A curated reading list of books that will inspire a lifelong love of Virago.
Fall in Love with Virago
'Frost in May is the unsurpassed novel of convent school life. This story of a clash between a determined young girl and an authoritarian regime is both perceptive and painfully emotional, convincing in every detail' - Hermione Lee, Observer With a new introduction by Tessa Hadley Nanda Gray, the daughter… Read More
WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2023 A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 'Women's sports have needed a manifesto for a long time. With Good for a Girl we finally have one' Malcolm Gladwell Lauren Fleshman was… Read More
40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION, WITH A FOREWORD BY STANLEY TUCCI 'I have bought more copies of this book to give to people, in a frenzy of enthusiasm, than any other . . . Heartburn is the perfect, bittersweet, sobbingly funny, all-too-true confessional novel' NIGELLA LAWSON 'I kept a copy of Nora… Read More
A BBC RADIO 2 BOOKCLUB PICK SHORTLISTED FOR THE CENTRE FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE, THE GOTHAM BOOK PRIZE AND THE LAMBDA AWARD *'Absolutely incredible. Beautiful, powerful writing. These pages will stay with me forever' CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS, author of QUEENIE *'A gift as big, beautiful and complicated as living itself'… Read More
ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL NOVELS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 'This novel is a packet of surprises as we have no idea what's going to happen next' GUARDIAN 'One of the greatest writers of our time' TONI MORRISON 'Devilishly funny and academically solid: delicious mixture' MAYA ANGELOU 'There is no… Read More
'Renault's masterpiece. One of the greatest historical novels ever written' SARAH WATERS In the second novel of her stunning trilogy, Mary Renault vividly imagines the life of Alexander the Great, the charismatic leader whose drive and ambition created a legend. The Persian Boy traces the last years of Alexander's life… Read More
'A page-turning melodrama and a fascinating portrait of London on the verge of great change' Guardian It is 1922, and in a hushed south London villa life is about to be transformed, as genteel widow Mrs Wray and her discontented daughter Frances are obliged to take in lodgers. Lilian and… Read More
A beautiful new edition of I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS, the iconic, beloved and deeply moving first volume of Maya Angelou's autobiography. The international classic and bestseller, Maya Angelou's memoir paints a portrait of 'a brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman' BARACK OBAMA 'I… Read More
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION and THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD AN OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK In 1956, towards the end of Reverend John Ames's life, he begins a letter to his young son: 'I told you last night that I might be gone sometime... You reached… Read More
By the author of The Handmaid's Tale, The Testaments and Alias Grace 'Clara', she said, 'do you think I'm normal?' 'I'd say you're almost abnormally normal, if you know what I mean.' Marian is determinedly ordinary, waiting to get married. She likes her work, her broody flatmate and her sober… Read More