I’ve read a fair few biographies of (and books about) Virginia Woolf, but somehow I always keep going back for more. I’ve also met Alexandra Harris once or twice over the years, so it was sort of inevitable that one day I’d read Virginia Woolf (2011) by Alexandra Harris, published in a rather lovely hardback, and which I found in Brighton a year or two ago.
Considering how many long books have been written about Woolf, I wasn’t sure how Harris would get her complex and significant life into 170 pages. But what a staggering achievement Virginia Woolf is – this isn’t just the essentials (though it includes that); somehow, miraculously, Harris has still accompanied those with insights into the literature and a wonderful freshness to the whole thing. It steers between the Hermione Lee school of biography (every footstep requires three footnotes) and the ‘She must have felt…’ school of biography – into something approachable, concise, and extremely thoughtful.
Having read it today, I’m still not sure how Harris managed to get so much into so few pages. There are certainly books that get more treatment than others – Orlando gets a lot; A Room of One’s Own is rushed past – but nothing felt completely overlooked. There’s even a chapter on the afterlifes of Woolf, and how the publishing of her letters and diaries, and various biographies about her, have helped shape her reputation. Virginia Woolf is a brilliant starting point for anybody interested in her life and work – but, what is more, it’s also a vital and beautiful book for even the dyed-in-the-Woolf reader, however much they’ve already read about her.
I enjoy Woolf’s works and I have heard her biography, letters and diary entries are even more thought provoking. Glad you enjoyed the book.
Very interested to read your response to this one, Simon, because I probably wouldn’t have picked it up. I read Harris’s Romantic Moderns pre-blog and I was a bit indifferent towards it. It lacked focus and often point, I felt, but as this is short and more concise it may well be that it works better. I shall definitely keep an eye out!
How interesting, I would have seen the size and thought no. And you’re NEARLY DONE! I’ve been Lagging Behind due to work and being v busy over the weekend, and here you are nearly done! Well done, you!
This is my favourite book a:-)bout Virginia Woolf. I heard Alexandra Harris speak about it some years ago at the Edingburgh Book Festival when she said she wanted to show people that Virginia wasn’t miserable and intense all the time but could be likeable and happy. I think she succeeds with this biography.
Ooooh this one sounds great – I actually haven’t read a biography of Virginia Woolf, ever (I’m not sure how that’s happened? I feel like I know her and her life so well!), so this will be the perfect one to start with. Thanks for the rec! (And I’m so excited to see your countdown getting so close to 25, you are *killing it*! Well done!)