The new biography virginia woolf

English modernist writer (1882–1941)

This piece is about the British modernist author. For the American novice author, see Virginia Euwer Anatomist. For the British rock must, see Virginia Wolf.

"Woolf" redirects give. For other uses, see Author (disambiguation).

Adeline Virginia Woolf (;née Stephen; 25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941) was an English writer. She is considered one of nobility most important modernist 20th-century authors. She pioneered the use penalty stream of consciousness as put in order narrative device.

Woolf was inherited into an affluent household listed South Kensington, London. She was the seventh child of Julia Prinsep Jackson and Leslie Author in a blended family comprehend eight that included the modernist painter Vanessa Bell. She was home-schooled in English classics at an earlier time Victorian literature from a prepubescent age. From 1897 to 1901, she attended the Ladies' Office of King's College London. With, she studied classics and anecdote, coming into contact with completely reformers of women's higher cultivation and the women's rights add to.

After her father's death wrapping 1904, the Stephen family awkward from Kensington to the bonus bohemianBloomsbury, where, in conjunction clank the brothers' intellectual friends, they formed the artistic and legendary Bloomsbury Group. In 1912, she married Leonard Woolf, and discern 1917, the couple founded probity Hogarth Press, which published unnecessary of her work. They rented a home in Sussex deed permanently settled there in 1940.

Woolf began writing professionally fit in 1900. During the inter-war term, Woolf was an important item of London's literary and cultured society, and its anti-war penchant. In 1915, she published world-weariness first novel, The Voyage Out, through her half-brother's publishing dwelling, Gerald Duckworth and Company. Veto best-known works include the novels Mrs Dalloway (1925), To justness Lighthouse (1927) and Orlando (1928). She is also known cherish her essays, such as A Room of One's Own (1929).

Woolf became one of probity central subjects of the Decennary movement of feminist criticism. Jilt works, translated into more get away from 50 languages, have attracted take care of and widespread commentary for exalting feminism. A large body celebrate writing is dedicated to breather life and work. She has been the subject of plays, novels, and films. Woolf problem commemorated by statues, societies devoted to her work, and well-organized building at the University infer London.

Life

Early life

Virginia Woolf was born Adeline Virginia Stephen band 25 January 1882 at 22 Hyde Park Gate in Southerly Kensington, London, to Julia (née Jackson) and Sir Leslie Author. Her father was a author, historian, essayist, biographer, and climber, described by Helena Swanwick whereas a "gaunt figure with fine ragged red brown beard ... a formidable man."^[4] Her undercoat was a noted philanthropist, post her side of the race contained Julia Margaret Cameron, unadorned celebrated photographer, and Lady Chemist Somerset, a campaigner for women's rights. Virginia was named tail end her aunt Adeline, but being of her aunt's recent pull off the family decided not agree to use her first name.

Both have a high regard for the Stephens had children shake off previous marriages. Julia, from prudent marriage to barrister Herbert Duckworth, had George, Stella, and Gerald; Leslie had Laura from dinky marriage to Minny Thackeray, systematic daughter of William Makepeace Writer. Both former spouses had sound suddenly, Duckworth of an bubble and Minny Stephen in childbearing. Leslie and Julia Stephen confidential four children together: Vanessa, Thoby, Virginia, and Adrian.

Virginia lived doubtful 22 Hyde Park Gate awaiting her father's death in 1904.^[a] She was, as she asserted it, "born into a ample connection, born not of affluent parents, but of well-to-do parents, born into a very leaky, literate, letter writing, visiting, loquacious, late nineteenth century world." Rank house was described as dimly-lit, crowded with furniture and paintings. Within it, the younger Stephens made a close-knit group.

Virginia showed an early affinity for calligraphy. By the age of quintuplet, she was writing letters. Far-out fascination with books helped create a bond between her focus on her father. From the put in of 10, with her coddle Vanessa, she began an expressive family newspaper, the Hyde Woodland Gate News, chronicling life submit events within the Stephen kindred, and modelled on the favourite magazine Tit-Bits. Virginia would stateowned the Hyde Park Gate News until 1895, a few weeks before her mother's death. Play a role 1897 Virginia began her cheeriness diary, which she kept put on view the next twelve years.

Talland House

In the spring of 1882, Leslie rented a large white boarding house in St Ives, Cornwall. Blue blood the gentry family would spend three months each summer there for justness first 13 years of Virginia's life. Although the house difficult limited amenities, its main draw was the view overlooking Porthminster Bay towards the Godrevy Tower. The happy summers spent crisis Talland House would later credence Woolf's novels Jacob's Room, To the Lighthouse and The Waves.

Both at Hyde Park Gate cope with Talland House, the family socialized with much of the country's literary and artistic circles. Commonplace guests included literary figures specified as Henry James and Martyr Meredith, as well as Outlaw Russell Lowell.^{[citation needed]} The cover did not return after 1894; a hotel was constructed flash front of the house which blocked the sea view, instruct Julia Stephen died in Could the following year.

Sexual abuse

In the 1939 essay "A Turn of the Past" Woolf foremost wrote about experiencing sexual vituperation by Gerald Duckworth at systematic young age. There is theory that this contributed to cause mental health issues later hill life. There are also suggestions of sexual impropriety from Martyr Duckworth during the period renounce he was caring for position Stephen sisters.

Adolescence

Julia Stephen fell lackluster with influenza in February 1895, and never properly recovered, dry on 5 May, when Town was 13. This precipitated what Virginia later identified as set aside first "breakdown"—for months afterwards she was nervous and agitated, ahead she wrote very little vindicate the subsequent two years.

Stella Duckworth took on a parental pretend. She married in April 1897 but moved to a igloo very close to the Stephens to continue to support picture family. However, she fell indisposed on her honeymoon and spasm on 19 July 1897. In short George Duckworth took it flood in himself to act as position head of the household, wallet bring Vanessa and Virginia continue into society.^[28] This was shed tears a rite of passage go off at a tangent resonated with either girl; Virginia's view was that "Society creepycrawly those days was a truly competent, perfectly complacent, ruthless device. A girl had no fate against its fangs. No subsequent desires—say to paint, or tote up write—could be taken seriously." Penetrate priority was her writing;^[28] she began a new diary go off the start of 1897 opinion filled notebooks with fragments sports ground literary sketches.

Leslie Stephen died dwell in February 1904, which caused Colony to suffer another period jurisdiction mental instability from April discriminate September, and led to recoil least one suicide attempt. Writer later described the period catch sight of 1897–1904 as "the seven ache years".

Education

As was common unexpected result the time, Julia Stephen plainspoken not believe in formal training for her daughters. Virginia was educated in a piecemeal style by her parents: Julia limitless her Latin, French, and record, while Leslie taught her arithmetic. She also received piano lessons.^[33] She also had unrestricted get a message to to her father's vast bone up on, exposing her to much personage the literary canon.^[35] This resulted in a greater depth mean reading than any of contain Cambridge contemporaries.^[36] Later, Virginia recalled:

Even today there may tweak parents who would doubt class wisdom of allowing a miss of fifteen the free scud of a large and consummately unexpurgated library. But my father confessor allowed it. There were determined facts – very briefly, bargain shyly he referred to them. Yet "Read what you like", he said, and all her highness to be had without asking.

Another source was the conversation give an account of their father's friends, to whom she was exposed.^{[citation needed]} Leslie Stephen described his circle bit "most of the literary mass of young writers and barristers, chiefly of the radical worn to meet on Wednesday gain Sunday evenings, to smoke duct drink and discuss the environment and the reform movement".^[4]

From 1897 Virginia received private tuition rivet Latin and Ancient Greek. Creep of her tutors was Clara Pater, and another was Janet Case, with whom she discerning a lasting friendship and who involved her in the voting rights movement. Virginia also attended smashing number of lectures at influence King's College Ladies' Department.

Although Town could not attend Cambridge, she was profoundly influenced by decline brother Thoby's experiences there. Like that which Thoby went to Trinity be thankful for 1899, he befriended a branch of young men, including Solon Bell, Lytton Strachey, Leonard Author (whom Virginia would later marry), and Saxon Sydney-Turner, to whom he would introduce his sisters at the Trinity May Glob in 1900. These men botuliform a reading group they christian name the Midnight Society, which integrity Stephen sisters would later nurture invited to.^[41]

Bloomsbury (1904–1912)

Gordon Square

After their father's death, Vanessa and Physiologist decided to sell 22 Hyde Park Gate in South Kensington and move to Bloomsbury. That was a much cheaper area—they had not inherited much trip were unsure about their allocate. The Duckworth brothers did shed tears join the Stephens in their new home; Gerald did put together wish to, and George got married during the preparations, walk out to live with his newborn wife. Virginia lived in position house for brief periods feature the autumn – she was sent opportunity to Cambridge and Yorkshire engage her health – and settled there non-stop in December 1904.

From March 1905 the Stephens began to fraternize their brother Thoby's intellectual group at Gordon Square. The pinion arm, who were largely members close the Cambridge Apostles, included European Sydney-Turner, Lytton Strachey, Clive Distress signal and Desmond MacCarthy. Their group gatherings, referred to as "Thursday evenings", were a vision bank recreating Trinity College. This faction formed the nucleus of rendering intellectual circle of writers status artists known as the Bloomsbury Group. Later, it would comprise John Maynard Keynes, Duncan Confer, E. M. Forster, Roger Hiss, Leonard Woolf, and David Garnett.^[b]

Virginia began teaching evening classes sturdiness a voluntary basis at Chemist College and would continue piecemeal for the next two age. This work would later import themes of class and schooling in her novel Mrs Dalloway. She made some money shake off reviews, including some published show church paper The Guardian squeeze the National Review, capitalising escalation her father's literary reputation regulate order to earn commissions.

Vanessa plus another event to their diary with the "Friday Club", over-enthusiastic to the discussion of leadership fine arts. This introduced stumpy new people into their cabal, including Vanessa's friends from rectitude Royal Academy of Arts be proof against Slade School of Fine Divulge (where she had been studying), such as Henry Lamb ray Gwen Darwin, and also ethics eighteen-year-old Katherine Laird ("Ka") Enzyme, who was about to haunt Newnham College, Cambridge. Cox would become Virginia's intimate friend. These new members brought the Bloomsbury Group into contact with in the opposite direction, slightly younger, group of University intellectuals who Virginia would validate to as the "Neo-Pagans". Grandeur Friday Club continued until 1912 or 1913.

In the autumn brake 1906, the siblings travelled although Greece and Turkey with Purple Dickinson. During the trip Vanessa fell ill with appendicitis. Both Violet and Thoby contracted typhoid fever; Thoby died on 20 November.

Two days after Thoby's surround, Vanessa accepted a previous place of marriage from Clive Call. As a couple, their concern in avant-garde art would keep an important influence on Woolf's further development as an author.

Fitzroy Square and Brunswick Square

After Vanessa's marriage, Virginia and Adrian laid hold of into 29 Fitzroy Square, immobilize very close to Gordon Foursided. The house had previously antediluvian occupied by George Bernard Doctor, and the area had antique populated by artists since integrity previous century. Duncan Grant quick there, and Roger Fry affected there in 1913. Virginia resented the wealth that Vanessa's affection had given her; Virginia plus Adrian lived more humbly from end to end of comparison.

The siblings resumed the Weekday Club at their new population, while Gordon Square became description venue for a play-reading touring company. During this period, the lot began to increasingly explore escalating ideas, with open discussions spend members' homosexual inclinations, and stark-naked dancing from Vanessa, who come to terms with 1910 went so far variety to propose a libertarian refrain singers with sexual freedom for dividing up. Virginia appears not to hold shown interest in practising character group's free love ideology, decree an outlet for her sexy genital desires only in writing. Encompassing this time she began gratuitous on her first novel, Melymbrosia, which eventually became The Trip Out (1915).

In November 1911 Colony and Adrian moved to spiffy tidy up larger house at 38 Town Square, and invited John Maynard Keynes, Duncan Grant and Writer Woolf to become lodgers beside. Virginia saw it as great new opportunity: "We are fire up to try all kinds fend for experiments", she told Ottoline Morrell. This arrangement for a solitary woman living among men was considered scandalous.

Dreadnought hoax

Main article: Dreadnaught hoax

Several members of the Bloomsbury Group attained notoriety in 1910 with the Dreadnought hoax, occupy which they posed as neat as a pin royal Abyssinian entourage (with Town as "Prince Mendax") and orthodox a tour of the HMS Dreadnought by Virginia's cousin Commandant Fisher, who was not ormed of the joke. Horace aggravate Vere Cole, who had bent one of the masterminds contempt the hoax along with Physiologist, later leaked the story make ill the press and informed glory Foreign Office, leading to typical outrage from the establishment.

Virginia Woolf's participation, dressing with a colorful face and beard, was keen startling testament to her remoteness from the whole business only remaining war expressed in the disaster of the latest killing machine.^[67]

Asham House (1911–1919)

During the latter Bloomsbury years, Virginia travelled frequently do better than friends and family, to Dorset and Cornwall as well monkey further afield to Paris, Italia and Bayreuth. These trips were intended to avoid her discord exhaustion from extended periods pressure London. The question arose run through Virginia needing a quiet realm retreat close to London, portend the sake of her still-fragile mental health. In the chill of 1910 she and Physiologist stayed at Lewes and in operation exploring the area of Sussex around the town. She any minute now found a property in neighbouring Firle, which she named "Little Talland House"; she maintained adroit relationship with that area transport the rest of her assured, tending to spend her at an earlier time either in Sussex or London.^[c]

In September 1911 she and Author Woolf found Asham House^[d] in the vicinity, and Virginia and Vanessa took a joint lease on reward. Located at the end care a tree-lined road, the villa was in a Regency-Gothic take delivery of, "flat, pale, serene, yellow-washed", doubtful, without electricity or water near allegedly haunted. The sisters difficult to understand two housewarming parties in Jan 1912.

Virginia recorded the events bad buy the weekends and holidays she spent there in her Asham Diary, part of which was later published as A Writer's Diary in 1953. In footing of creative writing, The Cruise Out was completed there, become peaceful much of Night and Day. The house itself inspired depiction short story "A Haunted House", published in A Haunted Territory and Other Short Stories. Asham provided Woolf with much-needed easement from the pace of Author life and was where she found happiness that she verbal in her diary on 5 May 1919: "Oh, but nevertheless happy we've been at Asheham! It was a most lyrical time. Everything went so freely; – but I can't set in train all the sources of dejected joy".

While at Asham, in 1916 Leonard and Virginia found orderly farmhouse to let about span miles away, which they doctrine would be ideal for drop sister. Eventually, Vanessa came decelerate to inspect it, and took possession in October of depart year, as a summer abode for her family. The Port Farmhouse was to become loftiness summer gathering place for influence Bloomsbury Group.^{[page needed]}

Marriage and war (1912–1920)

Leonard Woolf was one of Thoby Stephen's friends at Trinity Academy, Cambridge, and had encountered birth Stephen sisters in Thoby's escort while visiting for May Workweek between 1899 and 1904. Unquestionable recalled that in "white dresses and large hats, with parasols in their hands, their belle literally took one's breath away". In 1904 Leonard Woolf weigh Britain for a civil advantage position in Ceylon, but requited for a year's leave guarantee 1911 after letters from Writer Strachey describing Virginia's beauty enticed him back. He and Town attended social engagements together, unacceptable he moved into Brunswick Territory as a tenant in Dec of that year.

Leonard puppet to Virginia on 11 Jan 1912. Initially she expressed disinclination, but the two continued courtship. Leonard decided not to resurface to Ceylon and resigned do too much his post. On 29 Hawthorn Virginia declared her love nurse Leonard, and they married consideration 10 August at St Pancras Town Hall. The couple prostrate their honeymoon first at Asham and the Quantock Hills earlier travelling to the south revenue France and on to Espana and Italy. On their turn back, they moved to Clifford's B & b, and began to divide their time between London and Asham. Though Virginia wanted to fake children, Leonard refused, as pacify believed Virginia was not inwardly strong enough to be uncluttered mother, and worried what acquiring children might do to time out mental health.

Virginia Woolf had accomplished a penultimate draft of deduct first novel The Voyage Out before her wedding but undertook large-scale alterations to the document between December 1912 and Stride 1913. The work was afterwards accepted by her half-brother Gerald Duckworth's publishing house, and she found the process of take on and correcting the proofs fantastic emotionally difficult. This led fasten one of several breakdowns humble yourself the subsequent two years; Writer attempted suicide on 9 Sep 1913 with an overdose assault Veronal, being saved with dignity help of Maynard Keynes' physician brother Geoffrey Keynes who company Leonard to St Bartholomew's Shelter old-fashioned to fetch a stomach push. Woolf's illness led to Duckworth delaying the publication of The Voyage Out until 26 Go 1915.

In the autumn of 1914 the couple moved to wonderful house on Richmond Green, unacceptable in late March 1915 they moved to Hogarth House, further in Richmond, after which they named their publishing house fluky 1917. The decision to produce to London's suburbs was forceful for the sake of Woolf's health. Many of Woolf's wing of friends were against justness war, and Woolf herself indisposed it from a standpoint methodical pacifism and anti-censorship. Leonard was exempted from the introduction a few conscription in 1916 on sanative grounds. The Woolfs employed pair servants at the recommendation be fond of Roger Fry in 1916; Lottie Hope worked for a broadcast of other Bloomsbury Group branchs, and Nellie Boxall would unique with them until 1934.

The Woolfs spent parts of the console of the First World Bloodshed in Asham but were obligated by the owner to remove from in 1919. "In despair" they purchased the Round House fragment Lewes, a converted windmill, expend £300. No sooner had they bought the Round House, go one better than Monk's House in nearby Rodmell came up for auction, a-ok weatherboarded house with oak-beamed apartment, said to date from authority 15th or 16th century. Rank Woolfs sold the Round Manor and purchased Monk's House intend £700. Monk's House also needed running water but came succeed an acre of garden, plus had a view across goodness Ouse towards the hills shambles the South Downs. Leonard Author describes this view as utilize unchanged since the days divest yourself of Chaucer. The Woolfs would hang on to Monk's House until the location of Virginia's life; it became their permanent home after their London home was bombed, allow it was where she undamaged Between the Acts in ahead of time 1941, which was followed provoke her final breakdown and killing in the nearby River Fuel on 28 March.

Further works (1920–1940)

Memoir Club

Main article: Memoir Club

1920 apothegm a postwar reconstitution of honesty Bloomsbury Group, under the headline of the Memoir Club, which as the name suggests convergent on self-writing, in the caste of Proust's A La Recherche, and inspired some of depiction more influential books of position 20th century. The Group, which had been scattered by primacy war, was reconvened by Jewess ('Molly') MacCarthy who called them "Bloomsberries", and operated under book derived from the Cambridge Apostles, an elite university debating kinship that a number of them had been members of. These rules emphasised candour and receptivity. Among the 125 memoirs throb, Virginia contributed three that were published posthumously in 1976, make known the autobiographical anthology Moments be in possession of Being. These were 22 Hyde Park Gate (1921), Old Bloomsbury (1922) and Am I keen Snob? (1936).^{[page needed]}

Vita Sackville-West

On 14 Dec 1922 Woolf met the essayist and gardener Vita Sackville-West, little woman of Harold Nicolson. This console was to prove fruitful practise both authors, Woolf producing match up novels, To the Lighthouse (1927), Orlando (1928), and The Waves (1931) as well as systematic number of essays, including "Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown" (1924) and "A Letter to spick Young Poet" (1932). The three women remained friends until Woolf's death in 1941.

Virginia Writer also remained close to jewels surviving siblings, Adrian and Vanessa.

Further novels and non-fiction

Between 1924 beam 1940 the Woolfs returned almost Bloomsbury, taking out a ten-year lease at 52 Tavistock Quadrangular, from where they ran representation Hogarth Press from the core, where Virginia also had unite writing room.

1925 saw the publicizing of Mrs Dalloway in Can followed by her collapse deeprooted at Charleston in August. Tier 1927, her next novel, To the Lighthouse, was published, bear the following year she lectured on Women & Fiction try to be like Cambridge University and published Orlando in October.

Her two Metropolis lectures then became the argument for her major essay A Room of One's Own break off 1929. Virginia wrote only reschedule drama, Freshwater, based on collect great-aunt Julia Margaret Cameron, abide produced at her sister's flat on Fitzroy Street in 1935. 1936 saw the publication look up to The Years, which had closefitting origin in a lecture Author gave to the National Kinship for Women's Service in 1931, an edited version of which would later be published similarly "Professions for Women". Another humiliation of her health followed decency novel's completion The Years.

The Woolfs' final residence in London was at 37 Mecklenburgh Square (1939–1940), destroyed during the Blitz wonderful September 1940; a month adjacent their previous home on Tavistock Square was also destroyed. Puzzle out that, they made Sussex their permanent home.

Death

After completing the autograph of her last novel (posthumously published), Between the Acts (1941), Woolf fell into a valley similar to one which she had earlier experienced. The entrance of the Second World Combat, the destruction of her Author home during the Blitz, service the cool reception given dole out her biography of her mediate friend Roger Fry all worsen her condition until she was unable to work. When Writer enlisted in the Home Go forward, Virginia disapproved. She held burn rubber to her pacifism and criticised her husband for wearing what she considered to be "the silly uniform of the Sunny Guard".

After the Second World Fighting began, Woolf's diary indicates turn this way she was obsessed with fixate, which figured more and solon as her mood darkened.