Congenial Spirits: The Selected Letters of Virginia Woolf

by Virginia Woolf, Joanne Trautmann Banks (Editor)

Overview

Virginia Woolf was an inventive, witty correspondent, whether commenting on a domestic crisis, politics, or the roving of the writer's mind. Edited and with an Introduction by Joanne Trautmann Banks; Index.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780156220309
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/31/1991
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	496
Sales rank:	603,873
Product dimensions:	5.62(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

VIRGINIA WOOLF (1882–1941) was one of the major literary figures of the twentieth century. An admired literary critic, she authored many essays, letters, journals, and short stories in addition to her groundbreaking novels, including Mrs. Dalloway, To The Lighthouse, and Orlando.

Date of Birth:

January 25, 1882

Date of Death:

March 28, 1941

Place of Birth:

London

Place of Death:

Sussex, England

Education:

Home schooling

Editorial Reviews

This selection from the six volumes of Woolf's letters follows her from earliest childhood through the suicide note she left Leonard in March 1941. Woolf is usually relaxed and high-spirited in her sprightly, inventive, entertaining letters. She seems to be performing, and the performances vary from correspondent to correspondent. Twelve of the letters are new, four public letters to magazine editors are included for the first time, and ``among the new materials must be counted restoration of excerpts omitted from the complete edition for fear of hurting people.'' An engaging portrait of Woolf emerges from the letters (though one wonders how many engaging portraits of Woolf the world requires). Unfortunately, the editor has made cuts in most of the letters, a curious and aggravating policy.-- Keith Cushman, Univ. of North Carolina, Greensboro

Library Journal