Virginia Woolf

by Ira B. Nadel

Virginia Woolf was one of the most significant literary figures of the twentieth century—a major literary stylist and a lyrical novelist whose stream-of-consciousness approach in iconic books such as Mrs Dalloway , To the Lighthouse , and Orlando would inspire generations of writers to follow. She was also one of the first to address the injustices of gender disparity and the ravages of World War I at home. Uncovering new details about Woolf’s life and the places she inhabited, this engaging biography offers fresh insights into her works and legacy, focusing on the ways place and imagination intertwine in her writing.
            Drawing on Woolf’s letters, journals, diaries, autobiographical essays, and fiction, Ira Nadel paints a portrait of the writer in situ , whether in the enclosed surroundings of Hyde Park Gate or the open and free-spirited environs of Gordon Square’s Bloomsbury. He shows how Woolf’s experimental style was informed by her own reading life and how her deeply sensitive understanding of history, narrative, art, and friendship were rendered in her prose. He explores the famous Bloomsbury group of intellectuals in which she was immersed as well as her relationships with fascinating figures such as Vita Sackville-West and Lady Ottoline Morrel. Nadel looks at Woolf’s attitudes toward sex and marriage, analyzes her uncertain social and political views, and, finally, offers a sensitive examination of her mental instabilities and the nervous breakdowns that would plague her for most of her life, up until her suicide in 1941.
            A moving account of an exceptional writer who ushered in a new era of literature, this biography perfectly captures the intricate relationship between art and life. 
 

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Kristi Hovington · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

This is a new (to me) biography of Woolf, organized by her places of residence, which works. If Hermione Lee's lengthy (and, for me, best in class) biography of Woolf is off-putting for some due to the size of the book, this might be the biography I'd recommend next.

[Ruth Brumby · Rating 3 out of 5]

The focus on places she lived as a way of structuring the information works well and, given the subject matter, this book could hardly fail to be interesting. Some very odd writing though. For example:
"In Jane Austen's 'Emma', Mr and Mrs John Knightley make their residence in Brunswick Square. Woolf moved there with her brother Adrian on 20 November 1911, shortly after attending a performance of Diaghilev's radical Ballets Russes in their first London season. The company would revolutionise ballet with its original choreography, remarkable dancers and avant-garde music. Soon, John Maynard Keynes, Duncan Grant and then Leonard Woolf would join them, all living communally."
What have Jane Austen's characters got to do with it? Did she move there because inspired to do so by the ballet? Did these 'Bloomsberries' join the Ballets Russes?
It reads like a poor translation: "make their residence" "original choreography".

[Bookthesp1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Putting aside Hermoine Lee's doorstep biography of Woolf, this is one of the best things I have read on her mainly due to its clarity and care in guiding the reader through Woolfs writing life against the background of her personal circumstances- addressed here by having chapters based on her.... addresses!! Nadal's crystal clear prose supported by plenty of quotes and references guides us through her life at all the places lived in as she struggled to retain her mental health and build a reputation as a writer of note. Hence we have chapters that see her writing almost continuously whilst establishing herself in a new home or place of residence, eventually marrying Leonard and setting up the Hogarth Press whilst also encompassing the "Bloomsberries" such as Strachey, Roger Fry, Ottoline and others. The story is familiar and tragic but doesn't sidestep Woolfs mental breakdowns or periods of lucid and successful authorship. A nicely produced book with excellent but not intrusive photos. Woolfs interest in photography is noted as is her enthusiastic ownership of motor cars that gave her some freedom to visit and explore. Overall an enervating and fascinating look at a familiar story well told. Recommended both for its literary analysis and its clarity!

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid biography -- factual, readable, and without sensationalism.

[ND · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful, if not anything particularly new.