Virago 50th Anniversary Reading Project 2023 - April

2023 sees us celebrating 50 years of our favourite publisher, Virago!

We have set up a reading project to choose books from a section of the VMC catalogue in sequential order, and after some discussion on other threads, have decided to go for equal sections rather than trying to divide up the 50 years and fit books into this by publication date!

To aid us, we will be using our Virago Collection Tracker which can be found in the Group Wiki.

In April, our third month, we can choose from books numbered 141 - 210. These run from The Misses Mallet by E.H. Young to No More Than Human by Maura Laverty. There are some excellent books in this section so it will be lovely to see what people choose!

This should be a fun way to explore our collections, reconnect with our Viragos and help celebrate the 50 years! We'll look forward to hearing what you choose to read, enjoy and share with us in the monthly threads! :D

A lot of the Viragos I own in this section are ones I've already read - so I will have to have a bit of a dig to see if I can find anything on the TBR! :D

Some of my favorites from 141-210:

#141 The Misses Mallett, E. H. Young
#177 Jenny Wren, E. H. Young
#178 The Curate's Wife, E. H. Young, which follows the same family as Jenny Wren
#162 Diary of a Provincial Lady, E. M. Delafield
#173 Elizabeth and her German Garden, Elizabeth von Arnim
#186 Lady Audley's Secret, Mary Elizabeth Braddon
#195 One Fine Day, Mollie Panter-Downes
#203 Crossriggs, Jane & Mary Findlater

My possibilities include:
#146 Madame de Treymes, #179 Old New York, #180 The Children, all by Edith Wharton
#168 That Lady, Kate O'Brien
#183 The Wedding Group, Elizabeth Taylor
#191 The Little Company, Eleanor Dark
#193 Two Days in Aragon, Molly Keane
#209 Mary O'Grady, Mary Lavin

The entire list is here: https://www.virago.co.uk/imprint/lbbg/virago/page/virago-modern-classic-collecti...

I intend to read Troy Chimneys by Margaret Kennedy. The plot seems a bit offbeat but I'll give it a try as I've enjoyed some of her other books especially The Feast}.

I'm still trying to finish The quest for Christa T from March - for a short book it's a slow read - but will be caught up soon.

I'm looking at Luminous isle, which I've owned for ages and still not read, or The thinking reed which is a newer acquisition but I love Rebecca West. So many good books this month, and I'm late starting so probably won't get through more than one, especially as I'm also behind on the group read of Phoebe Junior!

>5 Sakerfalcon: I read that a while back and agree - I loved it very much but it's not a book you can rush!!!

>6 Sakerfalcon: Oooh, I like West too - look forward to hearing what you think of this one!

I've decided to read Poor Caroline by Winifred Holtby instead of Troy Chimneys.

I finished Phoebe Junior which doesn't count for this month's read, but it was very good. Now I've started The thinking reed which is about a rich young widow, Isabelle, who is choosing between three very different men in 1920s France.

I requested Poor Caroline from a library in the system where I borrow my books. Last night I looked up Winifred Holtby in my card catalogue of books that I have read and discovered that I had read Poor Caroline twice !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have now requested Marriage by Susan Ferrier.

I read #146 Madame de Treymes by Edith Wharton. This volume included 4 novellas: "Madame de Treymes" (1907), "The Bunner Sisters" (1916), "The Touchstone" (1900) and "Sanctuary" (1903). All four works involve deceit in some way.

I finished The thinking reed and very much enjoyed it. West is brilliant at satirizing the society in which the very rich move. Isabelle marries Marc in inauspicious circumstances, but despite this the marriage is a success. The two move in monied circles, keeping up their reputation as members of high society. Secretly though, Isabelle finds the shallow people and constant need to socialise, gamble and entertain to be a strain. When she becomes pregnant, matters come to a head in a dramatic scene. West clearly has fun writing some dreadful characters - the ghastly Poots and the awful aristocratic Lauristons stand out from the crowd. The settings in Paris, Normandy and the South of France in the roaring Twenties are vividly described. This is a portrait of a marriage and of a woman's inner growth, and I recommend it.