Virginia Woolf - A Portrait

Virginia Woolf: A Portrait blends recently unearthed documents, key primary sources, and personal interviews with Woolf's relatives and other acquaintances to render in unmatched detail the author's complicated relationship with her husband, Leonard; her father, Leslie Stephen; and her half-sister, Vanessa Bell. Forrester connects these figures to Woolf's mental breakdown while introducing the concept of "Virginia seule," or Virginia alone: an uncommon paragon of female strength and conviction. Forrester's biography inhabits her characters and vivifies their perspective, weaving a colorful, intense drama that forces readers to rethink their understanding of Woolf, her writing, and her world.

List of contents

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Abbreviations
Notes
Works Cited
Index

About the author

Viviane Forrester (1925-2013) was a writer, essayist, novelist, and literary critic. She worked for Le Monde, Le Nouvel Observateur, and Quinzaine littéraire and was a member of the jury of the Prix Femina. She translated Virginia Woolf's essay "Three Guineas" and is the author of The Economic Horror, Van Gogh ou l'Enterrement dans les blés, and Une etrange dictature.

Jody Gladding is a poet who has translated some thirty works from French.

Summary

Winner of the prestigious Prix Goncourt award for biography, this remarkable portrait sheds new light on Virginia Woolf’s relationships with her family and friends and how they shaped her work. Forrester weaves a colorful, intense drama that forces readers to rethink their understanding of Woolf, her writing, and her world.

Additional text

A thought-provoking portrait of the artist that strives to capture her fiercely strong life force pitted against impossible - if not improbable - odds.

Product details

• Authors: Viviane Forrester, Forrester Viviane, Carl Woodring, Carl Forrester Woodring
• Assisted by: Jody Gladding (Translation)
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.12.2017
• EAN: 9780231153577
• ISBN: 978-0-231-15357-7
• No. of pages: 256
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > English linguistics / literary studies; Non-fiction book > Art, literature > Biographies, autobiographies; BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Literary Figures, Biography: literary, English, LITERARY CRITICISM / Modern / 20th Century, Literary studies: from c 1900 -, Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers, Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers, Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000, Biography: writers, LITERARY CRITICISM / Novel as Form