Virginia Woolf (Authors in Context) (Oxford World's Classics) by Whitworth Michael (2009-08-03) Paperback

by Michael Whitworth

During Virginia Woolf's lifetime Britain's position in the world changed, and so did the outlook of its people. The Boer War and the First World War forced politicians and citizens alike to ask how far the power of the state extended into the lives of individuals; the rise of fascism provided one menacing answer. Woolf's experiments in fiction, and her unique position in the publishing world, allowed her to address such intersections of the public and the private. Michael Whitworth shows how ideas and images from contemporary novelists, philosophers, theorists, and scientists fuelled her writing, and how critics, film-makers, and novelists have reinterpreted her work for later generations. The book includes a chronology of Virginia Woolf's life and times, suggestions for further reading, websites, illustrations, and a comprehensive index.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Classics, Criticism, British Literature

Unknown Binding

First published January 13, 2005

Reviews

[AC · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting, if somewhat overly academic treatment of the various contexts — social, philosophical, literary — that situate and help to define and illuminate Woolf’s major novels. Worth a quick read for students of Virginia Woolf.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wide-ranging, lucid, and succinct effort to contextualize Woolf's major novels from their genesis to their interpretations both contemporaneous and current. Without eliding the personal, the book doesn't dwell on her biography. Instead, Whitworth provides a rich background for reading her fiction, revealing her influences and showing how she worked (and thought about her work) in response to the literature, politics, science/philosophy, and emerging psychology/sociology of her day.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Whitworth does an extraordinary job in presenting the work of Virginia Woolf within the context of her life and times. Given that the book is not lengthy (226 pages), the author is able to condense a great deal of information, much of it, given the type of writer Mrs. Woolf was, requiring detailed explicaton. Her life covered an active period of history, marked by major events (for example, both WWI and WWII)and their concomitant effects on the lives of those living through them. When dealing with a writer possessing the sensibilities of Virginia Woolf, an understanding of the world in which she produced her work is quite beneficial. I believe that Mrs. Woolf is a special case and the type of analysis presented here requires a particular type of understanding. Mr. Whitworth is more than up to the task. He gives a presentation that is scholarly but never pedantic. In my opinion, there are some sparkling insights into the more complex aspects of Mrs. Woolf's work. This is a very good book.

[Mairead · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first chapter which was about her life but then the rest got progressively too heavy going for me and I admitted defeat at about half way through. I am a heathen but it was just too intellectual for me - one for Hannah.