Virginia Woolf in Richmond
240
Virginia Woolf in Richmond
240Paperback
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Overview
“I ought to be grateful to Richmond & Hogarth, and indeed, whether it’s my invincible optimism or not, I am grateful.” − Virginia Woolf
Although more commonly associated with Bloomsbury, Virginia and her husband Leonard Woolf lived in Richmond-upon-Thames for ten years from the time of the First World War (1914-1924). Refuting the common misconception that she disliked the town, this book explores her daily habits as well as her intimate thoughts while living at the pretty house she came to love – Hogarth House.
Drawing on information from her many letters and diaries, as well as Leonard’s autobiography, the editor reveals how Richmond’s relaxed way of life came to influence the writer, from her experimentation as a novelist to her work with her husband and the Hogarth Press, from her relationships with her servants to her many famous visitors.
Richmond was the place that Leonard and Virginia set up a hand printing press on their dining room table and in 1917, they began their self-publishing venture known as The Hogarth Press. They printed the first edition of TS Eliot's 'The Wasteland' there and went on to publish EM Forster, Katharine Mansfield and many others. Virginia worked with Leonard in the publishing business until 1930.
Also while in Richmond, Virginia had her first novel published: 'The Voyage Out' and she wrote many essays and short stories there such as 'Monday and Tuesday', 'Kew Gardens' and 'The Common Reader'. She also published her second novel, 'Night and Day' in 1919 then 'Jacob's Room' in 1922 during her time in the town. She wrote much of 'Mrs Dalloway' while living in Richmond, affected by the sight of the many war wounded who were convalescing in the town.
One of the reasons that may have led to the couple's decision to settle in Richmond was the proximity of the private nursing home, Burley House, in Twickenham. Virginia spent three short periods taking a 'rest cure' in 1910, 1912, and 1913, there.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781912430802 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AURORA METRO PR |
| Publication date: | 10/18/2022 |
| Pages: | 240 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.00(w) x 7.70(h) x (d) |
About the Author
During his teaching career he was head of department at a private college in West London.
He has written articles and reviews for the magazines English Teaching Professional and Huffington Post and his first short story was published this year in Tempest, an anthology. He has written several English language examination books and continues to work in this field.
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Virginia's Richmond
London is incredibly beautiful – not with the soft suburban beauty of Richmond.
– Letter to Katherine Arnold-Foster, 12 April 1924
After Virginia's mental collapse in 1913, in which she took an overdose of veronal, Leonard had to decide whether to have his wife certified as insane and admitted to an asylum. To avoid this, doctors agreed that if Virginia could be cared for by her husband and nurses, then she need not be certified. The couple's rooms at 13 Clifford's Inn were not suitable for this, soGeorge Duckworth, who was Virginia's half-brother, allowed the couple to stay at his house in Sussex. After a short period of time, it was agreed that Virginia could be moved, and thus, they went to live atAsheham House, the Woolfs' country home near Rodmell, in East Sussex and stayed there until 1914. While staying there, Virginia seemed to recover slightly and was taken on a couple of short holidays to places such as Cornwall, Northumberland and Somerset. Considered successful, the couple decided to look for a home closer to London; close enough for Leonard's political activity, but far enough away to reduce the opportunity for impromptu social visits.
Virginia and Leonard Woolf moved to Richmond in southwest London in mid-October 1914, after several weeks of house-hunting. While renting rooms at 17 The Green, Richmond, they sent for their furniture and belongings which had been in storage since moving out of 13 Clifford's Inn, where they had been living from 1912 for a year. The rooms they let were overlooking a large park and near to the station, the shops, Richmond Theatre and the library. It seemed to be a good base for the couple to look for a permanent home. Leonard described Mrs le Grys, their Belgian landlady, as an 'extremely nice, plump, excitable flibberti-gibbet, about 35 to 40 years old'. Virginia echoes this impression of their landlady:
'... my conviction that Mrs le Grys is the best tempered woman in England, and if she gets her 20 roomed house at Southampton, will make it a gigantic success.'
Mrs le Grys was aided in the house by her servant, Lizzy, who, according to Leonard, was not entirely an asset to the household; Virginia notes an incident on January 11th 1915, in which a fire breaks out in one of the rented rooms where Lizzy had been attempting to light the fire, but instead had set light to curtains spreading to a Japanese screen. Lizzy is further admonished by Virginia when she complains that Lizzy had '... smashed two very nice bits of china for us.' Lizzy's unfortunate clumsiness continues just a few days later on January 14th when Virginia reports another 'mere' fire in the kitchen. Virginia's sense of humour in regard to the situation is evident later in the diary entry when she writes that they, '... must give [Lizzy] something cheap to break her rage against.'
Virginia had restarted her diary at the beginning of the year, and goes into detail about everyday life at The Green. She describes sitting down to breakfast with Mrs le Grys, who complains about the refugees from the war living in her house and their eating habits. She also records the couple's writing habits, with Leonard writing reviews and Virginia continuing work on '... poor Effie's story', which is unidentified and has since disappeared. During this writing period at The Green, Virginia reflected upon her craft in a diary entry on January 6th 1915:
'I wrote all the morning with infinite pleasure, which is queer, because I know all the time that there is no reason to be pleased with what I write, and that in 6 weeks or even days, I shall hate it.'
It might be that she was working on the revisions of The Voyage Out, which she had begun in 1910, but was still working on the manuscript; it wasn't published until March 1915. However, in her diary she mentions The Third Generation, which might have been a new work or connected to Effie's story, but this has been lost or was never finished. Even with the difficulty with The Voyage Out, Virginia writes:
'I thought how happy I was, without any of the excitements which, once, seemed to me to constitute happiness.'
Diaries, 16 January 1915
It is entirely possible that Virginia is referring to the 'excitements' of central London, with the distractions of the area. It is interesting to note that in the same diary entry she writes; 'My writing now delights me solely because I love writing.' It was clear that the contrast of Richmond to central London was beginning to have a positive effect.
While looking for a home in Richmond, the Woolfs discovered Hogarth House on Paradise Road nearby, and immediately were taken with the property. However, there were difficulties and delays with the lease and so they continued to search for a permanent home. In the following extracts, Virginia expresses her deep desire at acquiring Hogarth House and the excitement she feels upon finally getting the lease; the quote from her letter to Margaret Llewelyn Davies is a perfect example of how Virginia felt about the house:
'We walked to Hogarth this afternoon, to see if the noise of school-children is really a drawback. Apparently, it would only affect Suffield. Well – I wonder what we shall do. I'd give a lot to turn over 30 pages or so, and find written down what happens to us.'
Diaries, 15 January 1915
It seems that Virginia was excited about the possibility of moving into Hogarth House, so much so that she longs to look into the future to see what happens. Ten days later, at tea with Leonard, some decisions are made:
'At tea we decided three things: in the first place to take Hogarth, if we can get it; in the second, to buy a Printing press; in the third to buy a Bull dog, probably called John. I am very much excited at the idea of all three.'
Diaries, 25 January 1915
It appears that the 'tea meeting' decisions mostly came true, with the exception of a bulldog called John. In addition to the charms of Hogarth House, Virginia also seemed to enjoy the environment in Richmond, calling it '...the first of the suburbs by a long way, because it is not an offshoot of London, any more than Oxford or Marlborough is.' Virginia often described her pleasure at searching for houses, butHogarth House seemed to be superior to the rest:
'I have a nose for a house, and that was a perfect house, if ever there was one.'
Diaries, 30 January 1915
Already living in Richmond, at 17 The Green, Virginia and Leonard could walk around the town and return via Paradise Road to look at Hogarth House, surely dreaming of the time they could call it their own:
'... we walked after lunch in the Park, and came home by way of Hogarth, and tried to say that we shan't be much disappointed if we don't get it.'
Diaries, 31 January 1915
Just a day later, their Belgian landlady, Mrs le Grys, told Virginia about another house available on The Green, but it did not have the charms as Hogarth House. Although the signing of the lease was still a couple of weeks in the future, Virginia was certain what that future would hold:
'In fact, it seems quite likely at this moment that we shall get Hogarth. I wish it were tomorrow. I am certain it is the best house to take.'
Diaries, 1 February 1915
Even before the lease was signed, Virginia was writing about 'their' house to her friends:
'I do hope you'll come and see us often in our house – Hogarth House – It's far the nicest house in England.'
Letter to Margaret Llewelyn Davies, 22 February 1915
The lure of the house didn't leave them, and in late February or early March 1915, Leonard acquired the lease for Hogarth, but suddenly, Virginia's health deteriorated rapidly, and Leonard was forced to acquire nurses to look after her. In Beginning Again, Leonard describes his desire not to allow Mrs le Grys' house to be turned into a mental hospital, and therefore he arranged for Hogarth House to be prepared immediately for the couple to move into, along with four nurses. Leonard describes the first few weeks in Hogarth House as terrifying, and after some time, Virginia deteriorated so badly that she fell into a coma. Thankfully, by the end of 1915, Virginia had recovered well enough to do without nurses.
In Downhill All the Way, Leonard goes into much detail about the origins of Hogarth House; stating that it was thought to have been originally built in 1720 for Lord Suffield and was converted into two properties in the nineteenth century. However, he goes on to expose this claim as false, by stating that the barony of Suffield was not created until much later in the 1700s, therefore meaning that the information on the house was false, and thus, the origin of the house was still unknown. The manner in which he describes the house is one of admiration, commenting on the grandeur of the rooms, and it is clear that he enjoyed living there. However, towards the end of 1919, the couple were given some bad news from their landlady at Hogarth House:
'Mrs Brewer has told us that she means to sell Hogarth and Suffield, and we are considering buying them both – together with a greater number than usual of diners, letters, telephone calls, books to review, reviews of my book, invitations to parties and so forth.'
Diaries, 28 November 1919
This presented an opportunity to buy the property. They bought both the adjoining house Suffield House and Hogarth House for between £1950 and £2000, according to different sources:
'We've gone and bought Hogarth and the house next door.'
Letter to Katherine Arnold-Foster, 1 January 1920 Hogarth House remained their home until they moved to Tavistock Square in March 1924. By June 1923, Virginia had become a well-known writer, with many invitations to give talks and attend gatherings. She confided to her diary that the couple must move into central London, but that Leonard had yet to be convinced. He was most likely worried that the stress both of the move and the added demands on her time would be harmful to her health.
At this point in her literary career, Virginia was writing Mrs Dalloway, originally entitled The Hours, where one of the themes is the passing of time. The plot encompasses one day, and through this day, the characters notice the loss of time, often by the striking of Big Ben. With this ingenious plot device, it is possible that Woolf is emphasizing the importance of small decisions that might affect one's life, endlessly marching towards its end.
In her diary, Virginia expresses horror at the impending move, but closes with 'Still this is life – never to be sitting down for longer than one feels inclined.' For Virginia, it was clear that she missed the excitement of central London, but for Leonard, it was an entirely different matter; '... the house would have been much too large for us and we had decided that it was time to move back into London.' After buying bothHogarth and Suffield, the couple had toyed with the idea of reuniting the two halves of the building to make it a large home to live in for the rest of their lives. It appeared that Richmond had done its job for Virginia: it had helped her regain her health. Leonard describes the years at Hogarth as:
'... crucial for the stabilizing of her mind and health and for her work ... I am sure that this tranquil atmosphere helped to tranquilize her mind.'
Downhill All the Way:
Virginia was well aware that the change of living arrangements would be a momentous one. She appeared to be thankful that the couple had no children to think about, but still classified her 'family' as including her two servants:
'It's odd how entirely this house question absorbs one. It is a radical change, though. It means a revision of 4 lives ... We have no children to consider. My health is as good as it will be in this world, and a great deal better than it ever has been.'
The next few months were concerned with finding a new home in central London, and Virginia records several visits to view numerous houses. On January 9th 1924, Virginia writes in her diary that they had secured a ten-year lease on 52Tavistock Square. It is at this moment that readers of Virginia's diary fully realise how connected she felt with Richmond, even though she was leaving it behind:
'So I ought to be grateful to Richmond and Hogarth, and indeed, whether it's my invincible optimism or not, I am grateful. Nothing could have suited better all through those years when I was creeping about, like a rat struck on the head, and the aeroplanes were over London at night, and the streets dark, and no penny buns in the window. Moreover, nowhere else could we have started theHogarth Press, whose very awkward beginning had rise in this very room, on this very green carpet. Here that strange offspring grew and throve; it ousted us from the dining room, which is now a dusty coffin; and crept all over the house.
And people have been here, thousands of them it seems to me. I've sat over this fire many an evening talking, and save for one fit of the glooms last summer, have never complained of Richmond, till I shed it, like a loose skin.
I've had some very curious visions in this room too, lying in bed, mad, and seeing the sunlight quivering like gold water, on the wall. I've heard the voices of the dead here. And felt, through it all, exquisitely happy.'
Diaries, 9 January 1924
In this extremely important and expressive diary entry, Virginia pays tribute to Hogarth House and the area of Richmond. It is possible that the couple could not have founded the Hogarth Press in any other place; it certainly would have had a different name. In fact, five years earlier, Virginia had written:
'I see us settled for life, with Hogarth, Monk's House, and two domestics.'
Time, however, moves on and the needs of people change. On March 12th 1924, Virginia wrote her last ever entry at Hogarth House, beginning:
'And I'm now going to write the very last pages ever to be written at Hogarth House. First; the state of the weather. It's as if a fine veil had descended and lay, clear, over the chimneys; which are a pale yellow, and brick red.'
The most telling extract from this diary entry is the moment when Virginia gives her final thanks to Hogarth:
'Nor at the moment can I think of any farewell for this beautiful and lovable house, which has done us such a good turn for almost precisely nine years, so that, as I lay in bed last night, I nearly humanised it, and offered it my thanks.'
Diaries, 12 March 1924
Virginia would often compare Richmond favourably to central London:
'Richmond is certainly the place to live in, partly because then London becomes so full of romance.'
Letter to Duncan Grant, 15 November 1915
By 1916, Virginia already thinks of the River Thames at Richmond as her river. In this wonderful quotation from a letter to Margaret Llewelyn Davies, Virginia writes:
'Do you ever get out onto your Heath? I often think of you, as I pace beside my river, which surely surpasses anything you have.'
Letter to Margaret Llewelyn Davies, 23 January 1916
Although Richmond was her home, Virginia still liked to visit central London, sometimes to meet friends or see relatives, but sometimes just to soak up the atmosphere. However, she admits that she likes getting back to Richmond:
'London goes on much as usual. I dip in occasionally, and shake my ears well when I get back to the purer air of Richmond ... I do think Richmond has great charms also, and now we have Roger's servants, we keep clean.'
Letter to Katherine Cox, 12 February 1916
In a very revealing letter to her sister, Virginia confirms that she is seduced by the charms of central London, but is thankful that she doesn't live there, instead, preferring the simplicities and refined nature of Richmond, as she expressed in her letter to Violet Dickinson, four years later:
London always seems to me rich in romance when I dip into it, which I do about twice a week, but thank God I don't live there.'
Letter to Vanessa Bell, 11 February 1917
'I think it would be very good for your morals to visit the simplicities and refinements of Richmond.'
Letter to Violet Dickinson, 5 February 1921
It seems apparent that Virginia enjoyed living in Richmond, as she even advocated it to her friend Ottoline Morrell as preferable to London:
'Shan't you ever come to London – or rather, since London is useless, to Richmond?'
Letter to Lady Ottoline Morrell, 8 November 1921
As the years in Richmond continued, Virginia comments on everyday life, often including observations on the weather and their garden. As with a lot of her diary entries, it could be argued that Virginia used daily writing as an opportunity to practise her craft of writing, and this can be seen with the following quotes, specifically chosen for their linguistic beauty:
'I'm sitting wedged in the window, and so catch almost on my head the steady drip of rain which is pattering on the leaves.'
Diaries, 19 July 1919
'Here I sit at Richmond, and like a lantern stood in the middle of a field my light goes up in darkness. Melancholy diminishes as I write. Why then don't I write it down oftener?'
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Virginia Woolf in Richmond"
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