Frost in May (Virago Modern Classics)
Frost in May (Virago Modern Classics) book cover

Frost in May (Virago Modern Classics)

Price
$7.44
Format
Paperback
Pages
224
Publisher
Virago UK
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1844083787
Dimensions
5 x 0.59 x 7.6 inches
Weight
5.8 ounces

Description

"Intense, troubling, semi-miraculous . . . It is not the only school story to be a classic; but I can think of no other that is a work of art."xa0 —Elizabeth Bowen" Frost in May is the unsurpassed novel of convent school life.xa0 This story of a clash between a determined young girl and an authoritarian regime is both perceptive and painfully emotional, convincing in every detail."xa0 —Hermoine Lee, Observer "A masterpeice.xa0 Beautifully written, is is a calm and factual record of the slow death of the soul."xa0 —Selina Hastings "Evelyn Waugh called [her] one of the very best novelists of the day - a title she still deserves." —Carolxa0Shields Antonia White was born in 1899 and educated at in London at St. Paul's and RADA. She worked as a journalist and in the Foreign Office, had four novels published and translated over thirty novels from French. She died in Sussex in 1980.

Features & Highlights

  • Nanda Gray, the daughter of a Catholic convert, is nine when she is sent to the Convent of Five Wounds. Quick-witted, resilient, and eager to please, she adapts to this cloistered world, learning rigid conformity and subjection to authority. Passionate friendships are the only deviation from her total obedience. Convent life—the smell of beeswax and incense, the petty cruelty of the nuns, the glamour and eccentricity of Nanda's friends—is perfectly captured by Antonia White.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(78)
★★★★
20%
(52)
★★★
15%
(39)
★★
7%
(18)
28%
(73)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Classic Description of a Catholic Boarding School

For a woman who attended a Catholic boarding school 50 years after the book was written, the book was achingly familiar. The book is well written and definitely a good read.
4 people found this helpful
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Survivor of Cathloic all-girls high school at 70

I am a supporter of all-girl schools, and a survivor of such Catholic day schools. However, the mind-numbing ridiculous doctrine enforced on your spirit for an hour a day is bad enough. Add to that the hypocrisy of blatant favoritism toward wealthy families, the hands-on demeaning punishments, the cruelty toward those suspected as non-believers, the invasion of body and privacy, the waste of time in "retreats" run by lascivious priests, and so on. Parish church and high school pastors in my experience - all sought emotional and sexual support outside the priesthood. Not to mention sexual abuse of both boy and girls. I speak the truth. So does this book.
2 people found this helpful
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Cheaper than school bookstore.

I ordered this book because it was required in one of my son's classes and the school bookstore prices were exorbitant. The prices here were much cheaper than the school book store prices. I ordered several books for the same reason in this same order and they all arrived quickly and in great condition.
1 people found this helpful
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GOOD BOOK!

Good book sent fast!
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Five Stars

OK
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portrait of the artist as a young woman

Beautifully written and delightful throughout.