Virginia Woolf

Of the many literary biographies I've read, only Peter Ackroyd's "Dickens" seems to me as "definitive" as Ms. Lee's terrifically compelling book. One finishes it with the sense, however illusory (see Janet Malcolm's extraordinary "The Silent Woman" for a convincing argument that it must be), that the Virginia Woolf found in its pages is essentially identical to the actual woman who lived and wrote and died. Anyone with even a slight interest in her must consider this book essential reading. I found it a real page-turner throughout its considerable length despite being unconvinced of Woolf's literary eminence (except for her sparkling correspondence) and finding her character unattractive (i.e. snobbish, frigid, a false friend, etc.) even by the usual standard for writers.

Probably the best bio of Woolf we are likely to see for some time. Lee has succeeded brilliantly and gracefully in that most elusive and troublesome task of capturing the "spirit" of another human being and then conveying that without simplification or reduction. What is most moving is that Lee allows Woolf her complexity and contradictions, her courage and cowardice, her generosity and meaness, without indulging in a sort of inconoclastic glee in smashing received images of Woolf as victim or feminist icon (or any other of the several and various "Woolfs" to be found these days.) Lee's bio is a stunning feat of sympathetic imagination and rational scholarship which ranks with the other "best" bio of the last 20 years or so, Deirdre Bair's marvelous and beautiful "Simone de Beauvoir." I am grateful to both of these writers.

I am taking this book slowly and am nearing the end. It is terrific and I find, on the days I take off from reading it, that I miss Virginia Woolf and want to go back to the "place" that is her life. I thank Ms. Lee for giving me a closer intimacy with Virginia Woolf.

Hermione Lee has compiled a brilliant and passionate account of the life of Virginia Woolf. Whether she is exploring the political or personal aspects of the prolific author, Lee manages to paint an intriguing portrait of Woolf. Her style ranges from technical to cinimatic, varying upon the circumstances and subject matter. The effect leaves the reader celebratinging the acquisition of an intimate new aquaintance, as well as mourning the loss of a life cut short. The experience of reading this biography would be enriched by a familiarity with some of Woolf's works (Mrs. Dalloway, To The Lighthouse), but a person unfamiliar with these writings would enjoy the experience of this book just as well.

just a few words about this book. I have been studying the works and life of Woolf since the early '70's and this bio by Hermoine Lee is by far the most comprehensive and for my money 'honest'. The hagiography is over. Now we are getting to the bones of Woolf at last. The 'madness', as we always suspected is not as easily explained away from a clinical aspect and in her book Lee deals with an overall composite of the traumas of Woolfs early life and subsequent stresses. Leonard woolf too becomes more real and his role in the shaping of Woolfs inner and outer life is seen more clearly. The book humanises them both,. Not always a comfortable feeling for the reader but for the serious student of the writer and the woman,this book must be best yet. There will always be something beguiling about a woman writer who lives life dangerously and dies by her own hand, especially for other women writers.You may not 'like' Woolf the woman after reading this book but you will come so much closer to understanding what drove her to her greatness, what drove her 'madness and subsequently what led her to that long walk one afternoon down to the river.