Virginia Ironside

The Huge Bag of Worries (Big Books)

No I Dont Want To Join a Book Club

Marie is turning 69 this year, but there are no signs of her slowing down - she has a new male lodger (very into conspiracy theories), an intractable iPhone to wrestle with, and a trip to India to plan! As usual the year brings plenty of challenges as well as opportunities. Marie is burgled, which sends the street into uproar. Ex-husand David is still around and getting rather too close for comfort. Marie's cat Pouncer is starting to look rather peaky (her conspiracy-theorist lodger is convinced someone is poisoning him), and probably worst of all, it seems her grandson Gene is getting too old to want to hang out with his granny any more. Maybe learning to graffiti and speak street slang will help win him back? Full of Virginia Ironside's inimitable wit and featuring plenty of popular characters from this series, this is a hilarious and touching look at getting older from one of Britain's best observers of relationships.

Marie Sharp 4

No, Thanks! I'm Quite Happy Standing!

The death of a loved one is the most traumatic experience any of us face. No two people cope with it the same way: some cry while others remain dry-eyed; some discover growth through pain, others find arid wastes; some feel angry, others feel numb. Virginia Ironside deals with this complicated and sensitive issue with great frankness and insight, drawing on other's people's accounts as well as her own experiences.

The Rage of Bereavement

'You'll Get Over It'

No! I Don't Want to Join a Bookclub

Marie may be 'getting on a bit' but it's certainly not getting her down. Her family around her and a man who loves her means that life is good - but nothing stays the same for long. Marie's golden years are filled with as much drama - love, laughter and tears - as ever. Which just goes to show that getting on a bit does not mean giving up - or even growing up.

Marie Sharp 2

No! I Don't Need Reading Glasses

A collection of whimsically jaded essays on the advantages and indulgences of aging celebrates such topics as grandchildren, mercifully lowered expectations and medical advances in the face of inevitable health challenges.

20 Reasons why Growing Old is Great

You're Old, I'm Old--get Used to It!

As Virginia fought to be her own person, plunging into the swing of the 60s as a rock journalist, she was caught between a father she adored and a mother bent on self-destruction. Now a renowned writer, she has drawn a portrait of a gifted woman in a time of extraordinary change. Blackly comic, Janey and Me reflects the universal struggle to emerge from our parents' shadow.

Growing Up with My Mother

Janey and Me

The debut novel of acclaimed writer Virginia Ironside, author of No, I Don't Want to join a Bookclub, originally published in 1964, when she was aged just twenty. London, 1960s. A cultural revolution is taking place. Young people are finally being seen as a force to be reckoned with. But for eighteen-year-old art student Harriet and her Chelsea friends, this amounts to one thing: being'In'. The King's Road swarms with people wanting to see and be seen; upper-class boys with faux cockney accents party with models, beatniks and photographers; teddy boys are good people to nod to in the street; transport caffs are the must-go places for food, and black men have suddenly become the people to know. Through Harriet's eyes, Virginia Ironside paints a witty, tongue-in-cheek portrait of life in 1960's London that will strike a nostalgic chord with all those who were there, and make all those who weren't wish they had been.

Chelsea Bird

Marie Sharp führt ein ruhiges und sortiertes Leben. Seit einiger Zeit blüht die Beziehung zu ihrem geschiedenen Mann David wieder auf, und ihr neunjähriger Enkel Gene bringt sie stets auf den neuesten Stand der Technik. Doch im Laufe dieses Jahres erwarten Marie einige Turbulenzen. Erst wird sie Opfer eines Einbruchs (aber Marie wäre nicht Marie, wenn sie dem nicht höchstpersönlich auf die Spur gehen würde), dann wird sie von alten Bekannten eingeladen, diese im abenteuerlichen Indien zu besuchen. Und schließlich bekommt Marie auch noch einen Heiratsantrag! Aber für eine zweite Ehe ist sie ja viel zu alt. Oder?

Das Tagebuch der Marie Sharp 4

Nein! Ich geh nicht zum Seniorenyoga!

Michael Irwin

Colin Brewer

A series of landmark cases have highlighted the issues surrounding assisted suicide and may be shifting public opinion in the direction of greater freedom. These essays cover every aspect of the topic from the legal and religious issues to the deeply personal experiences of patients and carers.

"I'll See Myself Out, Thank You"

Another year, another January, and Marie Sharp has written a new diary, dishing the dirt on how the cool grannies live today. And her drug cravings aren't the half of it. There's the handsome stranger who arrives as her new lodger. Is he all that he seems? There's the new project - teaching art at a school, now that her grandchild-minding days are numbered. Not to mention the mad dog and the crazy new neighbour. And then there's the lump, a frightening symptom of... what? Marie is back, courting laughter and disaster in equal measure. In her own inimitable style, she's getting older... and loving every minute of it.

Marie Sharp 3

Yes! I Can Manage, Thank You!

Is it every woman's fate to turn into her mother? This is renowned writer and journalist Virginia Ironside's poignant and blackly funny memoir of life with fashion professor and media icon Janey Ironside. Stylish, beautiful and self-loathing, Janey Ironside was to lead a cultural revolution. In 1956 she became Professor of Fashion at the Royal College of Art, then an extraordinary appointment for a young mother. Discovering and promoting designers like Ossie Clark and Bill Gibb, she changed the way people dressed around the world and herself became a fashion icon. Yet the qualities that made her great - wit, talent and drive - did not bring happiness to either her or her family. Having grown up in colonial India, Janey suffered a painful childhood separation from her parents. She married dashing artist Christopher Ironside, but eking out wartime rations ill-suited a woman whose idea of divine punishment was 'to spend eternity washing up.' Dress-making soon filled the void, while her daughter Virginia endured a string of au pairs, embarrassing outfits and acute loneliness. As Virginia fought to be her own person, plunging into the swing of the sixties as a rock journalist, she was caught between a father she adored and a mother bent on self-destruction. Now a renowned writer, she has drawn a startling portrait of a gifted woman in a time of extraordinary change. Blackly comic, beautifully written and deeply moving, JANEY AND ME reflects the universal struggle to emerge from our parents' shadow.

Frank Rodgers

Perfect for a thought-provoking assembly (particularly for those children with exams coming up!). A compelling picture book which can be used as a spring board into what worries children today. The lively, comic-style pictures and the general nature of the worries make this excellent for any number of problems. The message of the book is clear—find someone who will listen and talk about your worries. A big book version perfect for encouraging group discussions on how to deal with worries. Wherever Jenny goes, her worries follow her, in a big blue bag. They are there when she goes swimming, when she is watching TV, and even when she is in the lavatory. Jenny decides they will have to go. But who can help her?

The Huge Bag of Worries

This is the fourth title in the series about a gothic boarding school - its pupils, teachers and weird happenings. While Tom, Miles and Susan return to Burlap Hall for another summer term, headmaster Mr Fox's problems have already begun with the news that the school caretaker has had a heart-attack. His replacement is the sinister Ron Grunt. Unshaven, pot-bellied and aggressive, with obscene tattoos and a menacing dog, the new caretaker is hardly an encouraging sight for the returning pupils. What's more, as soon as Grunt arrives, everything starts to fall apart: windows smash, doors break and inanimate objects take on a life of their own. Once again it's up to the intrepid trio of friends to get to the bottom of the mystery - and solve a murder at the same time.

The Poltergeist of Burlap Hall

A reassuring picture book encouraging children to open up about their fears and anxieties to help manage their feelings. The perfect book to soothe worries during stressful times. Wherever Jenny goes, her worries follow her - in a big blue bag. They are with her all the time - at school, at home, when she is watching TV and even in the bathroom! Jenny decides they have to go, but who will help her get rid of them? A funny and reassuring look at dealing with worries and anxiety, to be used as a spring board into important conversations with your child.

When she started to clock up the years in earnest, everyone tried not to mention it. But now Virginia Ironside is actually sixty-five she can't see what all the fuss was about. It's great to be old. Growing ancient is not a loss but a gain. You're more confident, and if your memory's going, at least you forget the bad times, like all those ghastly men you slept with in the other sixties. And isn't now the time to take lots of drugs, and not just the ones prescribed by the doctor (which are, now you're old, completely free)? There's nothing more fun than comparing your various ailments with other oldies ('I take so many fish oils I'm thinking of joining an aquarium'), curtain-twitching, complaining or (Virginia's preference) just mooching about. From Grandchildren ('The reward for not killing your children'), and Being a Bore ('You're in your anecdotage, so nobody can complain') to Sex ('I don't know about you, but I've had enough sex to last me a lifetime'), Virginia Ironside tackles all the issues that face today's elegant and distinguished oldies with optimism and enthusiasm - and makes you want to cheer!

Twenty Reasons why Growing Old is Great

The Virginia Monologues

Approaching what she believes will be the most interesting period of her life, Marie Sharp eschews the trend-oriented activities of her peers in order to enjoy her relationship with a new grandchild and a new gentleman friend.

Diary of a Sixtieth Year

No! I Don't Want to Join a Book Club

Read Virginia Ironside's posts on the Penguin Blog. A screamingly funny and poignant story about embracing life beyond middle age Marie Sharp is heading toward sixty and is just fine with it. She’s already had plenty of excitement in her life: sex and drugs in the freewheeling sixties, career and children, marriage and divorce. Now she’s ready to settle into a quiet, blissfully boring routine. No Italian classes or gym memberships or bicycle trips across Europe, thank you very much! Marie just wants to put her feet up and “start doing old things.” She’s even sworn off men! But as it turns out, life still has some surprises in store, the biggest of which is a new grandson on the way. What’s more, Archie, her old childhood crush, suddenly reenters her life, and her closest friend falls seriously ill. Armed with a biting sense of humor, Marie wrestles with a life that refuses to follow her plans—and may still offer more possibilities than she realizes.

Virginia Ironside

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