I consider myself to be a bit of an aspiring bibliophile; I own an impressive amount of books and enjoy collecting them. Since May I have consciously started to collect the old -and quintessential- green spined Virago Modern Classics (I started to collect Persephones at the same time). Above is a photograph I recently took of the VMCs I have acquired so far. I have a few more at home in Glasgow and about double the amount in other editions: the newly published pastel coloured Viragos from the VMC list, 5/8 of the beautiful harback designer textile covered 30th Anniversary Virago Modern Classics and my separate Angela Carter collection boasts a few Viragos (as well as a couple of the green ones above). When I am more financially stable I plan to add and add and add to my burgeoning collection but with a list of over 500 titles, it may take me some time to track them all down! My pride and joy is The Brontes Went to Woolworths, which is quite rare and normally expensive, but which I managed to snag in Oxfam books for £2.49! Luckily (for other people) Bloomsbury are reprinting it later this year, as it is a lovely joyous read about the wonders of imagination, but I do adore my green copy.
As an end-note, these are the VMCs I am especially on the look out for in green:
She Done Him Wrong by Mae West
My Mortal Enemy by Willa Cather (the Klimt cover)
A Model Childhood by Christa Wolf
Any green Margaret Atwood books
The Aloe by Katherine Mansfield
The Camomile by Catherine MacFarlane Carswell
4 comments:
I haven't seen that Barbara Comyns anywhere before, quite jealous... have you read it? The Virago cover for Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead is great.
I have the Virago Lolly Willowes, but only the in print one, not the classic cover. I haven't ever seen that, actually.
I haven't read it as yet, although I wanted to over Christmas... I purchased it in December after reading Our Spoons Came from Woolworths.
I think the classic cover of Lolly Willowes is extremely rare but I do hope to come across it at some point. I don't know what the cover looks like but the slightly older green cover (1992 instead of 1988?) has a portrait of a vase in front (seen on LibraryThing).
I looked up the cover for Who Was Changed and Who Was Lost and it is lovely (similar to A Touch of Mistletoe with its rich reds and green). Another one to be on the look out for!
http://randomjottings.typepad.com/random_jottings_of_an_ope/2008/12/thirty-glorious-years.html
Love all of these and ifyou did not read my post on these glorious covers you might like to check out the above link.
I will keep an eye out for any on your list
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