{"title":"Editorial Picks","description":"\u003cp\u003eRecommendations from the Virago team\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-blind-assassin","title":"The Blind Assassin","description":"\u003cb\u003eTHE 25th ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF THE WINNER OF THE 2000 BOOKER PRIZE\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWITH A BRAND-NEW PREFACE FROM MARGARET ATWOOD HERSELF, THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF \u003ci\u003eTHE HANDMAID'S TALE \u003c\/i\u003eAND \u003ci\u003eTHE TESTAMENTS\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e'Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eDecades after Laura's mysterious demise, her sister Iris recounts her memories of their childhood, and of the dramatic deaths that have punctuated their wealthy, eccentric family's history. Intertwined with Iris's story are chapters from the scandalous novel that made Laura famous, in which two unnamed lovers meet secretly in rented rooms and seedy cafés, themselves writing a pulp fantasy novel of a blind killer on a distant planet.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs these stories-within-stories twist and turn through love and jealousy, self-sacrifice and betrayal, so does the real narrative, as all move closer to catastrophe in a brilliant and astonishing final twist. By turns lyrical, outrageous, formidable, compelling and funny, this is a novel filled with deep humour and dark drama.","brand":"Virago","offers":[{"title":"Paperback ( Published 2025-10-16 )","offer_id":55018915725688,"sku":"9780349020525","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback ( Published 2020-01-09 )","offer_id":37542509838515,"sku":"9780349013060","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0511\/3364\/4979\/files\/9780349020525-original.jpg?v=1762957373"},{"product_id":"a-game-for-the-living","title":"A Game for the Living","description":"\u003cb\u003eBY THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF \u003ci\u003eTHE TALENTED MR RIPLEY\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCAROL \u003c\/i\u003eAND \u003ci\u003eSTRANGERS ON A TRAIN \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e'The No.1 Greatest Crime Writer' \u003ci\u003eTHE TIMES \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e'I love Highsmith so much . . . What a revelation her writing is' GILLIAN FLYNN \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e'No one has created psychological suspense more densely and deliciously satisfying'\u003ci\u003e VOGUE \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e'Ramón had done it. Obviously! He thought about Ramón, his Catholic soul trapped in his passion for Lelia. He'd find Ramón and see that he paid with his life for what he had done.'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eA Game for the Living,\u003c\/i\u003e threads of sexual jealousy and guilt are shot through with all Patricia Highsmith's uncanny talent for the unexpected.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRamón mends furniture. Theodore paints. A devout Catholic, Ramón lives in Mexico City, not far from where he was born into poverty. Theodore, a rich German transplanted to a country where money buys some comfort but no peace, believes in nothing at all. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYou'd think the two had nothing in common. Except, of course, that both had slept with Lelia. The two were good friends, so neither minded sharing her affections. They did mind, however, when Lelia was found raped, murdered, and horribly mutilated. The two friends, suspects both, twist in a limbo of tension and doubt, each seeking his own form of solace and truth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA thrilling, psychologically complex novel, rich with setting, \u003ci\u003eA Game for the Living\u003c\/i\u003e is Highsmith at her best.","brand":"Virago","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":37542869237939,"sku":"9780349004921","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0511\/3364\/4979\/products\/9780349004921-original.jpg?v=1756435052"},{"product_id":"rebecca","title":"Rebecca","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFALL IN LOVE WITH THE NOVEL THAT INSPIRED TAYLOR SWIFT\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'An unforgettable masterpiece . . . filled with razor-sharp tension, escalating dread, and a twist that chills to the bone' FREIDA MCFADDEN\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'It's the book every writer wishes they'd written' CLARE MACKINTOSH\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'The greatest psychological thriller of all time' ERIN KELLY\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'\u003ci\u003eRebecca \u003c\/i\u003ehas woven its way into the fabric of our culture with all the troubling power of myth or dream. A stunning book' SARAH PERRY\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e***\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eHe did not belong to me at all, he belonged to Rebecca. . .\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEveryone knows that Maxim de Winter was obsessed with his glamorous wife - and devastated by her tragic death. So when he proposes to a shy, anxious young woman after a whirlwind meeting in the South of France, no one is more surprised than the new bride herself. But when they reach Manderley, his beautiful, isolated Cornish mansion, the second Mrs de Winter begins to realise that every inch of her new home - and everyone in it - still belongs to Rebecca.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'The perfect story by the perfect storyteller' JOANNA CANNON\u003cbr\u003e'One of my all-time favourites' ERIN MORGENSTERN\u003cbr\u003e'Will chill you as much as any thriller' ALICE SLATER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Daphne du Maurier created a scale by which modern women can measure their feelings' STEPHEN KING\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'She's so deviant. So fascinating' EMERALD FENNELL\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Virago","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":53013319582072,"sku":"9780349019253","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback ( Published 2018-03-01 )","offer_id":42996961771699,"sku":"9780349010267","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback ( Published 2012-05-03 )","offer_id":42996961804467,"sku":"9781844088799","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"General Merchandise","offer_id":37627492368563,"sku":"9780349007694","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0511\/3364\/4979\/files\/9780349019253-original_56752d5f-1e10-4a1f-9a9c-61e95dba5496.jpg?v=1771468252"},{"product_id":"easy-beauty","title":"Easy Beauty","description":"\u003cb\u003eFINALIST FOR THE 2023 PULITZER PRIZE FOR MEMOIR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e'An exquisite exploration of disability, identity and the human capacity to do (and be) more than we've ever dreamed' \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Gorgeously, vividly alive' \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Challenges the unspoken social taboos about the disabled body, unpacking myths of beauty and our complicity in upholding those myths' \u003ci\u003eLit Hub\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBorn with sacral agenesis, a visible congenital disability that affects her stature and gait, Chloé Cooper Jones had always found solace in what she thought of as 'the neutral room' - a dissociative space in her mind that offered her solace and self-protection, but also kept her isolated. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen she became pregnant (disproving her doctor, who had assumed it impossible), something necessary in her started to crack, forcing her to reckon with her defensive positionality to the world and the people in it. This prompted an odyssey across time and space as Chloé - while at museums, operas, concerts and sporting events, and in the presence of awe-inspiring nature - reconsidered the consciousness-shifting power of beauty.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA book of the year for the\u003ci\u003e New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e USA Today\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBuzzFeed\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLit Hub\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eElectric Literature\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eVulture\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e and New York Public Library\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Virago","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":42148083073203,"sku":"9780349013800","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":40710215925939,"sku":"9780349013824","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0511\/3364\/4979\/products\/9780349013800-original.jpg?v=1756955704"},{"product_id":"the-king-must-die","title":"The King Must Die","description":"\u003cb\u003e'Mary Renault's portraits of the ancient world are fierce, complex and eloquent, infused at every turn with her life-long passion for the Classics' Madeline Miller, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eCirce\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe true parentage of Theseus, grandson of the King of Troizon, has always been shrouded in mystery. Rumours swirl that his father is Poseidon himself. But when he learns the truth - that he is the son and heir of Aegeus, King of Athens - Theseus sets out on a quest to claim his birthright.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut his journey is a perilous one, from encounters with bandits to marriage to the Queen of Eleusis, whose consort is sacrificed each year - and, finally, to the labyrinthine palace of King Minos on Crete. There Thesues must enlist the help of high priestess Ariadne in a darling plan to slay the Minatour - and free his people.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThrilling, immersive and gorgeously told, Mary Renault's classic novel is a unforgettable reimagining of the timeless Greek myth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Mary Renault is a shining light to both historical novelists and their readers' Hilary Mantel, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eWolf Hall\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'This brilliant retelling of the story of Theseus, the king of Athens, brings Greek mythology vividly to life and remains \"one of the truly fine historical novels of modern times\"' \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Virago","offers":[{"title":"Paperback ( Published 2025-07-10, Edition 953782.0 )","offer_id":54885805883768,"sku":"9780349018577","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":53013319713144,"sku":"9780349019802","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0511\/3364\/4979\/products\/9781844089635-original.jpg?v=1771468872"},{"product_id":"fenwomen","title":"Fenwomen","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ch3\u003e50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION - now a Virago Modern Classic with a new introduction by Alexandra Harris\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e'Full of dignity, courage and humour, and as fresh and insightful as the day it was written, FENWOMEN is a vital portrait of rural women's lives - not only as they were lived in the 1970s in one Cambridgeshire village, but in the generations before it, all over the country, and reaching forward into today's world, too' MELISSA HARRISON\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eMary Coe recalls summers spent gleaning in the fields, laudanum-soothed babies strapped to their mothers' backs. Ann Sharman, married and pregnant at seventeen, imagines another life outside the village. Eighty-six-year-old Sybil Hayhoe looks back with pride at her years in service, while the village postwoman is sharply aware of her unequal wages. Girls aspire to be housewives, hairdressers or nurses - except Fiona, who dreams of training horses.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTold through the voices of ordinary women, Mary Chamberlain's portrait of an isolated village in the Cambridgeshire Fens remains as vital and thought-provoking as on its groundbreaking publication in 1975. A feminist answer to Ronald Blythe's \u003ci\u003eAkenfield\u003c\/i\u003e, it vividly captures the rhythms, hopes and tensions of women's lives in a working-class rural community, and offers a unique snapshot of an almost-vanished England.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'\u003ci\u003eFenwomen\u003c\/i\u003e is a fascinating insight into 20th-century rural life' \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e'A strong and moving book' \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e'[A] masterpiece' \u003ci\u003eReviews in History\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A pioneering work of oral history' History Today\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Virago","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":54970602619256,"sku":"9780349020419","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0511\/3364\/4979\/files\/9780349020419-original.jpg?v=1762959332"}],"url":"https:\/\/store.virago.co.uk\/collections\/editorial-picks.oembed","provider":"Virago Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}