter Sonata was well named as it seemed to me to be cold. I felt that the characters and the setting were being viewed through a window. I certainly never felt engaged by them. I can remember when in primary school being given a picture to describe as a writing exercise - probably to improve my spelling and improve my grammar and vocabulary. This novel felt like a description of what Dorothy Edwards might have observed from her window over a period of months. She described beautifully what she saw but didn't manage to involve the reader. Or, at least, not this reader.

A slightly amusing footnote: I also keep a reading record on Goodreads. They don't split authors who share the same name there, so when I went to look at what other novels Dorothy Edwards had written I found a long list of 'My Naughty Little Sister' books and briefly tried to reconcile the idea that the Virago author could have produced those too.

This month I finished Pilgrimage Vol. I, read The Ante-Room and Shadows on the Rock, and started Pilgrimage Vol. II. Not a lot. But I did have an All Virago All Summer:

The Orchid House
At Mrs. Lippincote's
The Way of an Eagle
William
The Willow Cabin
Lolly Willowes
A Note in Music
The Constant Nymph

I read pretty much all Viragos this month:
The Land of Spices
All Passion Spent
Mary Olivier
Myself When Young
Mad Puppetstown
Cindie
and I got started on Miss Mole, but don't think I'll finish it today.

Have finished Excellent Women and begun The White Bird Passes which I do not think I will be able to finish by tomorrow evening as I have a luncheon date with an old school chum and a Doctor appointment, both on the morrow but I will do my best.

If anyone would like a more detailed version of my thoughts on Red Pottage (including a bad pun cartoon!) they're here: http://stuck-in-a-book.blogspot.com/2011/09/red-pottage.html

How could I resist such an invitation - very good review and nice cartoon too!

Thank you all for turning out for All Virago/All August. I hope that everyone had a good time and enjoyed their books. I think this is always a success whether one reads one Virago for the month or twenty. As long as we are having a good time and liking our reads. That is what is important to me.

As to my month; it looks like this:
1. Where the Apple Ripens by Jessie Kesson (2*)
2. The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West (4*)
3. Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor (5*+)
4. The Lying Days by Nadine Gordimer (4 1/2*)
5. This Real Night by Rebecca West (4*)
6. Red Dust by Gillian Slovo (3 1/2*)
7. For One Sweet Grape by Kate O'Brien (4 1/2*)
8. A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor (4*)
9. 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (5*)
10. Excellent Women by Barbara Pym (4*)
11. The White Bird Passes by Jessie Kesson (3 1/2*)
I am not quite finished with The White Bird Passes but will be by midnight so I counted it as well.

My favorite: Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont.

Now for the fun part: each and everyone of you who participated in All Virago/All August, no matter how many books you read............your name is going to go in a hat and I will have my husband draw out one name. That person will get to pick one book, any book that they want, Virago or no, as long as I am able to find it and it is not over $15.00 (new or used will be my choice) on Amazon.com and can have it shipped to you. So be looking forward to that.

Thank you again for coming to the party. I LOVE AUGUST!~! READING IS WRITE!

hugs all round,
~belva

I managed to read 8 Viragos in August:
The Camomile by Catherine Carswell ****
The passion of new Eve by Angela Carter **
The return of the soldier by Rebecca West ****
Faces in the water by Janet Frame ****
The roaring nineties by Katharine Susannah Prichard ***1/2
The wedding by Dorothy West ****
Two days in Aragon by Molly Keane ****1/2
Novel on yellow paper by Stevie Smith ***

Some of these had been on my tbr shelf for a long time, so it was good to finally read them. Two days in Aragon was my favourite. But all in all, an excellent month of reading!

You are all to be commended and suitably rewarded.

I read just the two in the end but am loving my Storm Jameson - Women Against Men - have read the first novel in the set and thought it was great. So a successful Virago August for me!

Belva, what a lovely idea to have a prize draw! And so glad that you gave 84 CCR five stars - I love that novel.
Thanks Grant for your kind comment :)

242: What a lovely, very considered review of Red Pottage, Simon! I particularly enjoyed how you admitted to "throwing around references with no first-hand knowledge"! I do that sometimes but don't usually admit to it ;-)

244: Oh, a Virago draw! How generous of you, Belva- please count me in! You seem to have read some of my favourite Viragoes last month. I loved The Lying Days, Mrs Palfrey, Charing Cross Road and Excellent Women. I'm hoping to start A View of the Harbour soon.

245: I've read just two of your reads, Claire, The Return of the Soldier and Novel on Yellow Paper. I found something interesting in each but didn't love them. I think I will read Two Days in Aragon before long as I'm enjoying Good Behaviour and Two Days seems to be one of Keane's more popular ones, on this forum at least!

>249 Soupdragon:: I expected to like, if not love, Novel on yellow paper, but I really didn't. Maybe I was in the wrong mood. There were some gems in it, such as the line, (I paraphrase) "People who think that children's laughter is like lovely music should be made to sit next to the playground in the park". But a lot of it left me cold.

>249 Soupdragon: - aww, thanks Dee!

We will wait a few days to allow any of you who want to make additional postings do so and then have the drawing. Does that work for all of you?
I am excited to see whose name will be drawn and what book you will choose.
hugs,
~belva

>242 Stuck-in-a-Book: Simon, you have sold me on Red Pottage. Let me get my Orlando Trilogy done, and I'm all over it. What a fine review!
>244 rainpebble: Mercy, Belva, how generous!!! I'm always eager to be drawn..... I read The Constant Nymph and A Note in Music and am glad. I also started *Orlando* as mentioned above, so that was a very successful attempt at AV/AA for me.

>242 Stuck-in-a-Book:: I really enjoyed your review of Red Pottage. It's one of my favorite VMC's.
>253 LizzieD:: I'll be interested to hear your opinion of The Orlando Trilogy. I got that a couple of months ago but haven't really looked at it yet.

I think everyone did great for AV/AA; my favorite reading month of the year!~!
It is usually dog days for us here in August, the hottest month of summer & not a lot to do once the harvest and canning are done and in fact because of our late growing season I am usually busier that way in September. But this year we were just very busy but I still feel like I had a successful Virago month. Now just another 11 months to wait. :-)
Good job all and I hope for the most part that you truly enjoyed your reads.

So another very successful ALL VIRAGO/ALL AUGUST has been completed. I hope you all enjoyed your time here and your reads. I want to thank all of you for participating not just in the reads but in the wonderful communicating about all of these special books. All in all, there were thirty one of us participating in the event this year and we even brought a couple of new ones into the fold. How wonderful for them and for us.

We just had our little drawing..........and the winner is:

souloftherose........... Congratulations to you soul.

So....the prize, just to refresh your memory, is any book of your choosing through http://www.amazon.co.uk as you are in the U.K., and that I be able to have it shipped directly to you The only stipulation is that the book must be the equivalent $15.00 U.S. dollars or less. You needn't factor in shipping and handling. When you have chosen your book, just Private Message me with the title, author and then your posting information.
Again Congrats souloftherose.

hugs all round and I will hopefully see you all next year; same time, same place.

~belva

Congratulations, Heather! Looking forward to hearing what you chose.

And the stats go something like this: (my recount; thanks to & thank you Soupdragon)

Jane Bowles 1
Pat Barker 1
Enid Bagnold 3
Catherine Carswell 2
Mary Cholmondelay 3
Barbara Comyns 4
Ivy Compton-Burnett 1
Angela Carter (hak, erp, hak...no worries; just a hairball) 1
Willa Cather 4
Isabel Colegate 1
Jean Devanny 1
Daphne du Maurier 8
Dorothy Edwards 2
Janet Frame 2
Nadine Gordimer 1
Helene Hanff 1
E.M. Hull 1
Storm Jameson 2
Jessie Kesson 3
Margaret Kennedy 3
Molly Keane/M.J. Farrell 4
Rosamund Lehmann 2
Rose Macaulay 4
Kate O'Brien 7
Barbara Pym 2
Katharine Susannah Prichard 1
Dorothy M. Richardson 2
Henry Handel Richardson 1
Dodie Smith 1
Stevie Smith 2
Jan Struther 1
Gillian Slovo 1
May Sinclair 2
Vita Sackville-West 1
Elizabeth Taylor 3
Mary Webb 1
Dorothy West 1
Rebecca West 3
E.H. Young 6

Ninety books were read throughout the month and thirty nine authors. That is amazing!~! Well done all.

Most read: Kate O'Brien, Daphne du Maurier, & E.H. Young
A very good Virago month. Thank you everyone.
~belva

>258 rainpebble:: Thank you, Belva! Now I want to read the thread all over again to check who read what! Did you add my Molly Keane? I started it in August but finished in September so it probably doesn't count!

I think that I did count it. If you find I didn't, please let me know. I count any book began in August and I also count the ones that people can't wait to get started on in July.
There were several duplicates. I was surprised at that. I just hate to let August get away from us. I love it so much.
But any that I missed, do let me know so I can add them in. I am a bit rummy tonight so it could have happened. Thanx Soup.
hugs,

Belva, you have missed Mary Webb - I read her Precious Bane. Does that mean you also missed out my reading of Winter Sonata by Dorothy Edwards and William and Celia by E. H. Young and Mary Lavelle by Kate O'Brien in your list?

I enjoyed the month and read more this year than in August last year and I still have lots of unread Viragos on my shelves!

Oh - I started Storm Jameson's Women Against Men in August, but only finished it yesterday (I love having a busy and thriving small business; not so much the day job ...) so I assume that partly counts, too!

@ CDVicarage;
You are quite right. I totally missed Mary Webb but I did get the others. I did a list off the thread before posting & missed her off my list. I am sorry.
I was a little difficult as we posted the books when we began and then again as we ended them so I was rather up and down the thread as I was listing so as not to double count. I will go over it again today while I am a little more awake and do it by the reader.
Perhaps next year we can all do an additional posting at the end as Sakerfalcon and Kasthu did with a listing of all the books we read for the month, including our eager beaver reads that we began in July and any that we 'began' in August. I want to count those as well.
Thank you Kerry. We surely do not want to miss any as this is a very special month for us.
hugs, (((♥)))

@ LyzzyBee; I think I counted it, but I am going to recount using the readers as my focal point and see what else I did miss. Thank you my dear.
hugs,

~belva

#256 Belva that is so generous of you, what a lovely message to wake up to this morning!

I enjoyed my August Virago reads and I'm going to try and read a Virago a month from now on (as I think some of you already do) because I seem to have acquired quite a few this year but been rather remiss about reading them.

LyzzyBee, I did count your Women Against Men. I think it only right to count those began in August as well as those early birds who can't wait and jump in at July's end. So I do try to count all of those.

I have done a recount by reader, so hopefully this will be more accurate. I am truly sorry for any that I missed.

Congratulations, Heather!!!
Thank you, Belva!!!
AV/AA goes down in memory as a great month!

Yes Belva - 6 more Viragos off the list and some pleasant surprises.

Congratulations Heather. May I recommend a nice Angela Carter... If you're smart you might get two, gift wrapped, for your $15.

Arrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggghhhhhhhhh!~!~!~!~!

Have edited message #257 for a more accurate count.
Congratulations to all of you. Very well done. I hope to see you next year for ALL VIRAGO/ALL AUGUST.
~belva

I forgot to come and post on here, but I did read O Pioneers! in August, so if it's not too late to add another one to the count, there's one more Cather for the list.

@ 270:
Not to worry genny.......I just went up and edited the count to include yours. Thank you for letting me know.
~belva

souloftherose has chosen the paperback edition of The Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield. The hardback only has The Provincial Lady whereas the paperback contains:
The Diary of a Provincial Lady,
The Provincial Lady Goes Further,
The Provincial Lady in America, and
The Provincial Lady in Wartime.
And the cover art is absolutely lovely. If you click on The Diary of a Provincial Lady you can see the lovely cover art of Heather's new book.

I think Heather chose very well. Got more for the bang and with the free shipping in U.K., I was even able to have it gift wrapped for her. A very wise girl we have in our midst. Congratulations Heather.

So....do you all like the idea of a prize drawing for those who take part in AV/AA? Are there any changes you would like made for next year?

My only thought is that perhaps at the end of your reading time (and if you begin one in August and will be finishing it in September, by all means count it), that you run a final post simply stating those titles that you read. I had never attempted a count until this year but that would make it much easier. And then of course, we can always amend the count later if more come in. Thank you for any input you may have. GO GREEN!~!
hugs all round,
~belva

Congratulations Heather, what a good choice! And th anks Belva for adding me to the count. Hope to be reading more of the greens throughout the year...

I will be looking forward to your reads and your comments gennyt. I want to read more of the green myself. Darryl has challenged those of us who read Orange Prize listed books to read one a month. I think I am going to do as Heather indicated in her message to me and challenge myself to read at least one Virago per month.
:-)

Congratulations, Heather! I must around to my copy of Provincial Lady, sometime.

Thank you Belva, for arranging a lovely end to a Virago summer!

You are most welcome Dee. I enjoyed it tremendously myself. Thank you for being a very active part of it. I always enjoy and appreciate your comments.
~belva

#272 Belva, the free shipping was supposed to save you money! Thank you ever so much though, I'm really looking forward to reading it.

You are quite welcome soul. I hope you truly enjoy this beautiful book.

I am going to try to think up other little treats to go along with the drawing for next year to entice more readers in. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.
Thank you.
hugs,
~belva