As you might recall, Virago will be releasing four Angela Thirkell titles this May: Before Lunch, Cheerfulness Breaks In, Northbridge Rectory, and Growing Up. The covers for Before Lunch and Northbridge Rectory have now been released and both look lovely.
Irritatingly, Cheerfulness Breaks In and Growing Up are only being released as e-books but I shall still rejoice that they will be more readily available to the reading public now. Privately, I shall brood and weep over the neglect for two of my favourite books in the series.
The Captive Reader 
I will weep with you! I wonder if this means the later titles will be released only as ebooks.
I agree! CBI and GU are so important in the Lydia/Noel story line and are two of my favorites as well.
Susan
Ooo, lovely covers! I’ve been peeking at the Kindle Store now and then to see if the upcoming ones had covers yet.
I do so agree about the e-books, Claire! The Angela Thirkell Society’s members are, however, so delighted at the otherwise-systematic reprinting that they are trying to be positive! Who knows, we may attract some young new members, especially with Downtown Abbey and Doctor Thorne capturing good TV audiences…
Were you interested in attending the North American Angela Thirkell Society in August. I’d be happy to give you the information
John Childrey
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Bother! I can understand the rationale for e books only sometimes but not in this case when Virago has had us collecting proper books and when they have many books that are print on demand.
One of the few times when I’m grateful for my Kindle… but yay, anyway! And I do love the covers…
Just heard that only Before Lunch, Cheerfulness and Northbridge Rectory are being released in May, then Marling Hall, Growing Up (e-book only), The Headmistress and Miss Bunting in November. Yes, I agree, it’s such a shame about the e-book only editions, but if there’s sufficient demand I understand they’ll bring them out in paperback. So it’s up to us to spread the word, buy them for Christmas presents, etc!
Karen, I almost envy you! (And there is something special about the originals compared with modern paperbacks. But they are getting more difficult to find and Virago have had an inspired programme of re-publication.) Let us know how you get on – and of course the Angela Thirkell Society awaits those who want to go into her in more depth with like-minded admirers. . .
I confess I still haven’t read any Thirkells yet but have been collecting good used editions, mostly the Moyer Bells. I also got a first edition of August Folly for a song last weekend — I may accumulate the entire series and read them all in one go!
I’m reading Pomfret Towers for the The 1938 Club challenge. It’s the 3rd in the series but I’ve never read the previous – is it necessary?
The short answer is No, Alex. It’s actually the sixth Barsetshire title but they are not a series in the conventional sense (at least not early on): it’s more like meeting different groups of people some of whom overlap from book to book. If the challenge is not too wearing, you might like Thirkell’s war-years novels, starting with Cheerfulness Breaks In [1940]. She virtually wrote a novel a year so you can follow the development of events from the perspective of ordinary people far away from the fighting but having their own struggles. I do hope you enjoy Pomfret Towers anyway.