I'm SO FAR behind on everything going on here and am looking forward to catching up in the coming week. In the meantime, thought I'd do a little housekeeping especially now that I have to read 135 new posts out of 275 in this thread alone!!!

excuse me....139 posts!!

Message edited by its author, Sep 6, 2009, 6:44pm.

It was fabulous to find Maren on the steps of the Art Institute of Chicago on Friday, and to be joined a short while later by Julie (Eurydice). It was my first visit to Chicago in 15 years, and it was lovely to share a couple of hours in the museum with some Virago friends. Maren and Julie will have discovered that I am quite shy and reserved in person, but I was so happy to discover the museum's treasures in their company. What a treat! Thank you!

Such a fabulous find!!

I agree, Christina! How glorious and so cool to know about your meeting, Rob, Maren and Julie (our newlywed gal). What a glorious afternoon it must have been! Envy and contentment vying equally!

How wonderful to be able to meet and visit like that with some kind and gentle Virago friends.
Isn't life good?
I am so happy that the three of you had this opportunity.
belva

Rob,

Did you get to see the figleafless ladies reading?

Urania: No, just a few figleafless ladies in paintings.

Don't know whether to be more envious about the Art Institute of Chicago or the meeting, Rob. Lucky three.

How delightful - any photographs for the record? I think I would like a Tardis to take me to Chicago for a few days - so many excellent happenings taking place at this time!

No photographs of the four of us. I was mortified in the museum when I took a picture of the Clara and Julie and Maren looking at a painting and forgot to turn off the flash! Horrors! After that, I was too nervous to take any more pictures in the museum. But there are some other Chicago pictures on my blog and on Facebook.

How lovely! Virago room meetings are always wonderful, I wish it were possible to organize a big one.....

We could work on scheduling one in the U.S. and one in U.K. to occur simultaneously. Wouldn't that be awesome?
It would probably take a year or so in the planning but I bet we could do it.

It was so nice of Rob and Clara to let Julie and I crash their museum visiting. It was a lovely afternoon and I hope we weren't too chattering. Museums always seem to invoke a holy quiet any way.

We spent quite a while in front of a Medieval german triptych that showed women saints and minutely detailed birds and flowers so you could tell that one was a woodpecker or a robin or forget me nots. Then of course there were the obscure hints at the lives of the saints why does one have a dragon/dog on a leash, why does another have a set of pincers with a tooth. It was so splendid to see both of you.

12 Belva their should be meet ups. I have had the opportunity to meet five virago members now and it has always been splendid.

9 Julie if I had a Tardis I would bring you to Chicago every week so we could have tea and chat!

Went to the post today and came away with:
Kate O'Brien's That Lady, (hope it is as good as The Land of Spices, and Jane & Mary Findlater's Crossriggs. I am so excited to get to that one after Rob's wonderful review. Two lovely green books to add to my shelves. I am so happy I feel 50 all over again.
belva

I've got my mother and my mother-in-law looking for Viragos for me and my m-i-l handed over 3 today: The Age of Innocence, Sheep's clothing by Celia Dale (wrong touchstone) and The hours before dawn by Celia Fremlin. The Wharton will be a re-read but I haven't read either of the two Celias before. I also received via Bookmooch Time out of mind by Jane Lapotaire, also published by Virago so a good day for me!

Message edited by its author, Sep 9, 2009, 12:41pm.

I loved Fremlin and was not impressed by Dale.

My "travelers" arrived today and are in pristine condition. I am thrilled with them. They are a dark burgundy in color and look to be unread. The spines look totally unbroken. They are:
Untrodden Peaks and Unfrequented Valleys, Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, Station Life in New Zealand, Roughing it in the Bush, Peregrinations of a Pariah, North-West by North, High Albania and The Desert and the Sown. I don't think they have been browsed through, let alone read.
It's an "A" day at my house.
hugs,
belva

The Sugar House by Antonia White. Thank you Astrid.

13 Re the Tardis Maren - get one quick ! Then I will be able to catch The History Boys as well =))

I received in the post today The Ballad and the Source by Rosamond Lehmann and two of Kate O'Brien's. The Last of Summer and her Traveler, Farewell Spain. Am loving these Travelers.
belva

The Misses Mallett by E.H. Young
On the Side of the Angels by Betty Miller
A Little Tea, A Little Chat by Christina Stead

All green editions, and a 1945 hardback edition of At Mrs Lippincote's by Elizabeth Taylor. They were £2.50 each in a second-hand bookshop.

Nice haul there Teazle!~!
Some very happy reading coming your way.
And congrats on the 1945 Taylor.
I let an original Illyrian Spring hardback get away from me by just minutes on ebay last week. And it went quite cheaply. I was just ill.
belva

Bravo, Teazle, especially for the Young.

I found a green edition of Aurora Floyd at a neighbourhood sale- it looks fascinating, but I have a feeling it'll stay on my shelf for quite a while as the print is absolutely minute.

The Holiday by Stevie Smith. Thank you Ladycassilis.

I had some fabulous finds! I've just ordered them and they haven't arrived yet, but they include the following VMCs:

Spinster by Sylvia Ashton-Warner
Her Son's Wife by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
The Corner That Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner
The Short Stories of Willa Cather by Willa Cather
Miss Herbert by Christina Stead
Curious, If True by Elizabeth Gaskell
The Orchid House by P. Shand Allfrey
The Robber Bridegroom by Eudora Welty
No Place on Earth by Christa Wolf

oooh -- lucky you!

WOW! Where did you find them, Christina?

What a haul Christina!~!
Good for you.

***Are you sure that The Robber Bridegroom isn't a duplicate in your library?*** hee hee

Enjoy when they are arrive. Isn't it just like Christmas when you get a lovely parcel like that in the post?
hugs,
belva

Hooray for Christina! I also have found several of our lovely titles online! Liana, The Curate's Wife, and Farewell Spain (my first Virago/Beacon Traveler) have all arrived. I'm eagerly awaiting Novel on Yellow Paper, The Little Ottleys, and Jenny Wren. (Did I mention that I'm loving Miss Mole?) Oh, how I love this whole thing!
(And, Belva, if you want to know about mine, they came from pbs, amp, and biblio. (Thanks, Barbara.))

edited to include the book I forgot --- so many riches!

Message edited by its author, Sep 16, 2009, 10:14pm.

Wonderful finds, you two.

Lizzie, I love Miss Mole too. It's one of my favourite Viragos.

>#30:
Oh, and Farewell Spain is by Kate O'Brien.
She is lovely.

Crewe Train by Rose Macaulay from BookMooch.

I found Vera by Elizabeth von Arnim in a lovely older green spine edition. Hurray!

Wow, Christina! And (if I remember correctly) several of them are from your Top Ten list. Congrats on the find!

I seem to have been hijacked by pirates...

But in the mail today from the Ebay seller from whom I snared the last large cache, 5 black Dial VMCs

In a Summer Season by Elizabeth Taylor
The Getting of Wisdom by HH Richardson
I'm Not Complaining by Ruth Adam
Told by an Idiot by Rose Macaulay
Ordinary Families by EA Robertson

Gathering up stores for retirement, which is, alas, about 5 years away.

Message edited by its author, Sep 18, 2009, 5:06pm.

Arrr, it's all five of those books I've read, matey, and blast me and send me straight to Davy Jones if I didn't love each and every one of them. Ye've got a mess of fine reading to do, janeajones, me hearty!

The Virago Pirate strikes back --

Yep, I definitely look like that.

So do I...yep yep yep....

>38 I don't remember doing that, but since you have photo documentation . . . ;)

Christina - you made me laugh!

I have never read anything by Storm Jameson. But today I found a really inexpensive 2 book autobiography on her. Was she a fascinating woman, a terrific author, a splendid personality? Someone fill me in here please.
thank you
belva

Belva dear - Storm Jameson was an amazing lady. I am just nearing the end of Margaret Storm Jameson A Life by Jennifer Birkett one of the most interesting and fascinating books I have ever read. Pardon me for those who may have already heard me wax lyrical about this particular tome. I cannot recommend the book highly enough. Jameson's life almost spanned the 20th century, she was an extraordinary women, feminist, novelist, pacifist, President of the English PEN Association and a political campaigner.

I completed Company Parade on holiday - excellent and it so reflected so many themes of her life which I had been reading about in the Jennifer Birkett book. I love the holistic feel you get when you are able to immerse completely into an author, their life and times. Company Parade is the first in a trilogy called The Mirror in Darkness - I have yet to read the remaining two, namely Love in Winter and None Turn Back. Many of our dear friends here will know much more than me. However I feel I wish to study more of Jameson and read more of her writing.

Take care though, as the Jennifer Birkett tome was the book that got me into trouble with 'she who will not be mentioned' (mother urania) .... she claimed I *made* her go out and buy it! I am of the view that she was simply jealous as I have a brand new Oxford library copy :))))

Seriously, if you would like to know more of this amazing lady's life I highly recommend the Birkett book!

ETA belva, go to http://www.librarything.com/topic/70818#... message 35 for further comment :)

Edited *again* to add that there is a thread here http://www.librarything.com/topic/69735 in the Virago group dedicated to Storm Jameson :))

Message edited by its author, Sep 20, 2009, 2:46pm.

Excellent Women by Barbara Pym. BookMooched from Finland.

Lovely, ER60!

A green VMC arrived in the mailbox today from a good friend, Losing Battles by Eudora Welty. It looks very interesting. Great thumper of a thing too.

Ah Tiffin -- I read Loosing Battles last summer -- it's great fun -- a picture of a Southern family reunion with lots of dysfunction and a core love story -- NOT your typical Virago, but Welty at her most rambunctious.

I turned in my husband's Henry James' bits and pieces for credit at my local used book store and picked up

Peking Picnic Ann Bridge
Salem Chapel Mrs Oliphant
Not So Quiet Helen Zenna Smith (looks very interesting. Anyone read it?)
Loving Without Tears Molly Keane
Lolly Withers Sylvia Townsend Warner

I left Anais Nin's Four-Chambered Heart. Are there any opinions on this Nin? I remember reading her diaries years ago and, while I think she is an evocative writer. I was outside my comfort zone.

The Lost Traveller arrived today. Many thanks cmt.

Ah I start going to the theater every night and I miss the exploits of pirates and a certain Baron and Contessa and many naughty children. Sigh.

Up The Junction arrived today - all the way from New Zealand. Thank you dear Cushla.

My Keith was very excited when he saw it 'I read it!' he exclaimed .... and of course he was born in and lived in Battersea until the age of 29. He used to *really* go uo the junction, only a five minute walk away with slipper baths on the route. When I asked him what he did 'up the junction' he simply said 'I *lived* there!'

Apparently his edition, like my new Virago one had a picture of the view as he went down Plough Road page 18 in our edition. He says it is 'so Battersea'. When it first came out there was a great hue and cry as people were saying it wasn't like that - but in fact Keith is emphatic that it was a good description of the area at the time.

Had lunch with a friend in what is becoming second hand bookshop alley in town so popped in to a couple and found: The Solitary Summer by Elizabeth von Arnim! Not perfect condition but good and quite green.

A green copy of Marriage by Susan Ferrier at a decent price from amp! YAY! (I would never have looked for it had it not been for a review by Ms. Scarlettslippers. Many thanks!)

The Flight of the Falcon by Daphne Du Maurier. Mooched book.

Good on you englishrose60!~! Will you finish out your September Author reads with this one?
big hug,

You too LizzieD!~!
hugs,

And tiffin, a new von Arnim!~! You rock!
hugs,

belva

Message edited by its author, Nov 13, 2009, 5:32pm.

Not sure Belva! Still a few days to go!

#51 Julie, I'm so glad it arrived and I'm thrilled that Keith recognised the book and the cover!

A couple of fabulous finds from my holiday in the South West of England:

The Orchid House by Phyllis Shand Allfrey...except it's a duplicate, so shall post it on the appropriate thread (when I get to it. LT seems to have been very busy while I was away and I have a lot of catching up to do!)

The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West. I found this at a music festival called End of the Road. It was amazing - a great second hand bookshop and scrabble and biscuits on the lawn on Sunday afternoon. After my experiences with The Judge I am a litle wary of Ms West, hopefully she will be back at her 'The Fountain Overflows' best with this one.

And this one isn't a VMC but is by a VMC author and I'm so pleased with it, I had to tell someone...it's Mrs Harter by E. M. Delafield, a 1925 edition complete with adverts on the last few pages and the back cover for Oxo, a brushless shaving cream and Pelmanism, which is the 1920s equivalent of neuro-linguistic programming!

Joy of joys - I'm slowly unpacking and just discovered another bag of book purchases that I had forgotten about! In the bag was Enormous Changes at the Last Minute by Grace Paley.

Elaine - I am also ambivalent about Anais Nin and do not seek out her books. If I saw a Virago edition though I would buy it. There is a section in the Virago catalogue which goes very off in my opinion - from 400-457 there are a number of (IMO) disappointing choices and although Nin predates those numbers I still wonder if her books are up to scratch.

char, I literally finished Enormous Changes at the Last Minute about half-an-hour ago - it is AMAZING.

Full House arrived today -- thank you, nannybebette!

You are so more than welcome.

Danielle and Andrew;
will get yours off to you as soon as things calm down enough that I can get to them. Thank you for being so understanding.
hugs to all,
belva

No worries, no hurry, Belva. Just do what you need to do right now. Sending me a book isn't on that particular list. Will light an extra candle for you and Chrissy this eve.

Thank you so much Andrew. I appreciate that more than you could ever know.
luv n hugs,
belva

Mooched books arrived today, not vmc's but all Virago's.
Simone de Beauvoir by Judith Okely
and Maya Angelou's autobiography:
Gather Together In My Name
The Heart of a Woman
All God's Children Need Travelling Shoes
A Song Flung Up To Heaven

Started reading a book recommended originally from a BBC bookish radio programme and suddenly thought to look at the publisher. Guess what I saw ... a little red gnawed apple .... without knowing it I had a Virago in my hand - albeit a library copy! The Centre Cannot Hold a memoir of my schizophrenia by Elyn R Saks is just what the can says but is an amazing journey of a sufferer who is also a Professor of Law and Psychiatry.

>#66:
Oh Valerie, you are going to love All God's Children Need Travelling Shoes. I certainly did. One of her best that I have read to date!~!
Enjoy.
hugs,
belva

My local charity shop has a "free" box where you can help yourself to anything the staff have deemed unsaleable. Today I found a 1944 edition of Kate O'Brien's The Last of Summer (Book Production War Economy Standard).

Be still my heart ... how exciting, soupdragon!

Soup, that's a great find!

Kismet, Soup!

#69 wow - one woman's xxxx is another woman's treasure! What a find - was that the year it was published?

Am just off to meet a friend who is going to give me a copy of Sackville West's Family History as he acquired an extra copy by accident. I also bought George Eliot's Lifted Veil and intend to read that very very soon.

Wonderful findings, soup and verity!

#73

Julie, I've just been thinking about you! I've been catching up with the forum and just noticed you're recuperating from an operation at the moment. I hope you are managing to take things easy and are being well looked after!

The book's not a first edition but I don't think it had been published long when this one came out. It's a "book club edition" with a note at the front saying it had been produced in "complete conformity with authorised war economy standards". The shop I bought it from is quite odd actually, rather badly organised with a very erratic pricing system. There are little cardboard notices up with prices and then the staff charge you something completely different. I have found a few treasures there including a 1955 edition of Monica Dickens's Mariana for 20p!

Edited to correct touchstone

Message edited by its author, Oct 3, 2009, 11:56am.

Thank you Soup - yes it was on Monday, still tender and painful but I have another week off work so I really am trying to take things easy. Life has been challenging for a while so I have welcomed the break for my health. I'm a carer for my dear Keith, who is recovering, albeit in small, but wonderful steps. The table has been turned this week!

Now to your excellent find. It inspired me so much that I ventured over to Amazon and guess what .... I snagged another 1944 red edition for myself in the used section! It was a bit more than you paid but still a snip. That sounds an excellent second hand book shop. We have one in Newbury - about 18 miles south of where we live. I always ask about Viragos and they are invariably delightful! What a 20p treasure as well!

Message edited by its author, Oct 3, 2009, 1:16pm.

The place I found the duplicates I sent out a month or two ago is an odd little store as well. Mom and Pop thing with lottery tickets, video rentals, and a small book section - and in the far back a porn video room. It sits just outside of base housing where we lived with the Air Force for 7 years and the only reason I continue to go there is because I have in the last 10 years found 5 used green Viragos amongst the dross. When I ask about their books they don't have a clue - they buy unopened boxes at auctions or some such.

#77, I hope you like the book, Julie. My copy is rather small (probably a result of all that war economy...) but the type is readable enough. Also hope you and Keith are having a relaxing Sunday right now!

#78, Romain, that's exactly the kind of place I seem to find the best treasures. Only when I'm not expecting to, though! If I return hoping for 20p Viragos and first editions galore , the magic doesn't seem to work, somehow!

A Virago non-fiction arrived from Australia today through BookMooch. The Daphne Du Maurier Companion edited by Helen Taylor. Fits in nicely with September's Monthly Author Reading Group.

Valerie;
I keep looking at that on Amazon and wishing. Is it good? Do you think it would be worth the shells?
belva

I found a copy of Blaming this weekend at a used book sale (the new virago edition)

Belva, I think it will be worth it if you are a fan of Du Maurier. The book contains interviews with her family, essays by contemporary authors. Her work is discussed by critics, leading writers, and academics.
Mine was mooched so it only cost me 2 points, but after a quick scan through the contents page I think I would buy it. Of course it may be cheaper if you buy a used copy.
Hope this is of some help to you Belva.

Tremendously!~! Thank you englishrose60
belva

P.S. I found a used copy online and went ahead and ordered it. I think it is a book I will enjoy for many years to come as I have Daphne Du Maurier's books.
hugs

Message edited by its author, Oct 5, 2009, 4:18pm.

I found for myself when bookshopping today, The Soul of Kindness and a memoir, Sequins for a Ragged Hem. I'm totally chuffed!

Found The Harsh Voice and The Gods Arrive for £1.50 each on the market today, as well as Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and Mariana (both Persphone Classics) in near perfect condition for £2! Delighted :)

# 76 Soup and friends - I have just received my 1944 edition of The Last of Summer by Kate O'Brien and it is wonderful. It sounds like it is exactly the same edition as your delightful find. I am hoping that my dear Keith will scan the dust cover as it is charming and I would love to shar eit with everyone. It may not be a green spine VMC edition but I am treasuring it already!

In case anyone else would like one I acquired it via amazon dot co dot uk

What a green two days I'm having! From pbs in this morning's mail, I got Testament of Friendship (not, alas, a VMC but the same edition as my Testament of Youth so they'll be handsome together on the shelf) and That Lady and Without My Cloak both beautiful green, white-lined!

You go girl!~!
Love Kate O'Brien!~!
My "Testaments" are both the black Dial editions but are lovely. I rather like them. My That Lady is the lovely Virago green, but my Without My Cloak is the newer "artsy" cover which I am happy to have but do not love as I love the greens. They are just not as classy. (still much better than a movie tie-in, however)
hugs,
belva

Lots of exciting finds here!

Juliette, I would love to see the cover of your edition of The Last of Summer. My copy didn't have a dust jacket, (though probably wouldn't have been in the free box if it had) and it would be wonderful to see what it would have been like in it's original glory!

ETA: I have just been on Amazon.co.uk and think I've spotted your dust jacket. Charming is absolutely the word for it!

Message edited by its author, Oct 8, 2009, 4:37am.

Thank you Soup and here is the charming dust jacket of the 1944 edition of The Last of Summer by Kate O'Brien.



ETA Soup - my IT skills are not the best but maybe you could print a copy in which you could enfold your lovely edition.

Message edited by its author, Oct 8, 2009, 6:27am.

Inside the dustjacket at the front one has useful information from newspapers of the time. I love the reference to Kate writing about people 'she faces up to the odious side of the sheep and - what is often more difficult the nice side of goats'..

Message edited by its author, Oct 8, 2009, 6:17am.

Inside the dust jacket at the back the names of The President and Patrons of The Book Club are proudly displayed, including amongst others, Baroness Orczy, Miss E Sylvia Pankhurst and a number of other interesting names.

Finally, a rather lovely page relating to the fact that the book was produced in complete conformity with the authorized economy standard.

Yonnondio by Tillie Olsen. Beautiful book, thanks you Julie.

Dear Valerie, you are most welcome!

Oh Julie, thank you so much for all that wonderful detail. I love that about the sheep and goats!

I am pondering your idea about printing my own dust jacket. My IT skills are...well I don't have any IT skills. However my husband is a bookbinder and generally good at doing clever things with books. I will have a word with him...

Thank you Soup. Just had a chat with my IT husband who suggests sending you an email with a high resolution picture of the cover. In fact he has just spoken to me and he will send it to you direct. His email will be from an aol address!

Please leave a private message on my profile with your email address and he will let you have it.

Message edited by its author, Oct 9, 2009, 4:13am.

A confession:

http://cardigangirlverity.blogspot.com/2...

Fabulous finds indeed...

Verity - how wonderful and how generous of you to donate to Oxfam!

Browsing through your blog I was so very delighted to find a fellow Fell Farm Campers enthusiast. I *still* have two of them from my childhood - presents from my 'bookish' parents - and I do so treasure them.

Verity - I got the Provincial Lady Virago edition through PBS a while ago and donated my non-Virago copy to someone else on this site. Imagine my surprise to read your blog and find that it is an omnibus. I thought at the time it was considerably fatter than my old edition but didn't look inside because I'd already read it.

Barbara!~!
Barbara!~!
You sent me the wrong copy!~!~! We can figure out some way to right this!~! I am quite certain that we can!~!
belva

Right Belva - and you have some swamp land in Florida you want to sell me at the same time?

#98,
Juliette, How very lovely and thoughtful of you and Keith, thank you so much!

Off to PM you straight away...

From my dear friend Peggy I received Lady Audley's Secret by Mary E. Braddon and Company Parade by Storm Jameson. *Squeals with delight*

I also found yesterday evening at the thrift shop a copy of My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin but someone had taken a pen to the cover and drawn a beard and mustache (oh, the horror!)

In the mailbox yesterday afternoon, Troy Chimneys by Margaret Kennedy. Thanks so much, LizzieD!

I have already thanked Peggy effusively in private, but I too received Marriage and joy, joy, joy The New House which I have been looking for, forever, Today I received 8 Virago greens from a dealer but I paid for them - albeit about $3 each and I haven't yet opened the box to remind me what they actually are!

This is what I got in the post today

Winter Sonata - Dorothy Edwards
Hudson River Bracketed - Edith Wharton
Phoebe Junior - Mrs Oliphant
One Fine Day - Molly Panter-Downes
Love Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister
- Aphra Benn
Red Pottage - Mary Cholmondley
Adam's Breed - Radclyffe Hall
and Wayward Girls, Wicked Women - edit Angela Carter.

I paid $1 each for them and then a (reduced!!!) shipping and handling of about $16 - for buying in bulk. However this dealer - Better World Books - claims to send ALL profits to world literacy. They do not appear to offer the reduced shipping on their own site, only through Abe and Biblio etc.

Now if I could only read faster than I can buy...

Looks like a lovely haul, romain!

I guess it's the day for Peggy's treasures to come home to roost! I, too, received a package from Peggy today: Salem Chapel. Thank you so much Peggy!!!

*sigh* That was so much fun!
(Manners!) You are most welcome!

Message edited by its author, Oct 10, 2009, 4:59pm.

>110: and I should also add that I very much enjoyed the 70s-style notepaper!!

@Romain - oh no! You need the one with all the rest of the books in as they are equally funny.

@Juliette07 - the Fell Farm series is just wonderful - it was so exciting to visit the Lake District for the first time this year and see it exactly how the books describe the area. I think we should get tax relief on charity donations made through charity bookshops...

#108> Barbara, if you buy directly from the BetterWorld website and you live in the US (which you do), you pay NO shipping.
However, and I can say it as I was one of the first customers when they started their business, their prices used to be far better and I found quite a few treasures. Now I hardly ever shop there, they have become sloppy, often ship the wrong books and their prices are not so good any longer.

Paola

I looked directly on their site but they charge $3.98 for the same books I got for a dollar and although that includes shipping I paid less than $2 shipping on each book through deals on Abe etc. So it was about a dollar cheaper per book to buy from Better World Books via Abe. I found that the books - all of which they advertised in excellent condition - were mostly only in okay condition. Plus their stickers pull of very badly, and took some of the book on the first one I removed. But I am still happy to have them.

Barbara

Yes, those stickers are awful! II was forced to leave on most of them....YUCK!

I'm not a fan of Betterworld Books any longer for the same reason. While shopping on ABE, I bought None Turn Back by Storm Jameson without looking at the seller. When I finally realized it was from BWB, I wrote it off as another waste of money. Surprisingly, the book was absolutely pristine and the sticker came off cleanly. I was most impressed - though not enough to buy from them knowingly.

My other fabulous find of late is Storm Jameson's 2-volume autobiography Journey from the North.

Oooooh - bleu, I am pea green with envy.

Edited for a typo - why do my fingers move too fast and why don't I check ?????

Message edited by its author, Oct 13, 2009, 11:37am.

In my mailbox, a lovely copy of Full House by M.J. Farrell/Molly Keane.

Thank you so much Julie!! :)

ETA : strangely this one didn't seem to come by lame pack mule. Less than 10 days and Monday was a holiday here!

Message edited by its author, Oct 16, 2009, 12:08am.

Unexpectedly in the mail today I found copies of The Camomile and told by an Idiot, sent to me by a fellow viragoite. Thank you, friend!

#119 You are *very* welcome and I am so pleased it arrived 'a toute vitesse'!

#118 Julie, I will keep an eye out for other copies of Jameson's autobiography for you. After all, it was your reading of her biography that was the inspiration!!

Dear bleu - how very kind and thoughtful of you! The lady herself was the inspiration. x

Not a Virago, but edited by a Virago author (Olivia Manning), today I found Romanian Short Stories, which looks like an interesting collection. I was amazed to find out that nobody else on LT has a copy!

The Return of the Soldier landed in my mailbox today. Thanks, teazle!! I had forgotten about it, which makes it such a nice surprise!

Tomorrow (Monday) I shall start The Question of Max by Amanda Cross, a Virago Crime book.

No Signposts in the Sea arrived today and I'm so pleased to have another Sackville-West in my collection. Thanks Teazle!

Vita Sackville-West and Kate O'Brien have very quickly become two of my favorite authors. She is marvelously wonderful!~!
Enjoy.
belva

The Women's Room by Marilyn French, 30th Anniversary Edition, from BookMooch.

Oh Valerie, I am so anxious to know how you liked this one when you finish it. I look forward to hearing what you have to say about it.
I mailed your book off to you today also. Hopefully it won't take forever to get there.
hugs,
belva

In the mail Welcome Strangers by Mary Hocking, a birthday gift from a dear friend. Thank you!
:-))

Belva, I don't know when I'll get around to reading The Women's Room but shall post my thoughts about it on LT.

I look forward to getting book from you. Thank you so much for sending it.

Happy Day! I received a Dial Press copy of Mary Olivier: a Life by May Sinclair from an amp seller. Last week I got a copy of The Magic Toyshop by Belva's favorite, Angela Carter. Much to my delight, it turned out to be green!
(I have 3 more coming from various places, but I'm too superstitious to list them lest they fail to show.)

Ewwwwwwwwwww, but I have heard that the two I tried are a couple of her rougher ones and that is particular one is really good!~!
Enjoy!~!
hugs,
belva

Today in the post from far, far away arrived The Age of Innocence and Beyond the Glass; both in lovely Virago green. Thank you Teazle. I know it is very dear to send them cross the pond and I greatly appreciate your kindness:)
hugs,
belva

Waiting for me when I got home today was The Birds Fall Down by Rebecca West sent to me by Belva! What a great way to start the weekend.

I'm enjoying Mrs. Humphry Ward's Robert Elsmere so much that I was thrilled to find, at a book shop in St. Paul, a VMC of her Marcella. Another 560-page late Victorian novel to read! I'm so excited!

For anyone who is a member of PBS there are two copies of Land of Spices on their site that do not show up as Viragos but have their ISBNs and one of them is GREEN!!! I would check with the seller after ordering to confirm it is a Virago, but it has the traditional green cover.

Also available are (non-Viragos) of Olivia Manning's Balkan and Levant trilogies and a Feminist Press copy of Not So Quiet

I'm packing up books into storage boxes (we're moving to Switzerland for a couple of years - sorry if I'm repeating myself!) but that hasn't quite stopped me buying books.

I found The Little Disturbances of Man by Grace Paley in beautiful green, and had to buy it,and also bought Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym because of so many fans in this group.

I'm taking a few boxes with us, but haven't decided which VMCs will make it yet. Any suggestions welcome (hopefully they haven't gone to the storage unit already...)

JOY!
Two Dial pb's this morning! From pbs, Told by an Idiot by Rose Macaulay and from amp Deerbrook by Harriet Martineau. I'll devote myself to the rest of The Ladies of Lyndon this afternoon so that I can start Deerbrook right away! (No bad choice exists.)
Cushla, WOW! ~ "we're moving to Switzerland for a couple of years " ~ If you wrote that somewhere else, I missed it...... I'd say take a VMC from each general period. I'd be hard-put to decide between Jane and Prudence and any unread Elizabeth Taylor for mid-20th century.

edited to say that I forgot to gloat over a fine green copy of For Love Alone by Christina Stead that my hometown friend brought back from a trip to visit her daughter in Portland, Ore. YAY!

Message edited by its author, Oct 26, 2009, 12:45pm.

Today I found a first edition copy of Rosamond Lehmann's Invitation to the Waltz in a junk store. It's in good condition, too, no dust jacket though.

Storm Jameson's Love in Winter arrived in perfect condition this morning. This completes her 'Mirror in Darkness' sequence which consists of Company Parade, Love in Winter and None Turn Back though, in reading the introduction, there was a departure of sorts, with None Turn Back.

Cushla dear.....I am in jaw-dropping envy for your next adventure in Switzerland! What a wonderful experience for you and your family. Don't worry, if you have trouble finding VMC's, we'll be happy to help!! When is your moving date?

#140 and #142 Cate and Peggy, I wrote it on my 75BC thread, and maybe in the Reading Globally group...and I feel like I've been blathering on about it for the last month! We are very excited! We go at the end of the year, but my husband's going first to start his new job and sort out life at the other end - he goes in 2 weeks, EEEEK!

Peggy I haven't read any Elizabeth Taylor yet but I have at least one. I'm going to read back over old threads to get a feel for the favourite Viragoes, because the same ones keep popping up.

#141 Marise, wow - a first edition is a precious find.

I've had some good luck with paperbackswap lately, with 3 wishes coming true. Today I received the first of the lot: The New House, by Lettice Cooper.

143-- Cushla -- what a wonderful adventure! I am most envious.

Cushla, you'll be able to yodel and eat chocolate at the same time, clever puss! That IS a big adventure and a long way to go from home but all of Europe will be nearby, so you should be able to do some mighty fine exploring.

Cushla, if ever I go to Italy during your stay in Switzerland, I will let you know.

142 - Oh bleu .... I am pea green green with envy for those Storm Jamesons! Company Parade I posess and have read but have yet to have the others. However I have snagged three bargains on ebay UK - three of Jameson hardbacks. I will reveal more when they arrive.

Cushla dear - as I am sure I have said a million times elsewhere already .... any opportunity to come to England (or Eastern Pyreneean France when we are in residence) - you have an open invitation and we would love to welcome you!

Please record the yodelling with chocolate for us! Oh my.
And my last hurrah here for the moment: a black Dial copy o The Beth Book from an amp seller. It's Grand!

I am finding that I quite like my black Dial copies of Viragos. I think I would rather have those than the modern gaudy print ones. My copy of The Beth Book, (thanx to Rob, I believe), is also a black Dial and I love it.
belva
P.S. Ladies & Gents;
>#138
for those of you who do not own a copy of Kate O'Brien's Land of Spices, do please take romain's advice and hop over to pbs and grab, snag, steal, whatever you need to do to get one. It is a WONDERFUL book!~!

Well, romain got me to join PaperBackSwap.
And I ordered Not So Quiet (oh, I see it was a banned book at one time---darn, just missed out on banned books week) and Daughter of Earth. It looked really good. I am totally unfamiliar with this swap probram, but it looks like fun and a good way to rid my shelves of books that I have read, do not love, and do not plan to read again. Just right to go along with my Alphabet Challenge.
Thanx Barbara,
big hug,
belva

Message edited by its author, Oct 27, 2009, 10:42pm.

I came back from Arizona to find The Three Miss Kings waiting for me. Thanks, Belva!

I got a great surprise to find a **beautiful** brand new copy of the Fountain Overflows in the mail today from Teazle - it's made my day! Thanks so much for sending it.

You are most welcome Andrew!~!
I wish I had more to send out to you folks.
I really feel good when I have a Virago to share with someone else as that is quite a change for me.
luv n hugs,
belva

Company Parade by Storm Jameson arrived today. Thank you so much for your generosity Belva.

Not So Quiet is a wonderful book Belva! Just finished another Kate O'Brien The Last of Summer and loved it too.

Message edited by its author, Oct 29, 2009, 4:11pm.

You are so more than welcome Valerie.
Enjoy.
belva

love, love, love Kate O'Brien!~!

A new copy of Nightingale Wood arrived for me today. I have heard, here I think, that it is not as good as Cold Comfort Farm but I am looking forward to it nonetheless.

Yesterday I received a lovely green copy of The Matriarch from Peggy and Cat's Eye from PBS. Last week Belva sent me an equally lovely green of Ordinary Families and someone at PBS sent me a hugely beat up green of Family History.

Perhaps, Barbara, Family History was just well loved rather that hugely beat up. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm????????? And they just wanted to share the LOVE.
belva

Message edited by its author, Oct 29, 2009, 5:59pm.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow arrived from PBS today. I wonder what will arrive tomorrow? Tee hee ... actually, I am expecting one more VMC soon.

Laura - you must let us know what you think of it. It's had a rather lukewarm reception on this site. I don't own it nor have I read it

Belva - you're Pollyanna!

Mr Skeffington in a lovely green cover was waiting just for me at the book exchange this morning.

Why, thank you Barbara.

a href="http://www.glitter-graphics.com">

>164: not sure when I'll read it. I just keep collecting regardless of how many (few) I've actually read! But I do mean to read them all ... someday. And of course I'll weigh in with thoughts in this wonderful group!

Laura, I own Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow too and will read it one day. But when I started boxing up books and did an initial sort, it made its way into the "storage" box... About 25 of my Viragoes have survived and are in line for a long slow boat trip.

Thanks for all the lovely comments about our move. I promise to record my yodelling efforts, or at least my chocolate-finding efforts...

Right, back to the last 50 pages of Martha Gellhorn's biography - not a Virago but she talks about lots of Virago authors. But I'm 50 pages from the end and thinking uncharitable thoughts about how long she has left.

I found the dial press version of I'm not complaining which I know many here were reading.

Oh yes Maren, I read that not too long ago and enjoyed it quite a bit.

My m-i-l called this morning and brought me three new Viragoes - all original style green covers : A pin to see the peepshow and The Lacquer Lady by F. Tennyson Jesse and All passion spent by Vita Sackville West. I've already got a copy of the Vita Sackville-West but it was part of an Book Club omnibus so I'm pleased to have it separately. The F. Tennyson Jesse pair I haven't read before so I've got those to look forward to. I visited my sister earlier in the week and she passed on a handful of books, but no Viragoes, so my TBR pile is reaching unmanageable proportions again.

Great finds CDVicarage and what a great MIL!!!

Yes she is. She always reads the books before passing them on to me and most Virago authors are probably not what she would choose herself, so I feel I am widening her horizons. It works the other way too and I have often read books that she has recommended to me that I wouldn't have expected to enjoy.

I'm sure you'll enjoy the Tennyson Jesses CDVicarage - A Pin To See The Peepshow is absoutely AMAZING. I read The Lacquer Lady afterwards and didn't enjoy it quite so much, but I think that was probably because my expectations were so high - it's still very good indeed.

A beautiful Enid Bagnold was waiting for me on my return from la belle France. The Happy Foreigner was an ebay purchase and is in superb condition. The reason I was especially interested in acquiring this one was because I had taken Mother Urania's most wonderful recommendation regarding Enid Bagnold's A Diary Without Dates - a diary of her time as a VAD during the First World War. The Happy Foreigner was apparently inspired by those events. This book has leapt up my tbr pile !!

Thought it would be fun to have a little browse in Powell's on Halloween evening and go hunting for green spines. My husband is a virago sleuth of sorts and found four lovely copies! An anthology called That Kind of Woman, two older style (white lines) penguin/virago green spines No Signposts in the Sea by Vita Sackville-West, and Plagued by the Nightingale by Kay Boyle, and one true blue british virago with the apple~old style (though the author is american) Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles.

hjelliot, That Kind of Woman is an amazing anthology! I recommend it to everyone seeking fabulous short stories by some wonderful female writers. Enjoy!

>#176:
Heather;
What a wonderful way to spend Halloween night. And what a wonderful husband to go green spine sleuthing with you. And, lastly, what a haul!~! You beat the kiddie's treats all to heck! Enjoy them.
belva

Not Viragoes but please forgive me as I just *have* to share the arrival of three Storm Jameson hardbacks from ebay. The Hidden River 1956 edition, Last Score 1961 and The Journal of Mary Hervey Russell 1945. Just off to add them to my library!

Message edited by its author, Nov 2, 2009, 5:16pm.

Julie;
Congratulations on your new scores!~! I'll bet that journal is wonderful.
belva

Belva - Yes, I am thrilled but of course, as usual, I have a queue of books waiting - one, The Land of Green Plums of which is at the library waiting for me to pick it up!

I discovered a new bookstore this weekend and came home with a copy of The Descendant by Ellen Glasgow, 1897 edition. Not a Virago, of course, but a Virago author I love!

Wow!~! What a score that was!~! I'll bet you are absolutely delighted! Love Ellen Glasgow and who does not?
Congrats!
belva

Wonderful finding, Christine!!! You lucky girl you!!

That must be a first edition, Christine? Well scooped!

Found a Virago Traveller this morning at the book exchange -- Peregrinations of a Pariah by Flora Tristan. I don't know anything about her (yet) but what a great title!

(I'll just add that my copy of Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, also a V/B Traveler (only 1 "l" on the cover of this copy) and by Flora Tristan, came from an amp seller today. I'm excited......And since I've mentioned that one, I'll also say that North-West by North by Dora Birtles also arrived today. I ordered it mostly because it was only a penny + shipping, but now I'm thrilled because it's about DB's sailing from Newcastle, Australia to Singapore in a 34-foot cutter in 1932.) Good times ahead!

My m-i-l has been scouring her local charity shop again and has got me a copy of Frost in May - an original green design in very good condition. I only have the omnibus TV tie-in published by Fontana, which are small format and hardwork to hold open as you read, so I'm very pleased with this one. Only three more to go and I can pass on my omnibus!

I ordered a copy of A Game of Hide and Seek from Alibris for $1 plus shipping. Even though the description said FINE, I wasn't expecting much. It arrived today and it wasn't fine, it was PERFECT. This book has never been read! (What a pity, that). Makes one wonder where these uncirculated books come from. I am very pleased...

>189: Isn't it wonderful when things like that happen?!

That Lady' arrived safe and sound. Thank you so much LizzieD.

Oh Valerie, you are going to love her when you finish with Elizabeth von Arnim and get to her!~!
love ya,
belva

Yesterday, in the mail, A Diary Without Dates by Enid Bagnold. I found it on Amazon Marketplace and, beside being in perfect shape (it looks unread), it was not even that expensive.

Ooooo Paola - I am pea green with envy - well done you! Mine went back to the library last week so I had to say 'farewell'.

Nicely done, Paola!

I think I was just lucky, as this was the only copy at a decent price. There were more, but so ridiculously priced that I would have never bought any!

Bravo, Paolina!

On holiday in Sussex I found three lovely original two stripe greens - two Elizabeth Taylors - A View of the Harbour and At Mrs Lippincote's, and Love by Elizabeth Von Arnim. All £2 each. Bargain!

Also, all three have beautiful cover art which is always a bonus.

Congrats to both of you on your great finds and the bargain prices!~!
I have been searching the web weekly for A Diary Without Dates and thus far the prices have all been exorbitant! There are about 3 or 4 that I am looking for and finding either this result or no result. I refuse to pay 59.99 plus S & H U.S. for almost any book.
But I surely am happy for you girls.
big 3 way hug,
belva

In the post today I received an absolute treasure! I have been searching and searching for a copy (any) of Illyrian Spring by Ann Bridge. Of course, we always want the Virago Press green copy but................
For 10.38 in British pounds, I found a Penguin copy of a 1949 published Illyrian Spring. I won't say that it is in pristine condition, but I am so happy to have it!~!
I love everyone today!~! (and most days, I will admit, but especially today!)
I have yet to open the others. Whoo Hoo!~!
belva

Message edited by its author, Nov 9, 2009, 3:55pm.

Yay Belva! You are going to LOVE Illyrian Spring, it's worth its weight in gold, I promise!

The other books I received today were:
Deerbrook, The Doctor's Family, The Executor, The Rector, (3 in one) Phoebe, Jr., The Echoing Grove, The Lifted Veil, The Easter Party, Heritage, Pepita, (all three by Vita Sackville-West, and The Provincial Lady in London.
My credit card is in such pain but my little Virago collection is growing by leaps and bounds. I need another book case for them. (just a small one).
Happy reading all,
belva

Message edited by its author, Nov 9, 2009, 5:55pm.

Congratulations to all of you on your recent finds! Enjoy!

Well, I feel like $500,000 at least to Paola and Belva's $1,000,000 because in today's mail I got The Camomile (green & lined, but with a boo-boo on the cover where somebody put an unremovable sticker and removed it) (It is also the first VMC that I've ever received that smelled vaguely of tobacco smoke) from amp and a lovely copy of The Newspaper of Claremont Street (which has the same kind of art as my other 2 E. Jolleys: THANK YOU, Elaine! She goes on the pile with Girls of Slender Means to be picked up and put down until finished. *sigh* *replete*

Found Thank Heaven Fasting by E.M. Delafield in a favourite 2nd hand bookshop today. It wasn't a bargain (no Oxfam shop £2ers here) but it is in very good condition and is a classic green VMC.

Congratulations Tui!~! Sometimes it is just the hunt also as well as the bargain and if you want it badly enough whatever you pay is a bargain. Right now I am working on getting all of E.M. Delafield's Provincial Lady books and I think I have just about made it.
big hug,
belva

Congrats to you all for the fantastic findings! May we all keep being so lucky.
:-))

This past weekend, I returned to the bookstore where I found The Descendant (see message 182) and found two more Ellen Glasgow novels: The Battle-Ground and The Miller of Old Church. Best of all, I left my phone # and they are now holding Phases of an Inferior Planet, her 2nd novel for me!

These books all have the same bookplate in the front - I suppose they are from an estate sale. It feels as though they were meant to come into my hands, from one Glasgow fan to another!

WOW Christine!!! Good for you, dear!

Took the offer of a free £15 from Amazon (apply for their credit card, use it once and get a £15 credit) and bought The Daphne Du Maurier Companion and Mary Lavelle. I doubt I'll use the card again!

Wow, marise..................the Karma!~!~!
hugs,
belva

210> if you can resist the Amazon credit card, you are a far better woman than I!

I took advantage of the Amazon credit card and used it just the one time. It worked for me.
belva

I've just come back from the post and: "Somebody" (hmmmmm, now who was that?) on the Virago site sent me a Victoria Clayton quite some time ago and I fell in love with her writing. No, she is not a Virago author. But every since reading that first book, I have been seeking the others and I think I finally got the last two I was missing. I am a happy camper!~!
Also in the post came:
The Wedding, Miss Marjoribanks, The Weather is the Streets, Love in Winter, The Virago Book of Fairy Tales, and The Virago Book of Erotic Myths and Legends. Don't know why, but when I opened that last parcel, I immediately thought of "shhhhhhh"; Mother U. IDK!~!
belva

Mother U. is certainly legendary.

Indeed!~!

Belva...it was I who sent Out of Love to you! Since then, I've read Running Wild and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm so glad that she's been a delight for you as well!! Great haul, Virago and otherwise, by the way!!

Message edited by its author, Nov 12, 2009, 11:57pm.

A Diary without Dates by Enid Bagnold - consider myself very fortunate to find one on ABE at a reasonable price!

218 Oh - very well done - it was such an excellent recommendation.

Yes, Cate, you sent her Out of Love, and I (who have read all the Victoria Clayton's books) recommended that she reads all the others. Light reading but so pleasant!

Patricia dear, I am glad you found a copy of Diary Without Dates at a 'decent' price.

Excellent Mrsp! You were in the right place at the right time! Just looking at ABE now, there are 10 copies from $26 to $174!!!

Paola, I certainly agree. I have her other books in my cart!!

Message edited by its author, Nov 13, 2009, 11:37am.

Cate, my favourites are Moonshine and Past Mischief.

>219 - Agreed Julie - it certainly was an excellent recommendation -

220,221- my copy (in very good condition) + international postage cost far less than $26.00 - booksellers must have sussed that it has become a rare edition!!


I read Past Mischief earlier this year on Paola's recommendation and enjoyed it very much.

Patri!!!!! What time is it there?

Sigh, I just caved and requested Past Mischief from the library. You guys are such book pushers ;)

> 224 - a bright early Sat morning -9.00am (and only one more weekend to spend with Giacomo:-)) )
YAY!!

And here I am at 10.18 pm in the cold wet, seriously windy late evening! How are you Mrs P? We have 'the worse storms of the year, torrential rain and storm force winds. Yikes ....

Message edited by its author, Nov 13, 2009, 5:21pm.

Julie - that sounds like you should bunker in for weekend for lovely fireside reading - now.. do you need any recommendations:-))

While on an early morning walk today I saw a ?pod of whales migrating south - they were just off our headland and playing in the ocean - majestically wonderful!!

>#217:
Cate;
I was trying so hard not to name any names her, but why bother--y'all out yourselves anyway. hee hee.
Yup, you hooked me in with that one Victoria Clayton and yesterday the final one of her published books, Sommerball, arrived in the post. I think she only has eight out there at this time, doesn't she? Whoo Hoo!~! So I have all of them at this point!!!

>218:
mrspenny;
Lucky you!~! I have been searching for a reasonably priced copy of A Diary without Dates since I saw all the chatter on here about it and knew I had to have it. But all the copies I have found have been priced simply exorbitantly high!~! I am so happy for you.

>#220:
And Paolina, my dear, I am taking your advice. But I am going to read them sparingly as they are sooooo good!~!

>#225:
sqdancer;
You won't be sorry. You will love it!~!

And to all-----we are having our first snow of the season last night and today. Whoo Hoo!~! belva is sooooooo happy!~! I have already washed my windows!~! (I wash them once a year whether they need it or not........................................... on the first snowfall!~! {true})

And I went to Seattle the other day and watched my Chrissy tie her tennis shoes in preparation of going on the hospital van to the Seattle Aquarium!~! She was so excited!~! And she and I have been talking on the telephone. Her voice does have a sort of monotone to it, but that girl can talk!~! And she gets to go to her mom and dad's apartment Sunday for a few hours!~! What a long way we have come.

And it is so good to be back in my own life again. Yea for Chrissy and Yea for belva!~!

hugs all round,
belva

Message edited by its author, Nov 13, 2009, 11:47pm.

Belva - YAY for that tough young Chrissy (and her aunt) - that is very good news about her progress and her gate leave on Sunday!!

Whoo Hoo!~!~!

Belva, YAYYYYYY for Chrissy!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had been meaning to ask how she is doing, but you preceded me with telling us.

Today, as I arrived home, I found TWO Viragos I did not have waiting for me: Clash by Ellen Wilkinson and The Land of Green Ginger by Winifred Holtby. A dear dear dear friend sent them. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!

>231 WHOOO HOO!~!~! indeed!!!!!

Wonderful news Belva - so *very* pleased for Chrissy and her Mum.

I know the other man's grass is always greener but ....
While on an early morning walk today I saw a ?pod of whales migrating south - they were just off our headland and playing in the ocean - majestically wonderful!!
Oh Tricia - I am lost for words. We have sailed across the Bay of Biscay to holiday in France on four occasions and they have Whale and Dolphin watching as the company give space to researchers. Dolphins I have seen but whales are elusive - I am green :))))

BTW - thanks for all those non recommends! In fact I am off to the theatre this evening Educating Rita - last night so should be wonderful! I went last week and loved it so much I am returning.

Belva, that's such wonderful news about Chrissy!!

I have just received the most wonderful 'as new' Virago green copy of Journey From the North: Vol 1. I am so thrilled.

Belva, great news about Chrissy.

Belva, great news bout Chrissy!! And yay to being back into normal life again for yourself! (sorry, English not flowing beautifully at 7.09 pre-coffee!)

I was holding my breath because I spent $5 on Ebay for a first edition of Illyrian Spring which was described as in good condition with dust jacket. It just arrived and I am so pleased! The only damage to the dust jacket is nibbles on the spine. (Must get a protective covering). The book itself is tight with a lovely blue cover. Can't wait to read it. since I did enjoy Peking Picnic

I received Up the Country, a Virago Traveller by Emily Eden.
Since it was one of the "Print on demand", I thought I would get a 'new' copy, instead, to my amazement and delight, I got the ORIGINAL edition (1983), a bit worn out but with tight binding. The only problem is that I cannot find the original cover anywhere on the internet, and my scanner does not work.

>#239:
Elaine;
Did you score or what!~!~! Congratulations.
I was happy when I found an old ratty 1st edition Penquin copy for 10.38 English pounds plus S&H. I am still happy.
I blew it some months back when I came upon a first edition of it in hardback. It had a yellow cover on it but back then I thought I just had to have the Virago green copy. It went for two bucks on ebay plus S&H. Now I am happy with a Dial or Penguin copy of my books as well. I would still rather have the green but will take them rather than let a book I want get away from me.
Good on you!~!~!
belva

Message edited by its author, Nov 14, 2009, 4:29pm.

>240 - Original cover of First Edition of Up the Country now added:-)

mrspenny;
could you give us the link? I am still not seeing the 1983 cover added. Just the one with the elephant on it. IDK.
belva

I'm loving Virago/Beacon Travelers, and I don't know what I've reported and what I've sat on and gloated over (Not a pretty picture, is it?). Today I received a very decent copy of Station Life in New Zealand from pbs (I couldn't believe my luck!) and I also have The London Journal Of Flora Tristan from amp. From that same source I'm looking for The Cruel Way to arrive next week. Since I never travel anywhere, I am a dedicated collector/reader of travel books. These are special!

I love mine too LizzieD!~! They are special. So far I only have 10, but it is a start.
Happy "traveling".
hugs,
belva

>243 - Belva - will try and link it tomorrow.

Thank you. I just checked again and it still isn't there.
big hug,
belva

>243, 247

Try this link Belva: http://www.librarything.com/work/423021/...

Havana Dreams by Wendy Gimbel received through BookMooch. A story about four generations of Cuban Women.

>248:
sqdancer;
Thank you. It is the perfect one. I was dying to get rid of the Raja and the elephant!~!
I'll luv ya forever,
hugs,
belva

I finally got a copy of Villette. I have ordered it 5 times. Four times in used condition from different book dealers over the months; no books arrived but they all took my money. When I communicated with them, one of them refunded my money and I heard nothing from the others. So I finally ordered it new from Amazon.com and it arrived today. I am finally a happy girl. Paid for it 5 times and got it once. But I have wanted it forever so.........
Happy days are here again!~!~!
belva

>248 - thanks sqdancer.

I was so happy to find a copy of The Provincial Lady in Wartime and The Little Ottleys. I'm excited.
belva

I sought out copy of Peyton Place after some recent ravings here about it.

I have wonderous news! Received an email informing me that the second volume of Journey to The North has just been shipped following my purchase on ebay. This will go with my volume 1 I received last week!

Oh Julie;
I am so happy for you. I remember how very excited I was when I found them on ebay also. I hear such wonderful things about Storm Jameson but I've yet to find time to read her. I know you will enjoy!~!
hugs,
belva

That sounds GREAT, Julie!!!!!!
I only have the first volume, and so far I have been unable to find the second. But I am persistent.......:-))

I received a very nice green edition of Edith Wharton's The Reef, ordered used from Amazon. It's in wonderful condition. I'm participating in an Edith Wharton blog tour in January and will be reviewing this book when she "visits" my blog on the tour.

Paola dear - thank you for your enthusiasm! I will keep my eyes open for you.

Belva - I was also lucky enough to get a 1945 copy of Cloudless May by Margaret Storm Jameson - I find I am the only owner of the book here on LT.

Congratulations Laura - I used a beautiful 'ancient' hard back library copy when I read The Reef. A number of the library books I request come from a mysterious place inaccessible to the mere public, unless you make a library request, called 'The Store'.

Message edited by its author, Nov 18, 2009, 2:01am.

I got it, I got it, I got it!!!!!

What I got is Vol.II of Journey from the North, from Ebay UK, thanks to our Julie's help. Thank you, dear friend!!!!!!

:-))

Just got The Squire by Enid Bagnold, through BM today. It will go on my very large TBR pile. Perhaps I'll get some serious reading done over the Christmas holiday.

# 260 You are so very welcome dear friend! I will stop watching it now!!

Julie, Laura, Paola, & CDVicarage;
Congratulations all. Isn't it wonderful when you have been searching and searching and suddenly voila!~! There it is before your eyes and available to YOU. I am so happy for you all.
big group hug,
belva

Not a Virago but I found a copy of The Red Rose Girls. It is an ex-library copy but it is beautiful!~! Inside it says:
"This is the true story of three women artists---Jessie' Wilcox Smith, Elizabeth Shippen Green and Violet Oakley---who captivated twentieth-century Pliladelphia with their brilliant careers and uncommon lifestyle. Nicknamed by their mentor the famous illustrator Howard Pyle, "The Red Rose Girls" took over the Red Rose Inn, a picturesque estate on the city's venerable Main Line, and set up an unconventional household. Joined by their friend Henrietta Cozens, the women forged an intense bond and made a pact to live together forever. Using their initials they adoptd an acroynymic surname, calling themselves the "Cogs family" --- C for Cozens, O for Oakley, G for Green, S for Smith.
The pictures, etchings, and illustrations in this book are to die for. (I wish I could scan all the pics and illustrations for you) And as that dratted vertigo came back to visit me in the middle of the night and I can't really read right now, this is the perfect book to spend the day in bed with. (I can't walk across the room today without holding onto the walls) But please do not pity me for I have The Red Rose Girls: An Uncommon Story of Art and Love by Alice A. Carter.

Message edited by its author, Nov 18, 2009, 5:41pm.

Belva, please be careful and stay in bed.
I am glad you are in such pleasant company, you deserve it!
xoxoxoxoxo

Belva, I wouldn't dare pity you, but I (and we) can be concerned for you and wish you back, solidly on your feet tomorrow! I'm guessing you could use a little extra sack time, in fact, so make the most of it!
(Meanwhile, I confess that I ordered another Virago/Beacon Traveler, Untrodden Peaks and Unfrequented Valleys: a Summer Ramble in the Dolomites by Amelia B. Edwards. It's so old that the touchstones apparently aren't working.)

Belva, Hope you are feeling better soon. Your book sounds wonderful.

#265> Lizzie, the touchstone was not working because the correct title is: Untrodden Peaks and Unfrequented Valleys: Midsummer Ramble in the Dolomites.
:-))

To whom might be interested, I found the following on Ebay, both USA and UK. You might wish to check them out.

Station Life in New Zealand by Lady Barker
http://cgi.ebay.com/Station-Life-in-New-...

The Gobi Desert by Mildred Cable
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...

North-West by north (wrong touchstone) by Dora Birtles
http://cgi.ebay.com/North-west-by-North-...

Up the Country: Letters from India by Emily Eden
http://cgi.ebay.com/Up-the-Country-Lette...

Capuchin Classics are re-issuing Peking Picnic by Ann Bridge next May: http://www.capuchin-classics.co.uk/capuc...

Thank you twice, Liz!
Now I am going to be very, very good and not buy anything else in order to give S. Santa a wide-open field.........but OH! Up the Country: Letters from India and The Gobi Desert. It won't hurt just to look at them ....... mmmmmm?

Message edited by its author, Nov 19, 2009, 6:50pm.

It has been quite a few months since I've had any VMC fabluous finds to report. But yesterday I received a swap copy of My Mortal Enemy--a lovely green copy with a Klimt on the cover. That makes 329 in my collection.

Congratulations Deborah - I hope it brightened your day!
Having started today with an incipient migraine - it (the day) has brightened with the advent of Journey From The North Vol 2 by Storm Jameson to go with my recently acquired Volume 1. Joy of joy it really is another Virago green edition.

Edited to encourage touch stones to work.

Message edited by its author, Nov 21, 2009, 6:32am.

*pointing fingers at England in classic hex pose*
M~I~G~R~A~I~N~E B~E~G~O~N~E

There!

Thank you dear tui - it worked - and I was a good girl and took the magic puffer and pain killers.

Wow, for my next migraine I'm calling Tui.

Sh...don't tell anybody...

I found this site called awesomebooksuk which sells their VMC for 1.99GBP with free shipping if you order more than two books. So I figured, what the heck. Even if it takes six weeks to get to Chicago from England that is still only $3.27 a book, not much more than paperbackswap and the selection was really great.

I ordered the books on Nov 24 and they arrived today! That's faster than IL to NM! I can't tell you how lovely the copies are. These are barely read green viragoes. They are some of the best copies I've ever received!

So I got
Invitation to the Waltz
Land of Green Ginger
The Gipsy's Child
Clash
None Turn Back
Orchid House
Suppressed Cry

Apparently, shipping to the UK and the US is the same...free for an order of two or more books. The only drawback is the site moves at a snail's pace. If you search Virago more than 800 books are indicated and VCM's have over 500 books indicated. But it takes forever for the next page to load. I finally just typed in the name of the author I wanted and her page loaded more quickly, but still not fast. It takes patience but it is worth it.

E

PS. I apologize if you all know about this website. But, even so, the information is worth repeating for us newbies.

Here is the website address for awesomebooks.

awesomebooks.co.uk

If you just google awesomebooksuk you get sent to their Ebay store where books are more expensive. In fact, I ordered a book from them off Ebay and in their package they enclosed an ad for their website. That's how I found it.

Oh dear! Thanks for the info, Liz. I ordered some stuff from them on Ebay and the books were more expensive. However, what a nice surprise when they arrived! Almost perfect condition.

I've also ordered many times from them on Ebay and the books are always in great condition. As a matter of fact Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield arrived yesterday. I'm glad I know about the website now. Thanks!

Being sick did not prevent me from visiting AwesomeBooks, and this is what I came away with:

Glitter of Mica by Jessie Kesson
The Lying Days by Nadine Gordimer
Good Daughters by Mary Hocking
She Done Him Wrong by Mae West

And no shipping costs! Could it be better than that?

P.S. Liz is right, though, the site is very very slow....

A 2nd hand bookseller in town found One Fine Day by Mollie Panter Downs, and The Second Virago Book of Fairy Tales.

ETA: Liz, I don't know whether to thank you or bop you over the head with a Virago...I just ordered a whackload of Viragos from AwesomeBooks.
The Weather in the Streets by Rosamond Lehmann
Miss Herbert by Christina Stead
One Fine Day by Molly Panter Downs
The Salzburg Tales by Christina Stead
The Loved and the Envied by Enid Bagnold
George Beneath Paper Moon by Nina Bawden

No more, I swear!

Message edited by its author, Dec 1, 2009, 10:35pm.

Temptresses!!!

AwesomeBooks just sold me
Fireworks and The Passion of New Eve by Angela Carter
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Our Spoons Came from Woolworths by Barbara Comyns

I only quit because the pages were slow and Christmas is coming...

Awesomebooks must be wondering what's hit them!

Mea Culpa! But they are just so pretty....

E

PS South Riding and Playing the Harlot arrived yesterday. South Riding actually had a removeable plastic book cover on it. Pets it.

I'm just quietly waiting until after Christmas ... (*adjusts halo*)

That halo looks suspiciously like a hoola hoop to me.

Beyond the Glass just arrived. Set now complete.

I'm waiting too, Laura.......but I was never particularly good with hoola hoops. (I did luck into a VMC copy of Favourite of the Gods at pbs, so I bought a credit and ordered it; but that's ALL until after Christmas. Truly. Maybe.)

I hate it when this happens:

(I'd wear a permanent hoola hoop around my neck for a stomach like that again!)

Well, yeah, now that you mention it ...

I had a credit card accident in Arty Bee's, one of the secondhand bookshops here. I hadn't been in there for ages and they had lots of VMCs, all with lovely green covers, and some that I've been looking for since I started collecting them! I came home with:

The Land of Spices by Kate O'Brien
Jonah's Gourd Vine by Zora Neale Hurston
The Grain of Truth by Nina Bawden
Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker
The Lacquer Lady by F Tennyson Jesse
That Lady by Kate O'Brien
Aleta Dey by Francis Marion Beynon - never hear of this but it looks great
The Wild Geese by Bridget Boland - ditto
Alexander's Bridge by Willa Cather
The Ghostly Lover by Elizabeth Hardwick
From Man to Man by Olive Schreiner
Love Letters between a Nobleman and his Sister by Aphra Behn.

And, Julie, I found Storm Jameson's autobiography and bought it because of you!

My excuse for the spree is that I don't think I'll find many Viragoes in Basel, so I should just keep buying them while I can...

Cushla

I lived in Germany for 4 years and finding any English language book I wanted to read was very difficult. I was attached to the American airbases there and they did of course have libraries on base, but the choice was very generic and I read a lot of Dick Francis and the like. Failing that - your local Swiss library will have a good English language section although they may lean heavily towards the classics. My advice would be to carry as many books into Switzerland as you can and then guilt trip the British members of this group into sending you Virago care packages. My best friend did that for me and I cannot tell you how much those books were appreciated.

Care packages would be lovely!! There are a couple of bookshops in Basel that look like they'll have decent English sections...but Book Depository is going to be my friend! (And mooch - I have points stashed.) And I'm telling myself I will read novels in German....we'll see about that though.

Cushla's situation aside, our poor secret Santas must just be in knots wondering if we'll pick up what they've sent us before the 19th! I went a bit nuts at Awesome Books the other day and then was overcome with remorse in case I wrecked someone's parcel for them, so I'm purposely not looking at anything until after the Grand Opening. Should we call an armistice?

No need. Duplicates are always appreciated also. Speaking of which, I have one to offer myself...

My fourth Virago Classic, Northanger Abbey, just came in the mail.

Excellent Paola! I need to add that one to my cart too!

Message edited by its author, Dec 7, 2009, 1:38pm.

In the mail The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty, and the first/original version of The Edwardians by Vita Sackville-West, both from Ebay UK.

Whoa!~!~! Score Paolina!~! Good on you!~! Sackville-West is one of my very favorites and I have that one but have not read it as of yet. But I have yet to be disappointed in any one of hers.
big warm congratulatory hug,
belva

Another load!

The Lying Days by Nadine Gordimer
Glitter of Mica by Jessie Kesson
She Done Him Wrong by Mae West

All from AwesomeBooks, which is an excellent site. This brings my VMCs to a round 360!!!!!!!!!!

300 posts. Feels like time for a new thread.