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      Frost in May

      by Antonia White
      Published
      Oct 1980
      Main Genre
      Horror Horror
      Rating
      Pages
      224
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      About This Book

      'Frost in May is the unsurpassed novel of convent school life. This story of a clash between a determined young girl and an authoritarian regime is both perceptive and painfully emotional, convincing in every detail' - Hermione Lee, Observer

      With a new introduction by Tessa Hadley

      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 accepts this closed world where, with all the enthusiasm of the outsider, her desires and passions become only those the school permits. Her only deviation from total obedience is the passionate friendships she makes.

      Convent life is perfectly captured - the smell of beeswax and incense; the petty cruelties of the nuns; the eccentricities of Nanda's school friends.

      Books in the VMC 40th anniversary series include: Frost in May by Antonia White; The Collected Stories of Grace Paley; Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault; The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter; The Weather in the Streets by Rosamond Lehmann; Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith; The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West; Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston; Heartburn by Nora Ephron; The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy; Memento Mori by Muriel Spark; A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor and Faces in the Water by Janet Frame

      Genres & Themes

      Genres

      Speculative Fiction

      Subgenres

      Horror

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      Formats & Editions

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      Paperback

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      Paperback
      First Edition Oct 1980 Doubleday ISBN 0385271425
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      Trade Paperback
      Jun 1992 Penguin ISBN 0140162321
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      Sep 2006 Virago Press (UK) ISBN 1844083780
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      Trade Paperback
      May 2018 Little, Brown ISBN 0349010285
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      Hardcover

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      Hardcover
      Jan 1988 Random House ISBN 0860680495
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      eBook

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      eBook
      Feb 2011 Virago ISBN B077Y2SLMH
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      eBook
      Feb 2011 Little, Brown ISBN 0748127488
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      Audio

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      Audio Cassette
      Dec 1994 ISIS Audio Books ISBN 185089843X
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      Audible
      Jan 2024 -- Not Selected ISBN B0CSQLKQ7C
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