Books published by publisher Virago Press

When Janie, at sixteen, is caught kissing shiftless Johnny Taylor, her grandmother swiftly marries her off to an old man with sixty acres. Janie endures two stifling marriages before meeting the man of her dreams, who offers not diamonds, but a packet of flowering seeds ...'For me, THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD is one of the very greatest American novels of the 20th century. It is so lyrical it should be sentimental; it is so passionate it should be overwrought, but it is instead a rigorous, convincing and dazzling piece of prose, as emotionally satisfying as it is impressive. There is no novel I love more' Zadie Smith

Sometimes I whisper it over to myself: Murderess. Murderess. It rustles, like a taffeta skirt along the floor.' Grace Marks. Female fiend? Femme fatale? Or weak and unwilling victim? Around the true story of one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of the 1840s, Margaret Atwood has created an extraordinarily potent tale of sexuality, cruelty and mystery.

With a cover design by founder of Biba, Barbara Hulanicki Valley of the Dolls took the world by storm when it was first published in 1966. Never had a book been so frank about sex, drugs and show business. It is often sited as the bestselling novel of all time. Dolls - red or black; capsules or tablets; washed down with vodka or swallowed straight. For Anne, Neely and Jennifer, it doesn't matter, as long as the pill bottle is within easy reach. These three beautiful women become best friends when they are young and in New York, struggling to make their names in the entertainment industry. Only when they reach the peak of their careers do they find there's nowhere left to go but down - to the Valley of the Dolls.

French Letters Children of a Good War, winner of ForewordReview's 2018 gold medal for military and war fiction of the year, is thecrown jewel in Jack Woodville London's French Letters Trilogy. These novels ofthe United States in the second half of the twentieth century are writtenthrough the eyes of the Hastings family, their friends, their enemies, andtheir secrets. They portray a nation that was unified in World War II andprosperous in the years that followed, but gave way to bitter division over theVietnam War and the struggle to find the nation's soul by the generation thatforgot its history and took its wealth, status, and privilege for granted.Briefly, forty years after World War II, Eleanor Hastings already hadlearned that bombs can lie buried for decades before blowing up to hurtsomeone. Now it has happened again as a hidden cache of faded wartime lettersis discovered in a cellar and reveal that Eleanor's husband, Frank was abastard who his father had brought back from the war in France, sending Frankon a quest to find out who he really is -- and to uncover his family'slong-buried secrets."Children of a Good War is like a giant puzzle you think you've solved,then find more unsettling pieces. Intelligent and engrossing, hard to put down,London's best novel to date lingers in your thoughts long after you close itand turn out the lights."-- Author Joyce Faulkner, winner of the Howard-Johnson Prize for HistoricalFictionBest Novel of the Year -- Military Writers Society of AmericaBest Novel of the South -- Willie Morris, FinalistBest Novel with a Romantic Element -- Dear Author, Finalist

A discreet advertisement in 'The Times', addressed to 'Those who Apppreciate Wisteria and Sunshine...' is the impetus for a revelatory month for four very different women. High above the bay on the Italian Riviera stands San Salvatore, a mediaeval castle. Beckoned to this haven are Mrs. Wilkins, Mrs Arbuthnot, Mrs Fisher and Lady Caroline Dester, each quietly craving a respite. Lulled by the Mediterranean spirit, they gradually shed their skins and discover a harmony each of them has longed for but never known.First published in 1922 and reminscient of 'Elizabeth and her German Garden', this delightful novel is imbued with the descriptive power and light-hearted irreverence for which Elizabeth von Arnin is renowned.