Virago Modern Classic Book Club

Florence King Florence King was born in Washington, DC, which she calls ‘a geographical accident for which Granny never forgave any of us, for I was supposed to be an Upton of Virginia just like her.’ She received her BA from American University in Washington, DC and then worked for three years as a reporter […]

    Virago Modern Classics Book Club January 2020 Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady by Florence King We are kicking off the Virago Book Club for 2020 with a touch of humour in the form of Florence King’s biography Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady.   The witty woman is a tragic figure in […]

    Virago Modern Classics Book Club December 2019 Little Women by Louisa May Alcott This December, our Book of the Month is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. We decided it was high time to revisit this classic, ahead of the new film releasing this month! ‘I am not afraid of storms, for I […]

    Virago Modern Classics Book Club November 2019 Wave Me Goodbye Edited by Anna Boston This November, our Book of the Month is Wave Me Goodbye edited by Anna Boston. Published to mark the 80th anniversary of the start of the Second World War, these are powerful wartime stories written by the finest women […]

    Virago Modern Classics Book Club October 2019 Corregidora by Gayl Jones This October, our Book of the Month is Corregidora by Gayl Jones. Upon publication in 1975, Corregidora was hailed as a masterpiece, winning acclaim from writers including James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison and John Updike. Exploring themes such as race, sexuality and the long repercussions […]

  Virago Modern Classics Book Club September 2019 The Wedding by Dorothy West   This September we are celebrating the reissue of Dorothy West’s classic novel, The Wedding.    In her last novel, Dorothy West, an iconic member of the Harlem Renaissance, offers an intimate glimpse into African American middle class. With elegant, luminous prose, Dorothy […]

  Virago Modern Classics Book Club August 2019 The Sleeping Beauty by Elizabeth Taylor Our book of the month this August is The Sleeping Beauty by Elizabeth Taylor.   Elizabeth Taylor was an English novelist and short-story writer, whom Antonia Fraser called ‘one of the most underrated writers of the 20th century’. The Sleeping Beauty, her sixth […]

Our book of the month this June is The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister – the inspiration for the HBO/BBC series: Gentleman Jack.

by Grace Paley Virago Modern Classics Book Club May 2019 The Collected Stories of Grace Paley   This May our Virago Modern Classics Book Club selection is The Collected Stories of Grace Paley. Regarded as one of the finest American short story writers and admired by George Saunders, Susan Sontag and Salman Rushdie, this collection […]

  Virago Modern Classics Book Club APRIL 2019 Memento Mori by Muriel Spark   For our April Book Club we are diving in to Muriel Spark’s unforgettable novel, Memento Mori.Witty, poignant and wickedly hilarious, Memento Mori may ostensibly concern death, but it is a book which leaves one relishing life all the more.     Remember you […]

  Virago Modern Classics Book Club March 2019 A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor   This March our Virago Modern Classics Book Club read is Elizabeth Taylor’s spectacular novel; A View of the Harbour. An unforgettable picture of love, loss and the keeping up of appearances.      In the faded coastal village […]

  As part of our Virago Modern Classics 40th anniversary celebrations, the Virago team have each chosen a favourite title from the #VMC40 series. Each month, we will introduce the book and share with you why we love it.   This February our #VMC40 book of the month is The Weather in the Streets by Rosamond […]