And the lucky number/winner is #5 Barbara Pym's An Academic Question. I must admit, I was seduced by the new Virago Modern Classic editions of several of Barbara Pym's titles. I chose this one somewhat randomly and am still waiting for my copy to arrive from the UK. In the interim I have a library copy. This was a posthumously published novel that was completed/edited by Hazel Holt and Hilary Pym. She had two versions that she had been working on but abandoned. I did not quite realize this when I chose it, but I feel like Barbara Pym is pretty marvelous and even an unfinished manuscript later edited will still be better than a lot of other books out there these days. The blurb:
"In a provincial university town, Caro Grimstone, a dissatisfied faculty wife, becomes the unwilling accomplice to her husband Alan's ambitions. When she volunteers to read to a blind, esteemed anthropologist in a nursing home, Alan seizes the opportunity to steal his papers - research that could both advance his reputation while refuting the findings of a respected colleague. A delightful comedy of manners with a touch of mystery, An Academic Question is prime Barbara Pym territory."
I did read a bit of criticism written in 1987, which was rather critical of this work, but I will read with an open mind and see where it takes me. I'll let you know how it goes. Has anyone read this? Did you join in the classic club spin, or are you reading a classic at the moment? I am looking forward to this and as a shorter novel I should have no problem finishing well before August.