Archive for the ‘Virago Modern Classics’ Category
Angela Carter – Shadow Dance
Angela Carter’s debut book, Shadow Dance, is the fifth book by her that I’ve read, and it’s as bizarre as the previous three. Due to a million other things, I wasn’t able to get my thoughts out on this sooner, which is a pity, as I wanted it to tie in with Claire’s Angela Carter […]
Filed under: Angela Carter, Books 2010, General Fiction, Review, Virago Modern Classics | 9 Comments
Tags: Angela Carter
I discovered the wonderful world of Angela Carter only last year, and I’ve been trying to read all her works slowly, savouring every moment of it. Of course, the bonus is the gorgeous covers, which draws me to her books like a moth…. The thing with Several Perceptions is, it’s totally unlike anything I’ve read […]
Filed under: Angela Carter, Books 2010, General Fiction, Review, Somerset Maughm Award, Virago Modern Classics | 14 Comments
Tags: Angela Carter
Sometimes, I wonder about myself. Half way through this Fantastic February Female Frivolities (I like alliterations, love double alliterations…), I realised I hadn’t picked out a single Virago Modern Classic. Like I said, sometimes, I do wonder about myself. Anyway, the minute this hit me, I reached out for the first VMC I could find […]
Filed under: General Fiction, Guardian 1000, Muriel Spark, Review, Virago Modern Classics | 27 Comments
Tags: London, Muriel Spark
Jennifer Dawson – The Ha-Ha
The Ha-Ha is Jennifer Dawson’s first novel, published in 1961. It follows the life of Josephine, a young woman with a mental illness, that often leaves her in hysterics, after she has been removed from Oxford and committed to a mental institution. As we sat there I could even see the even-toed ungulates marching through […]
Filed under: Books 2010, James Tait Black Memorial Prize, Jennifer Dawson, Review, Virago Modern Classics | 18 Comments
Tags: Jennifer Dawson, Psychiatry, Schizophrenia
For twenty four years, Daphne Du Maurier has eluded me, and I’m still trying to figure out how! I read Rebecca earlier this year, and loved it, which led me to pick up My Cousin Rachel. Surprise, surprise! I loved it as well. My Cousin Rachel is narrated by Philip Ashley, who was orphaned at […]
Filed under: Books 2009, Daphne du Maurier, General Fiction, Guardian 1000, Review, Suspense/Thriller, Virago Modern Classics | 14 Comments
Tags: Daphne du Maurier
I stumbled upon The Robber Bridegroom in a second hand bookstore, and was intrigued immediately, by the quote on the cover: A Gothic fairy tale set in the eighteenth century Mississippi. I like Gothic fairy tales, most of the time, and this was no exception. It had all the key ingredients, worthy of a Grimm […]
Filed under: Books 2009, Eudora Welty, General Fiction, Gothic Fairy Tales, Review, Virago Modern Classics | 6 Comments
Tags: Eudora Welty, Mississippi
Molly Keane – Full House
I stumbled upon this book in a second-hand bookstore, and fell in love with the cover. It’s also my first green Virago Modern Classic, and I was quite excited to begin this journey… luckily, it didn’t disappoint, which is nice, as my last two reads haven’t been exceptionally good, by any standards. Set in the […]
Filed under: Books 2009, General Fiction, Molly Keane, Review, Virago Modern Classics | 19 Comments
Tags: Ireland, Molly Keane
Dodie Smith’s I Capture The Castle is another one of those books with a fantastic opening line, which makes the reader want more: I write this sitting in the kitchen sink. That is, my feet are in it; the rest of me is on the draining board, which I have padded with our dog’s blanket […]
Filed under: BBC's Big Read {Best Loved Novel}, Books 2009, Coming of Age, Dodie Smith, Review, Vintage Classics, Virago Modern Classics | 17 Comments
Tags: Dodie Smith
another cookie crumbles 