About the books:

A fantastic collection of impactful and groundbreaking works by female authors, as published by Virago, each with their own unique cover designs. From Highsmith's dark and compelling tale of Tom Ripley to Daphne du Maurier's enthralling and moody 'My Cousin Rachel', this selection dips into the best of twentieth century literature.

Included are the following titles:

• The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Armin
• The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
• Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
• A Far Cry From Kensington by Muriel Spark
• Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
• My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
• The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter

About the publisher:

Virago was founded in 1973 as ‘the first mass-market publisher for 52 per cent of the population – women. An exciting new imprint for both sexes in a changing world.’ It was an idea of Dame Carmen Callil’s, born out of a particular time, place and politics. The name instantly signalled Virago’s attitude. Virago means ‘heroic war-like woman’, or, as the thesaurus has it a particular kind of woman: biddy, bitch, dragon, fire-eater, fury, harpy, harridan, hussy, muckraker, scold, she-devil, siren, spitfire, termagant, tigress, vituperator, vixen, wench.

Here was a cheeky upstart, happy to shock and tease.