A Writer's Diary: Being Extracts from the Diary of Virginia Woolf (Harvest Book) [Paperback]

First published in 1953 'A Writer's Diary' is a collection of extracts from Virginia Woolf's complete diaries, selected by her husband, Leonard. It seems very strange nowadays, but when 'A Writer's Diary' was first published, Virginia Woolf's reputation as a writer was at a low ebb and Leonard, with the wish to restore his wife's standing as a serious writer of some calibre, took upon himself the task of distilling the full diaries - where Virginia recorded the details of her day-to-day life and of the people around her, along with her thoughts on the books she was writing and those she intended to write - by selecting those entries which he believed would display her intellectual and literary talents to best effect. And in that, Leonard Woolf has certainly achieved his aim.

'A Writer's Diary' opens with extracts from 1918 and closes with entries made just before Woolf's death in 1941 and in these entries we read of Virginia's discussions on Christina Rossetti, Byron, Conrad, Thomas Hardy, E.M Forster, Arnold Bennett and James Joyce, to name just a few. And of course, we also meet those people who were close to her including: Virginia's sister, the painter, Vanessa Bell; Lytton Strachey; Dora Carrington; Maynard Keynes; Roger Fry; Vita Sackville West, and I could go on; in fact the whole of Bloomsbury is within the covers of this book. We read of Virginia's disappointment when she gets a bad review and of her flashes of jealousy at the amount of attention Lytton Strachey attracts with his writing; but what is most important is that this book shows the writer in the act of writing, in the act of creating her writing and also in her despair at her lack of creativity at times. This is a wonderful book that I dip in and out of all the time and I have more than one copy - if it was on Kindle, I would download it onto my Kindle too. A book to keep by you, to inspire you and offer you endless interest and enjoyment. Highly recommended.

5 Stars.

Please note: One of my copies is the Harvest edition shown here, which I notice is not available directly from Amazon but is obtainable from Amazon Marketplace. This diary is also now available in a new edition from Persephone Books which is, I believe, more readily available. I shall post this review under that edition also.

A lovingly edited collection of diary entries which capture Wolf's emotional desire to write 'something good'. which shines 'as bright as diamonds'. The book focuses on the process of writing, it is a reminder to writers that they are not alone when they feel that their work is in vain. Some critics might state that the highs and lows of Wolf stream of conciousness is tiring to read but this is her personal account, which I feel provides an interesting insight into her life. Her entries paint such vivid pictures, I feel so sad that she did not get to see how much her work is truely valued. Frustrating, vivid but some what reassuring read.

I studied Virginia Woolf many years ago in school, and recently purchased this book. Reading the diaries makes me want to go back and reread her work. They offer a lot of insight into her books, and for writers they provide a great perspective on how to receive criticism, how to tap into the flow of a book, and some great day-to-day advice on the life of a writer.