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Virago signs Observer journo

05.11.10 | Charlotte Williams

Virago has signed Observer journalist Rachel Cooke's first book, with the working title of Fascinating Women of the 1950s.

Virago publisher Lennie Goodings acquired UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) through Peter Straus at RCW.

Cooke, one of the Observer's main interviewers, will explore the decade by telling the story of 10 working women such as cookery writer Patience Gray and textile designer Lucienne Day. It will also look at everyday items, including "wash-and-wear" fabric crimplene and Birds Eye Fish Fingers, that simplified women's daily lives.

Goodings said: "I have been reading and watching Rachel Cooke's brilliant career for a long while and am thrilled to publish her. We are fascinated by the 1950s and Rachel's genius in capturing the nuances, the humour, the truth of people's lives is going to mean this book will be extraordinary."

Virago will publish in 2012.

• Charlotte Williams
• Rights deal
• Virago