It is possible (just possible, mind you) that not everyone spends as much time as I do anticipating Virago’s releases of Angela Thirkell’s Barsetshire books. Yes, they are publishing two next month (Pomfret Towers and Christmas at High Rising) but what I am most excited about right now are the three titles they are releasing in May 2014: August Folly, Summer Half, and The Brandons.
The cover art is now available and all three look gorgeous:
The Captive Reader 
They are so beautiful: the delicacy and clear outlines perfectly reflect Angela Thirkell. Rowan at Virago is doing a brilliant job. Another reason to look forward to 2014!
I particularly love the cover for Summer Half, if I didn’t know it, it would really make me pick it up and look to see if I might read it.
Those covers *are* lovely – I must get started with reading Thirkell!
The only reason I’m not spending as much time thinking about this is that we can’t get easily these here. SO unfair. I need to travel to a more conducive book -buying environment. The covers are stunning!
I am counting the days until my copy of Christmas at High Rising arrives. I can’t wait to see who features in the stories, where they’re set and when. I am so hoping for early Mrs. Morland. I agree that the Virago covers are lovely, and very enticing – though I think The Brandons is a bit misleading, if that’s meant to be Mrs. Brandon. I’ve only read August Folly once, and I can’t remember it enough to figure out who those people are.
I’m just as excited about these too! And yes, counting the days down for my copies of Christmas at High Rising and Pomfret Towers to arrive next month. Hurray though – more lovely Thirkell to look forward to next year
oh my – I’m excited too now. I have pre-ordered Pomfret Towers and Christmas at Highrising, I hadn’t known about the others. I love that cover art too.
At the risk of appearing to pull rank I already own all the Angela Thirkell’s (except the soon-to-be-published collection of short stories), because I’m old enough to have been able to buy them in charity shops in the ’70s and ’80s. The best are three Alfred Knopf editions with the map of Barsetshire on the end papers. Anyway keep reading because I want to hear which is your favourite Thirkell or, actually, favourite so far. Thanks for a wonderful blog.
Being a devout Thirkell-ite, I also own all of her works in deliberately different editions (because I’m a bit interested in book and printing history), but these make me want to also own a complete set of these (if they publish the entire series?).
Virago are really pulling the stops out with their covers lately. I’ve been purchasing the Rumer Godden modern classics and they have beautiful covers, too.
Nicola, thanks for the tip. I am huge fan of Rumer Godden as well and have a wonderful collection of most first editions, but I haven’t seen the new Viragos. Will look for them
[…] I have less faith that the world-at-large has been marking the days off their calendars as I have) long-anticipated Thirkell-filled Spring has arrived! Yesterday, Virago released their three new Angela Thirkell […]