There's been more good things written about Virago Modern Classics. Check out this article that appeared in last Sunday's Telegraph by Justine Picardie. More to love about those Viragos! Elaine is going to share some of her Virago collection. They have such lovely and distinctive covers that I'm looking forward to seeing more of them.
This made me start thinking it would be interesting to see how the covers have changed and adapted to the times over the last thirty years. I'm not quite sure in what order they developed. I'm guessing the top left might be one of the earlier designs. It also happens to be an actual Virago imprint. The one next to it is published by Penguin. Although it has the 'Virago Modern Classics' at the top, it is lacking the apple with a bite out of it (it has the little penguin logo in the top right corner of the book instead). The next two are Viragos again with the apple, but they have changed the covers slightly. The bottom middle book is published by Dial Press, which I think must have been Virago's American publisher/distributor. Again there's no apple, but they are definitely in the Virago family--I have several like this. And the bottom right book is their new look. No more distinctive green anywhere to be seen, but the apple is there.
If anyone knows about their publishing history, I'd love to know more about the design changes. The Virago website does give a bit of their history, but nothing is written about the cover designs. They could use a good archivist! I know people who collect Modern Library editions, and there's all sorts of information for collectors of those. There seems to be no online information for those collecting Virago Modern Classics, however. A pity! The Telegraph article included photos of the newest designs, which remind me of Persephone Books' endpapers. I like them, but I'm a little disappointed that they will only be available through Waterstone's in the UK. They are also hardcovers, which means they'll be expensive for American readers and I hate to think of postage costs. No doubt I'll be tempted into getting one or two nonetheless. No sign yet of the books on the Waterstone's site. There's not much hoopla on the Virago website either, which I find surprising, but maybe they're all just being a bit low key until the actual celebration next month?
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Sorry, this wasn't meant to be an all Virago post! I do have a few other things to share and will try and be brief about them.
Did you know that Sarah Waters's Affinity and The Night Watch are both being filmed (scroll down to bottom of page)?
The Orange Prize shortlist has been announced. I'll be curious to see what Victoria's thoughts on the books are. There are a couple on the shortlist I'm interested in reading, but they haven't been published yet in the US.
Barbara Vine has not just one, but two new novels coming out this year: The Birthday Present and Portobello (via Euro Crime). No listing yet on Amazon.com, but they've been added to my always growing wish list. Yay--she's a great favorite of mine.
I'm well past the halfway mark in three different books. I wish I could just ignore everything else and go and read.
I'm not yet quite halfway through Washington Square by Henry James. It's so good! Ditto on the sentiments above. Why was I afraid to read him?
I'm also totally enjoying listening to Penny Vincenzi's Sheer Abandon. Okay, so it isn't highbrow literature, but darn if it's not totally entertaining to listen to. I wasn't sure if I would like the reader's voice. She had this breathless quality at first, but I must say she does an amazing job of differentiating between the multitudes of characters. As a matter of fact I just checked out the new digital audio books available (or soon to be) at the library and had to add An Absolute Scandal to my list. It's amazing how a good audio book will make that morning and evening walk go so much quicker!