Virginia Woolf at Home

by Macaskill Hilary, Cecil Woolf (Foreword)

Virginia Woolf, an innovative writer whose experimental style and lyrical prose ensured her position as one of the most influential of modern novelists, was also firmly anchored in the reality of the houses she lived in and those she visited regularly. Detailed and evocative accounts appear in her letters and diaries, as well as in her fiction, where they appear as backdrops or provide direct inspiration. This book examines 22 Hyde Park Gate, London—where Virginia Woolf was born in 1882; Talland House, St. Ives, Cornwall—the summer home of Virginia’s family until 1895; 46 Gordon Square, Bloomsbury, London—the birthplace of the Bloomsbury Group—Virginia lived here from 1904 to 1912; Hogarth House, Richmond, London—where the newly married Woolfs set up home and founded the Hogarth Press; Asheham House, East Sussex—the summer home of the Woolfs, 1912-1919; 52 Tavistock Square, London—a return to Bloomsbury, the heart of London; and Monk’s House, Rodmell, East Sussex—where Virginia lived from 1919 until her death in 1941.

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2019

Reviews

[Eve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was really jealous of Virginia's childhood, spending the summers at an old beachfront house and running around the gardens and beaches, until I realised I kinda did the same thing. Then I moved on to being jealous of her ability to hop around Britain buying Edwardian villas with barely a second thought, and moving in and out of them every other month.
There were a few usages of the phrase "close friends" in the part about Virginia and Vita, which I was displeased to see. (They were lesbians, Hilary.)
Overall, I will now practice necromancy in an attempt to bring Virginia back and get her to decorate my room. Excellent taste.

[Jason Beer · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a devoted fan of Virginia Woolf's writing, I'd likely enjoy most any book about her. But I'm also fascinated with houses, with how and where and when people live. This book tracks the various houses that Virginia called "home" throughout her life, and how each shaped her as a daughter and sister, wife and friend, and person on her own accord. A beautiful look into the life of one of our great artists and writers and thinkers.

[Belinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This lovely book is a sort of biography with houses. The sense of place is far more important than the woman or her relationships, which it needs to be as loads of important facts are buried or skimmed over.

Virginia's first homes were her childhood home at 22 Hyde Park, and the beach home called Talland House in Cornwall (that's where the lighthouse first turned up, folks). We get some attractive photos of the houses and their gardens and vistas, plus some old snaps of V and her family. The holidays sound excellent, but overshadowing this childhood is sexual abuse, a tyrannical sort of father - so obviously a misogynistic narcissist who reminds me of the father in Little Dorrit - that it's a wonder any of them spoke to him once they reached the age where they could move out. But of course they couldn't move out if they were women, so I guess they absorbed his temper tantrums and humoured him. Luckily he died while they were young, but I can imagine Daddy and then the stepbrother's sexual abuse, set Virginia up for a lifetime where coping with stress was completely outside her remit.
Such a relief that Hilary didn't go near any of this. Possibly it was all too vulgar? I am giving her the benefit of the doubt and saying that she was focused on the homes of VW and not the psychology.

The next lot of houses were the Bloomsbury homes with the rush of joy that light, colour, art and liberation from Daddy must have given Virginia and Nessa. It's a shame the stepbrothers were still in the picture, but they were peripheral. The miasma of grief stayed with them, though, as they coped with the loss of Stella, their father, then Thoby. The war would also have taken other familiar faces including neighbouring sons. No wonder that VW had nervous breakdowns and refused to eat, which is a way of getting some control back. It all seems like freedom, but emotional baggage is a weighty burden.

Finally we get into the years with Leonard. Now the houses become workplaces - the printing presses, inks and clientele become part of their everyday lives. We find VW still has her massive frailties, but she has a stability and acceptance from LW that helps her cope. She also has work, which gives her pleasure. She has walking, dogs, friends, nephews and a niece, which also give her the sort of warmth that she enjoyed so much.

I find it interesting that Hilary mentions the way feminists turned on LW after Virginia died. She seems to give more time to this than to the underlying causes of V's mental health. I can imagine Leonard was very strict and controlling at times, but I wonder, how else could he have been? Hilary appears to believe there was no other way, as do I, but I do wonder at the fact that not only Leonard, but Nessa too, stopped VW from becoming a mother. It is obvious that the power dynamics were not all LW's. I wonder, if VW had been allowed just one child, if she'd have written as she did, but I also wonder if it would've given her a touchstone of sorts, the heart of the mountain, a veritable cornerstone, to balance her out when she was feeling trembly.

Anyway, we finally get to Monks House and it's a lovely home, although it sounds poorly designed. VW dies, Leonard meets Trekkie, apparently another sexless relationship (was LW asexual?), and the pretty homes, the constant moving, is over. Leonard lives on to garden and show marrows, apparently.

This is a terrific book, but it is a glimpse rather than a panorama. I wanted more so went on Google and had a good look at all the images of VW and her homes. I recommend that you do the same and also read something else, something that gives you more of Virginia.

[Harry West · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book assuming it would be a catalogue of all Virginia Woolf's houses, pictures of them and a bit of a description. But actually it was a biography of her life beginning to end, told through the different places she lived, with whom, and what she did or accomplished there.

It was such an immersive read, and finishing it I feel very attached to her and even to Leonard, having read along through their life and marriage right to the end.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Natalia López · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me lo compré en el Foyles de Westfield Stratford en Londres.

Es un libro con fotos de cada una de las casas donde ha vivido virginia woolf y, a su vez, explicando anécdotas y vivencias suyas