Virginia Woolf [Hardcover]

Although I have read most of Virginia Woolf's fiction, and some of her essays I have never read any biography about her. I already know the basics of her life, as I am sure most of us do but what drew me to this was that it is only partially a biography.

This hardback edition has black and white illustrations throughout, and an integral cloth bookmark. There are already lots of Woolf books on the market and this book is more of a quick overview of her life, that is why it is relatively short. We follow Woolf's life chronologically through each chapter, with quotes and samples of her writing, but what this book did for me, and I suspect will do for others, is place Woolf's writings in context. For instance To the Lighthouse (Wordsworth Classics) is one of my favourite all time books so it was interesting to read how this fit in with her life at that period. If you have ever read a few of Woolf's books then you would have noticed the changing of style and writing between each book, and this helps to put that into context.

If you already have loads of books on Virginia Woolf or already know all about her life, then this isn't something that would probably be of interest to you, but if you are like me, and have read her fiction and some essays, and nothing else, then this is a good addition to have.

Writing yet another biography of a famous person must be a difficult task. Claire Tomalin is an example of an author who is so skilled at this craft that she makes any great life an exciting read, no matter how often is has been written about before. As with her recent insightful offering about birthday boy Charles Dickens.

In her latest biography of Virginia Woolf, cultural historian Alexandra Harris acknowledges that hers is not a definitive version of this literary life, but rather a guide to her writings, with snippets of Woolf's life thrown in. And, although quite a slim volume, it is very readable in that context, with some great illustrations and prints included to bring it to life.

Woolf is a difficult woman to write about and achieve any degree of warmth from the reader, as she could be aloof, snobbish, and was certainly privileged. But, as I discovered myself when reading her diaries for the first time a couple of years ago, she can be completely fascinating. She famously suffered from an early age from `breakdowns' and severe depression, probably brought on by her mother's death when she was just thirteen. Her illness frames her life and her literary career, as with the closing of each writing process as one novel came to an end, she knew that a depression would inevitably arrive and be in danger of overwhelming her.

Harris shows how some of her great friendships and relationships shaped her writing, in almost an exact opposite manner to the way Woolf herself reveals similar details via her diaries. And there are some interesting facts revealed about her, as when she turned down an honorary degree from the University of Manchester due to her hatred of the trappings of fame and her love of privacy.

The shadow of Fascism loomed over Virginia and her Jewish husband Leonard. They made practical preparations for how they would commit suicide together if the Nazis managed to invade Britain. But famously it was Virginia who committed suicide alone; preferring to drown herself rather than go through another bout of severe depression when she was approaching sixty. She also could not bear to put her husband and close friends through the trauma of looking after her again.

She asked her husband to destroy all her papers after her death. Thank goodness he didn't or else we would not have her diaries to savour. For she is one of the most interesting and readable diarist there ever has been. And in this primer for her novels, Harris makes a good case for going beyond her journals to sample her fictional writings too.

This slim volume (less than 200 pages) has both plus and minus points. On the plus side, it is beautifully bound with lovely paper, has 46 good quality illustrations throughout the book and is a wonderful introduction to Virginia Woolf. On the minus side, it is really just a basic overview and there is little to attract readers who have, perhaps, already read another biography of Woolf. For example, the attraction between Virginia and Clive, after the birth of Julian, is glossed over in a couple of paragraphs.

Saying that, I would not hesitate to buy this book for somebody who was just starting out reading Virginia Woolf, or who wanted to know some background about her. Her major works are discussed and there are some really useful suggestions for further reading at the end of the book, including biographies, critical studies and books by her family and friends. There are also some films readers might find interesting and also a list of places to visit, including Charleston, Monk's House and details on the Virginia Woolf Society. As a starting point, this book is a little gem and would make a great present, along with a couple of Woolf's novels perhaps, to introduce her to new readers.