The blurb that came with the books says "Virago Modern Classics has broken ground with its beautiful, collectible, limited edition hardbacks of perennial favourites*...now Virago Modern Classics has created a unique set of hardbacks - a collection of six modern classic coming of age stories, for adult, and young adult readers alike, beautifully bound and with stunning custom-designed and interlinked jacket artwork by New York based illustrator Mira Nameth. These are gorgeous books intended to be collected, enjoyed, cherished and pressed into the hands of other readers, whatever their age. Each has been selected for its striking depiction of a time, a place, and of a young woman on the cusp of adulthood"
The titles are:
Slammerkin (Emma Donaghue)
Invitation to the Waltz (Rosamund Lehmman)
My brilliant career (Miles Franklin)
Tipping the velvet (Sarah Waters)
The river (Rumer Godden)
I know why the caged bird sings (Maya Angelou)
Invitation and My brilliant were already VMCs, the rest were not, although the authors were already Virago ones.
I've read all but the Rumer Godden novel (and Invitation to the Waltz has to be one of my favourite books ever), but as she is an author who I have greatly enjoyed in the past, I am very much looking forward to picking up The river.
[Oh and Virago collectors may be interested to know that these titles don't seem to be numbered]
* absolutely, they are things of beauty which I have written about here
