Virago 50th Anniversary Reading Project 2023 - May

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 May, our fourth month, we can choose from books numbered 211 - 280. These run from Some Everyday Folk and Dawn by Miles Franklin to At the Still Point by Mary Benson. 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

Once more, there are a good number of titles I've already read in this section of the list, so I will be rummaging through my Virago shelves to see if there are any unread books which would fit in. I can certainly see a few possibles which would fit the bill...

Look forward to seeing what everyone reads!!

My possibilities include:

#242 Chatterton Square, E. H. Young
#246 The Squire, Enid Bagnold
#273 South Riding, Winifred Holtby

Several choices for me this month. I'm looking at
The ghostly lover, Elizabeth Hardwick
Salzburg tales, Christina Stead
One way of love, Gamel Woolsey
The new house, Lettice Cooper
She knew she was right, Ivy Litvinov.

Definitely recommend the Litvinov!!

Just catching up with the group after a way too long gap. I've been preoccupied recently with being a student again alongside working on a placement and my usual job.

This is a great idea, thanks Karen. I'm going to check the wiki now. Unfortunately I am just getting over covid at the moment and my older son and girlfriend (both currently living with us) are hiding from me in the bedroom furthest away- which houses most of my green viragoes. So I may not be able to get to the books I want to read.

I've found my copy of The Rector's Daughter so will start that today.

When I finish reading Hide my Eyes by Margery Allingham I shall begin reading one of the two stories by Enid Bagnold: #1 The Happy Foreigner followed by #2 The Squire. I've only read one of her other books but I think that I may add her book The Chalk Garden to my TBR list. It was also made into a film which I might borrow from the library if I enjoy the book.

>6 Soupdragon: Thanks Dee, and sorry to hear you've been struck down by the dreaded virus - hope it goes away fully and soon!

>7 Soupdragon: Hurrah!

>5 kaggsy: I've started the Litvinov and I love it so far!

I've begun reading The Happy Foreigner and so far it has a very interesting plot set in France post WW1 and the experiences it describes are taken from those of

Enid Bagnold herself. She must have been a very daring young woman.

>11 Sakerfalcon: fab! Such a fascinating collection!!

I've finished She knew she was right, which was an excellent short story collection. I loved the first autobiographical stories, especially her courtship with the delightfully-characterised exiled Russian man. The stories set in the USSR, mainly taking place in dachas, holiday homes and other domestic spaces, are a vivid peek into the lives of women, especially older women, in that society. And the final story from the cat's POV is lovely.

ETA The cover of the green edition is one of my favourite Virago covers! I love the model's boldness and friendly expression, which makes you want to know what she is thinking.

I've now started The ghostly lover by Elizabeth Hardwick.

>14 Sakerfalcon: Yay! So glad to know you loved that book! I agree totally - the courtship story is particularly love, and the range of stories is wonderful. And yes, the cover is stunning.

I've read some Hardwick but not sure if I've read that one - look forward for your thoughts on it!

I just finished reading Time Out of Mind by Rachel Field published in 1935 and set in the state of Maine. It was a very enjoyable read. Her books were very popular at the time of publication and Time Out of Mind won the "National Book Awards" Most Distinguished Novel of 1935'. For some reason, I enjoy reading novels that were written in the past as they reveal things about what life was like during those times and places.

I've finished both The ghostly lover and The Salzburg tales. Both were very good. The ghostly lover was a very good novel about a girl coming of age without the support of her family. Marian and her brother live with their grandmother in small-town Kentucky, while their parents travel the country going from one failed business attempt to another. Marian yearns for their rare visits, but is unable to connect with either parent when they do come home. She makes a somewhat ambivalent attempt at friendship with Hattie, the Black maid; she has school friends but we don't see them. Marian strikes up a relationship with Bruce, an older man whom she sees watching her at the start of the novel. He moves in and out of the story, which takes Marian to college in New York City, back to Kentucky upon her grandmother's death, and out West to visit her parents, until she finally frees herself from the past. It's very well written and captures the awkwardness around race and class in the 1940s South.

The Salzburg tales is structured like Decameron and The Canterbury tales but set at the Salzburg festival in the 1930s. A diverse group of people, all of whom are in town to see the festival, gather daily around the city and its environs to tell stories and pass the time. Some are dark, some funny, some quotidien, some strange, some involve love, some revenge, some shady business deals .. if you don't like one story you may well like the next because there is such a variety here. I enjoyed this a lot and it was a great book for commuting with.

>17 Sakerfalcon: I'm glad you got on well with both of these - particularly the Stead, as I've struggled with her!!