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The Virago Book of Friendship

By Rachel Cooke
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Brief Description
A fond, fascinated look at women's friendship through the fiction, diaries, and letters of friends'A highly entertaining, often instructive anthology bursting with every kind of amicable - or inimical - anecdote . . . Cooke has dug deep and uncovered nuggets of pure gold in every... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2799
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A fond, fascinated look at women's friendship through the fiction, diaries, and letters of friends

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description
A fond, fascinated look at women's friendship through the fiction, diaries, and letters of friends

'A highly entertaining, often instructive anthology bursting with every kind of amicable - or inimical - anecdote . . . Cooke has dug deep and uncovered nuggets of pure gold in every form of writing . . . a delicious book about the great power and strength of real friendship' TABLET

Friendship, a timeless subject, has never been more debated, something that has to do both with the internet - the perils of WhatsApp groups, the agony of ghosting - as well as with a growing awareness that loneliness is increasing in our society. Friendship has become a matter of urgent inquiry to therapists, scientists and sociologists. We understand its importance more and more, not only as a comfort and a privilege, but as vital to our health. But it's hard to get inside friendship: its particular intensity and its miraculous ease; its tendency to wax and wane; its ability to inspire both delight and despair.

This is the territory of novels and poems, diaries and letters, comics and graphic novels - and it is where the innovative and wide ranging Virago Book of Friendship steps in, bringing together work by more than 100 writers. From Jane Austen to Edith Wharton and Virginia Woolf, from Dolly Alderton to Sarah Waters and Meg Wolitzer and, it celebrates and investigates friendship between women from first encounters to final goodbyes, from falling out to making up again.

'A treasure chest' THE TIMES

'An uplifting anthology' HARPER'S BAZAAR

'A fascinating document' LITERARY REVIEW

'An exhilaratingly wide array' SPECTATOR

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780349018423

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 05 February 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Virago Press Ltd

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 32.0mm

Width: 126.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 316g

Pages: 400

Collections

Arts & Culture Biography & Memoir Non-Fiction Rachel Cooke

About the Author

RACHEL COOKE was born in Sheffield 4 July 1969. A journalist for the Observer for twenty-five years, she reviewed books, interviewed celebrities, politicians and writers, championed graphic novels, and wrote a weekly TV column for the New Statesman. In 2006, Rachel Cooke was named Interviewer of the Year at the British Press Awards.

Her first book, Her Brilliant Career: Ten Extraordinary Women of the Fifties published by Virago in 2013, was followed by Kitchen Person: Notes on Cooking & Eating, a collection of her pieces from her Observer column, published by Weidenfeld in 2023. The Virago Book of Friendship was published in hardback in 2024. All three of her books reflect the passion and the wit of a great and beguiling writer. Clever, wide-ranging and inspiring, her knowledge and sheer appetite for life was shared with millions of readers.

Rachel Cooke died in London on 14 November 2025 aged 56.

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  • The Virago Book of Friendship
    A fond, fascinated look at women's friendship through the fiction, diaries, and letters of friends A highly entertaining, often instructive anthology bursting with every kind of amicable - or inimical - anecdote... Cooke has dug deep and uncovered nuggets of pure gold in every form of writing... a delicious book about the great power and strength of real friendship TABLET...
    By Rachel Cooke
    Hardback
    $4499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

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