Focusing on Virginia Woolf's close and inspirational female friendships with the key women in her life, Vanessa Curtis offers a portrait of the writer, looking at both the effect of these relationships on her emotional life and the inspiration that each woman provided for the female protagonists in her fiction. Women inspired and fascinated Woolf until the day she died, evoking not only her loyalty, love and wit, but also anger, envy and insecurity. The author begins by exposing the lesser known details of Woolf's Victorian childhood, spent underneath the suffocating wings of the "angels in the house" who instilled in her a lifelong battle between creativity and convention. The journey continues with a study of the other women in Woolf's life; her silent sister, Vanessa Bell; enigmatic artist Dora Carrington; complex writer Katherine Mansfield; aristocratic novelist Vita Sackville-West and riotous, militant composer Ethel Smyth. The book takes the reader on a journey through the most important female relationships of Woolf's life, drawing on previously unpublished archives, ultimately revealing a portrait of Virginia Woolf as writer, daughter, sister, lover and friend.
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Curtis leads the reader on a fascinating voyage of discovery. -- The Good Book Guide, February 13, 2003
[an] absorbing study. -- The Guardian, 16 November, 2002 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
[an] absorbing study. -- The Guardian, 16 November, 2002 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Author
I wrote 'Virginia Woolf's Women' because I could see that there was a lack of books concentrating specifically on the women in Woolf's life. The early period of Woolf's life, spent in the claustrophobic existence of Victorian patriarchal society, particularly interests me, and I wanted to convey something of the effect that her mother, sister and half-sister had on her entire life. The other women featured in the book are all hugely characterful, and all, in different ways, had a profound influence on Virginia Woolf. Although very different from one another, they were all loved by Woolf and, in their various ways, loved her back (albeit tolerantly, in some cases!). It was a particular challenge to find photographs and texts that have not been published widely before, and which I think illustrate the transformation of Virginia Stephen, nervous teenager, into the confident, humorous writer of genius that she grew into. I think that her friendships with the women!
I have researched, should be celebrated as an antidote to the age-old misconceptions of Woolf as a unsmiling depressive. She was capable of much laughter and enjoyment and women, in particular, were able to light the touchpaper, sit back - and enjoy the sparks. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
I have researched, should be celebrated as an antidote to the age-old misconceptions of Woolf as a unsmiling depressive. She was capable of much laughter and enjoyment and women, in particular, were able to light the touchpaper, sit back - and enjoy the sparks. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
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Format:Paperback
This is a wonderfully descriptive and readable book, whether you're a fan or a scholar of VW. I was impressed both by the facts that have been unearthed and the interpretation of the facts, and I LOVE the writing style. I like the way each chapter begins with a quotation that sets the scene. The book has been researched very thoroughly and there's plenty of new material that I hadn't read before, despite the fact I've read most of the Bloomsbury biogs. Lovely plate sections, with some photographs that are new to me. I had to limit myself to one chapter per sitting, or I wouldn't have got any sleep!
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