First up are the two books I bought at the conference. My heart more or less stopped beating when I walked into the conference hall on the second day - there was the most middlebrow bookstall in front of me. Elizabeth von Arnim, E.M. Delafield, Viragos everywhere... Not the cheapest selection in the world, but I did manage to pick up a couple of gems:
Opus 7 by Sylvia Townsend Warner: the first book she published, this is a book-length poem and thus not my normal cup of tea, but I'll give it a go. Plus... beautiful, no?
Novels and Novelists by Katherine Mansfield: a collection of her reviews, which is rather wonderful. Lots of unfamiliar names in the index, and thus probably a more accurate representation of the period. It does, serendipitously, include a review of Elizabeth von Arnim's Christopher and Columbus, which I was reading the day I bought this.
Off I trotted during some free time, and down to Judd Books, wherein I bought these:
At Freddie's and Innocence by Penelope Fitzgerald. There are plenty of Penelope Fitzgerald novels around, but I fell in love with this series of editions from Flamingo - another incentive to explore more PF territory.
The rest of the weekend's purchases are shown, colour-coded...
Blow on a Dead Man's Embers by Mari Strachan: I recently loved Strachan's first novel, so was delighted to pick her second up for £1.
Loitering With Intent by Muriel Spark: it's no secret that I adore this novel, but the copy I read was from the library - I've been on the look-out for a cheap copy for a while.
The Towers of Trebizond by Rose Macaulay: somehow this was not amongst my Macaulay collection, despite being perhaps her most famous. Thanks to Mary for spotting this outside the bookshop!
Epigraph on George Moore by Charles Morgan: I love authors writing about other authors, and although I've only read one book by Morgan, and none by Moore, this seemed like one I rather wanted to own...
Plagued by the Nightingale by Kay Boyle: between recognising Boyle's name, an instinctive covetousness for any Virago Modern Classic, and the cover painting, I couldn't leave this behind. The cover is 'Portrait of a Young Woman' by Meredith Frampton, one of my favourite paintings in the Tate Gallery.
The Old Maid by Edith Wharton: I've been wanting to read more Wharton, and this is perfect for my research into 1920s spinsters - not to mention a rather lovely copy.
T.H. White: A Biography by Sylvia Townsend Warner: another one I should probably have on hand for my research - making this book buying haul, on the whole, an academic excursion... no?
Academic excursions are always the best. Those are heavy-duty books you just got for yourself. I feel myself literally ageing (yet paradoxically growing youthful) as I look at your loot! I am sure that these are fantastic reads.
ReplyDeleteAnd yuh, I was led to your new blogpost thanks to FB - so the networked-thingamagig works - I use it myself and it links automatically - not to my FB profile - but to the fanpage I put up for GatheringBooks.
:)
I love your selection. I doubt I will get the vintage lot you have found, but at least this will give me an idea of what to look for.
ReplyDeleteAn academic excursion? Probably 'No' - but perhaps I am confusing it with the cake-fest on another day! If you keep buying books at this rate you'll be reduced from cake to gruel! ;-)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful books!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great selection of titles. When you are finished with them, please will you send them to me?
ReplyDelete:-)
liz in texas
Wow, amazing loot!! If I ever get to England, I had better bring an extra empty suitcase just for books.
ReplyDeleteI have read The Old Maid, it's also included in Wharton's Old New York volume of four novellas set in New York. I think it was my favorite of the four. I look forward to your reviews.
I agree with ovw. At this rate, you'll have to start selling at some point. You'll need to open a bookshop yourself - don't wait until you're waaaay too old - then, someone else will have to disperse them. :-)
ReplyDeleteNovels and Novelists by Katherine Mansfield: I have that book too!
Myra - I like my false self-justification! And I'm glad FB is doing its thing - hurrah!
ReplyDeleteMystica - I do feel very privileged to be surrounded by such bounty in the UK.
Mum - you'd better not look too carefully at my most recent post... :S
Amy - aren't they!
Liz - haha, nice try! I hope you manage to secure lots of gems while you're over here.
Karen - definitely a second suitcase required... I don't know what I'd do if I were book shopping on a limited capacity. Having said that, my bedroom is a limited capacity...
Nancy - I do think that at some point I'll have to overhaul my library and self off half of it... maybe one day I'll follow Rachel's example and open an online shop!