Book Group

Sunday Sessions in The Heronry Join us on the first Sunday of the month in September, October and November to discuss Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway, To the Lighthouse and a A Room of One's Own. We will meet in the shop, 4.30-5.45 to discuss two of Woolf's novels and her argument about the barriers to women writing. Whether you have read them before or never read anything by Virginia Woolf, we are curious to hear your thoughts and share our experiences of reading her work. 6 September: Mrs Dalloway 4 October: To the Lighthouse 1 November: A Room of One's Own In order to sign up we ask that you buy the three books from us or a £30 Heron Books voucher. Spaces are limited and we ask that you only sign up if you can make all three discussions.

Our occasional graphic novel book club meets to discuss Irmina by Barbara Yelin. In the mid-1930s, Irmina, an ambitious young German, moves to London. At a cocktail party, she meets Howard Green, one of the first Black students at Oxford, who, like Irmina, is working towards an independent existence. However, their relationship comes to an abrupt end when Irmina, constrained by the political situation in Hitler's Germany, is forced to return home. As war approaches and her contact with Howard is broken, it becomes clear to Irminathat prosperity will only be possible through the betrayal of her ideals. In the award-winning Irmina, Barbara Yelin presents a troubling drama about the tension between integrity and social advancement. Based on a true story, this moving and perceptive graphic novel perfectly conjures the oppressive atmosphere of wartime Germany, reflecting on the complicity that results from the choice, conscious or otherwise, to look away. If you’d like to sign up please get in touch: read@heronbooks.mom. Space is limited. We ask that you buy the book from us or a different book if you already own this one.