Friday, September 13, 2013

A Thirkell!

It's been a very busy week, so much so that I'm currently slumped on the sofa fighting to stay conscious - the only thing energising me at all is a desire to share the news that I found another Angela Thirkell this week. I went over to Uppingham with my friend R on Wednesday afternoon where the highlight was a browse around The Rutland Bookshop. It's impossible to describe how tiny, dusty, cobwebby, and crammed with books this place is. There are some pictures from a previous visit here (along with an excellent recipe for Rowan jelly) but they really need somebody in them to give a sense of scale. Unfortunately it's hard to get far enough away from a second person in the shop to get all them in the picture to really give that sense of scale. the place is a treasure trove (neither very cheap or terrifyingly expensive, it has a wonderful collection of middle brow fiction, hunting shooting and fishing books, and Victorian children's books). 

My treasure this time was an old Penguin paperback edition of Angela Thirkell's 'The Headmistress' in not bad condition and reasonably priced at £2. There where a few hard back Thirkell's as well but they were more than I could afford (more than £2) and take up to much space on the shelf to be really attractive to me. I struggle to find affordable second hand Thirkell and when I do come across her books it's almost always 'The Brandons' or 'Wild Strawberries' (why is it that there are so many second hand copies of specific titles around and so few of others? It's a rare charity or second hand shop that doesn't have 'Precious Bane' and 'The Well of Loneliness' knocking about for example) so I'm delighted with this find. I've not had much time to read more than a few pages yet but was really pleased to find a little recap of a couple of Trollope's Barchester chronicles (mostly Doctor Thorne) relayed as gossip.

On the Thirkell front there's more good news - a quick search on amazon reveals that Virago are reprinting 'Summer Half', 'August Folly' (which I think is my favourite so far) and the ubiquitous 'The Brandons' in May 2014. I'm more excited by November's release of 'Pomfret Towers' and 'Christmas at High Rising' (apparently an exclusive, never before collected set of short stories) as both will be entirely new to me but overall the portents seem good for an extensive re-print of her back catalogue and that's excellent news.  

8 comments:

  1. I do enjoy this one, for the war-time setting, and also because it introduces some lovely new characters into the series. The one title that always turns up in the stores around here is Close Quarters. Wild Strawberries is almost impossible to find, though I do see a copy of The Brandons occasionally. I've already pre-ordered my copy of the Christmas stories, I can't wait to see who shows up in them (I'm hoping for lots of Laura Morland).

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    1. I've never seen a copy of 'Close Quarters' which just goes to show. I'm looking forward to all the new releases - they will be some of the few books I don't mind having duplicates of as I love both the old fashioned penguins and the Vitago editions for their decorative qualities.

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  2. I don't think I've ever seen one in a secondhand shop here. I still haven't read any, so the reissues will be much anticipated. Which one should I start with?

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    1. I would say start with 'High Rising' because it's the first and as far as I can tell a decent representation of what to expect from Thirkell. In the nicest possible way they aren't the best books in the world but they are gentle, often funny, and easy reading. I fund when I re read High Rising I thought it much better than the first time around which I guess is why she has such devoted fans.

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  3. I've pre-ordered the Christmas collection too - shall I be able to actually save it for Christmas reading, I wonder? I'm very fond of my Penguin Thirkells, but I do like the hardback editions as well - I can always make room somewhere on the bookshelves for AT!

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    1. Small flat, full bookshelves, and an odd prejudice against hardback books for me. I'm most excited by Pomfret Towers (does it look like they're going to skip 'The Demon in the House'?) so it shouldn't be to hard to keep the stories for Christmas, or even wait and ask for them as a stocking filler (though nobody ever leaves me in peace to play with my new books on Christmas day).

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  4. I love The Headmistress. It is one of my favourite Thirkells and I am constantly on the lookout for a copy, since all I've come across so far is the awful Moyer Bell edition. Here's hoping Virago decides to publish it too! I've already placed my pre-orders for all of the other books they're soon reprinting (being especially thrilled about Pomfret Towers and Summer Half).

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    1. I'm really looking forward to it and am delighted about the reprints too, she's been far to hard to get hold of for far to long.

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