Seducers in ecaudor / The heir (Sackville-West) 269

Since enjoying the key Sackville-West novels as part of doing this challenge, I was excited to spot a copy of The Heir in the library the other day. Unfortunately it wasn't a Virago edition, it was published by Hersperus press, but Virago did publish it in an edition with Seducers in ecuador. I haven't been able to get my hands on Seducers yet, but I'm hopeful to eventually - I'm not sure if it has been published anywhere else, so I might have to hope to eventually spot the Virago edition.

The heir was a wonderful novella; it was originally published in a print-run of only 100. It's about a man called Peregrine Chase, who has been waiting for his aunt to die in order to inherit her country house. He intends to sell the estate so that he can live comfortably on the proceeds. However, it doesn't turn out to be so simple, as Chase falls in love with the property, but doesn't realise this until the day of its auction.

The pair of novellas has only been published once by Virago, with the original green cover above.

The edwardians (Sackville-West) 111

The edwardians is the story of an aristocratic family, in the period stated in the title. As such, there is not an obvious "plot" or storyline, rather it is a fictional account of social history and aristocratic life, and specifically how the class will maintain itself given the social change which is occuring. It's been a while since I read this, so having greatly enjoyed VSW's other works more recently, it's definitely a candidate for a re-read.

This has been published three times by Virago, with really rather wonderful cover images. Mine is the second version.

No signposts in the sea (Sackville-West) 175

Sackville-West is someone I have come across this year whose books I have really enjoyed, and I was not disappointed by No signposts in the sea. It is quite a slight book, a mere 156 pages, but that is ample to do justice to the story.

Having heard that he does not have very long to live, Edmund has embarked on a long cruise. We learn in due course, that he found out that Laura, a woman who he has loved passively for some time, was going on this trip, and Edmund decided to go to so that he can spend his remaining time with her. The book is a wonderful account of a man coming to terms with his impending death and trying to work out his love for Laura, believing her to be in love with someone else. It was a beautiful read.

I apologise for the blurry covers, but there are four of them. I particularly like the original top one, which really evokes the relationship between Laura and Edmund. My copy is the most recent bottom one.