Sometimes you see news about an exciting book coming out, and then you realise you have a year to wait. Well, not today friends – I’m going to tell you about the four new British Library Women Writers novels, and two of them are coming out this month! And the other two are coming out next month! Basically what I’m saying is, put your preorders in now and you won’t have long before you can be knee-deep in these books. [In the UK, that is… they’re next year in other countries, I think, though of course you can ship them elsewhere.]
Obviously I love all the books in this series, and all but the first two have been titles I’ve suggested for reprinting – including these four – but this batch is particularly special to me. There is one book here that I’m particularly excited to see people discovering. ANYWAY on with the announcement…
Sally on the Rocks by Winifred Boggs
This is the one I’m most thrilled about, I think – because it had disappeared almost completely before this edition, and deserves to be so much more widely known. You might remember I raved about it last year, and it ended up on my favourite books of 2020.
Sally is a delightful heroine, coming back to her childhood village with the prospect of marrying the local bank manager – but gets in a love triangle with a widow. The thing I love is that the women aren’t pitted against each other – they both agree that the bank manager is awful, but want the security that comes with a ring – and play fair to see who’ll win. It’s such a joyful, funny novel, but also one with a lot to say about the situation of women in the 1910s.
Which Way? by Theodora Benson
I had only been able to read this in the Bodleian Library before – it has hitherto been very hard to find, and is a wonderfully innovative novel – especially for its time, the 1930s. The heroine is invited to three different weekends away – and the novel is split into sections looking at what would have happened if she had taken those three different invitations. It’s cleverly and engagingly done.
A Pin To See The Peepshow by F. Tennyson Jesse
I know this novel has long been on people’s wishlists to be reprinted, and I was so happy when the clever people at the British Library managed to secure the rights. It’s a fictionalised version of the Thompson/Bywaters case – but you don’t need me to persuade you it’s brilliant, as coincidentally Lucy Scholes has just written a wonderful piece about it in the Paris Review.
The Love Child by Edith Olivier
If you’ve been reading StuckinaBook for a while, you’ve probably seen me mention this one – it was one of the first titles I suggested to the British Library, and I’m delighted that it’s now on the list. One of my favourite books, it was also one of the central texts for my DPhil – so you can imagine I had a lot to say in the afterword. In the novel, Agatha is a lonely spinster who accidentally conjures her imaginary childhood best friend Clarissa into life. What starts out a joyful bizarrity becomes something darker as a power struggle develops. It’s a super short novel, so we’ve also included excerpts from Olivier’s autobiography in the book.
So glad to tell you all about these now – which appeals the most??
Very excited about all of these, and so pleased to see Pin coming out in a lovely new edition!!!
Yay! Makes it so much easier to recommend it to people now :D
Oh boy! I think this means they will be sending me some, if not all, to review.
Excellent! I look forward to seeing your thoughts in due course.
I’ve heard so much about this Pin to the Peepshow, looking forward to it!
Excellent! Yes, a really interesting book – a shame it ever fell out of print, but wonderful that it’s back now.
Sally on the Rocks sounds like a really unusual and amusing read.
I think it’s something really special, and I hope it gets the love I want for it!
I am so excited about Sally on the Rocks! I’ve been badly burned by multi-month/disappearing deliveries from the UK (Slightly Foxed being the only exception) but may be willing to brave disappointment rather than wait until the North American release next spring.
Really looking forward to hearing what you think of Sally! I feel pretty confident that you’ll love her and it. Good luck on the voyage!
Exciting indeed! These editions are really lovely (I was reading bits of Smith’s Oh, The Brave Music the other day and noticed that the cover had a really tactile quality, which is always very special) and it’s exciting to think that more are coming. They all look interesting but I’m especially drawn to Pin. Like Claire, I may not wait until these are released in North America.
Yes, I love that tactile feel to them – a lovely surprise. I fully endorse getting them shipped over to NA :D
Eeek! All of them. As I’m lucky enough to own the Virago editions of “A Pin to See the Peepshow” & “The Lovechild” I shall be going with “Sally on the Rocks” and” Which Way” first.
Really looking forward to finding out what you think of them, Alison!
They all look so cute, I really can’t choose just one!
Hurrah! Hope you enjoy whichever ones you do choose :D
Oooh oooh oooh! I have just pre-ordered Which Way and Sally on the Rocks because I simply couldn’t resist, I managed to go the whole of August without buying any books so I felt I deserved a treat
Hurrah! Yes, you absolutely deserve a treat :D
I have just bought my first BLWW copy and I’m looking forward to getting stuck in to the series, although a bit late! Sally on the Rocks stands out here because of the date, the 1910’s is very interesting but they all look great and I’m particularly looking forward to reading your afterward in The Love Child!
Yes, Sally is so interesting about the period – I really hope you enjoy it, and any others in the series that you get hold of. Which one did you just buy?
How interesting… I don’t know any of these authors!
So many to discover!
Oooh, how exciting! These all sound fantastic. Will definitely have to order them sooner rather than wait until they’re available here in the U.S. Thank you for your curation, Simon!
Yay! You should be able to ship free from Blackwells :D
How lovely Simon! I have a VMC copy of Pin the TBR so I’ll follow the Paris Review link – thank you!
Lovely! It’s such an interesting book, and I’m delighted a new audience will be able to discover it.
It’s Simon’s Love Child!! I can’t wait to read these and the covers are so super again, too, of course.
How exciting and what beautiful covers! I’m most intrigued by Sally on the Rocks and Which Way? simply because I’ve read The Love Child and already own A Pin to See the Peepshow — because you’ve raved about them for so long I already bought them! And now I have more books to add to the TBR and my Christmas list!