Yoshiko and the Gift of Charms Author: Julia Suzuki Published: 4th September 2014 Goodreads Rating: 4.06 out of 5 Reviewed: August 2016
Yoshiko and the Gift of Charms is the first book in the children’s series The Land of Dragor by Julia Suzuki. Dragor is the land inhabited by dragons, hidden from the rest of the world, away from the evil humans by the smoke produced by The Fire Which Must Never Go Out. Dragor is where it is safe, and the dragons are forbidden to leave. However, it may not be as perfect as it seems.
The story begins with the birth, or hatching, of a dragon named Yoshiko. Unlike all other dragon births, Yoshiko’s egg was a variety of different colours, which led to speculation as to whether this young dragon was cursed. Other than being a late developer, Yoshiko is physically well and attends school like all the other youngsters where, unfortunately, he experiences bullying from one of the other dragon clans – something the reader may be able to relate to through their own school experiences. Each clan is a different colour, but one day Yoshiko realises he can change the shade of his scales. Horrified by his discovery, he seeks help from an old but wise outcast, who, whilst supporting Yoshiko as he learns to control the colours, helps him discover his destiny.
The initial two-thirds of the book felt like a long introduction, with the final third being a hastily written climax. Irrespective of this, it was an enjoyable read and would be particularly entertaining for children. Some of the language may be a little too advanced for younger readers. Despite the introduction/climax issue, the story contains enough information to understand the way the dragon’s small world works and ends by setting the theme of the next instalment. It is exciting to find out what happens next!
The Winner’s Curse Author: Marie Rutkoski Published: 4th March 2014 Goodreads Rating: 3.96 out of 5 Reviewed: September 2016
The Winner’s Curse is the first book in the Winner’s Trilogy by American author Marie Rutkoski. The author mixes rumours, lies, love and warfare to create an incredible new story for young adults. It is set in a similar society to the 18th century or earlier (in Europe at least), except that women can only choose one of two lifestyles. By twenty, they must decide whether to marry or join the military. By women, that means Valorian women. Ever since the defeat of the Herrani during the Herran war many years ago, the Valorian have made them slaves and looked down on the Herrani whilst seizing their lavish properties and enforcing Valorian customs.
The title, The Winner’s Curse, is a concept that relates to the winner of an auction. Whilst they have won the item, they have also lost by paying out more money than other bidders felt it was worth. This is what happens to seventeen-year-old Lady Kestrel, a Valorian, when, with an unexplainable impulse, she hires Arin, a Herrani slave, for an extortionate amount of money. Put to work as a blacksmith, Arin becomes intrigued with Kestrel, and she with him, and they soon start to form a friendship – although rumours suggest something more.
It is not simply the cost of a slave that The Winner’s Curse refers to. The Herrani are planning an attack on the Valorian Empire, and Kestrel, a General’s daughter, could unknowingly reveal vital information. The emergence of a second Herran war is imminent, but Kestrel and Arin’s relationship complicates things further.
Whilst similar to other novels with lovers belonging to opposing families, it is more original regarding the circumstances, secrets and lies, which makes not just the characters, but also the reader questions their true feelings and intentions. It is an excellent, fast-paced, highly recommended read.
The True & Splendid History of the Harristown Sisters Author: Michelle Lovric Published: 1st January 2014 Goodreads Rating: 3.66 out of 5 Reviewed: August 2016
The True and Splendid History of the Harristown Sisters is a historical fictional story set in the 1860s and 70s by the novelist Michelle Lovric. Based loosely on the lives of the Sutherland Sisters of New York, it tells the story of seven sisters with unreasonably long hair: over forty feet when combined.
The novel begins in Harristown, County Kildare, Ireland, and is narrated by the middle sister, Manticory Swiney, who recounts their lives over thirteen years, starting from when Manticory is thirteen and her sisters range in age between nineteen and nine.
As mentioned, this novel is about hair. Manticory refers to a time when a man assaulted her as a result of her long red hair. This prompted evil older sister Darcy to scheme money-making plans using their hair. Naming themselves the ‘The Swiney Godivas’, the sisters took to the stage, performing and singing. But the highlight of the show, and something which the men lusted over, was the grand finale, where they let down their hair to show off its length.
Their performances attract the likes of Mr Rainfleury and Tristan Stoker, who wish to use the girls as a means of producing vast amounts of money. Coming from a poor family, Darcy is keen to go along with these plans, so they all go to Dublin, where their fame increases. With hair products and dolls made to their likenesses, they become well-known all over Ireland and eventually spread into Europe. Eventually, the girls settle in Venice, however, their luck with fame, and more importantly money, may be about to run out.
Since the attack on Manticory at such a young age, she has distrusted men and their motives, particularly in connection with hair. That is until she meets the quiet Mr Sardou, a man she finds herself craving to please.
With a hint of romance, this story is beautifully written and humorous as the sisters continue to bicker and insult each other even once they reach adulthood. Overall it is a superb, grippingly addictive read.
Cuckoo Song Author: Frances Hardinge Published: 8th May 2014 Goodreads Rating: 3.96 out of 5 Reviewed: August 2016
Frances Hardinge’s Cuckoo Song is a historical horror story for children. Six years have passed since the end of the First World War, a war in which the Crescent family lost their eldest child. Eleven-year-old Theresa Crescent “Triss” lives with her parents and nine-year-old sister, Penelope “Pen” in the fictional town of Ellchester, England. Since losing Sebastian, Triss has become a very frail child, so it is no surprise to her parents that she develops an awful fever after falling into a millpond. The question, though, is how she came to be in the pond, to begin with, and why Pen is so scared of her.
Things become even more mystifying when Triss sees dolls start to move, finds leaves on her pillow, and is constantly ravenously hungry. Her parents begin to consider that Triss is suffering from some form of mental illness, but Pen, the bad-tempered child, is adamant that that is not the case. She claims that Triss is a fake.
The horrible realization is that perhaps Triss is not Triss at all. This discovery leads the tale into paranormal territory with the introduction of unique new creatures: Besiders.
Cuckoo Song is not just an entertaining, fantastical story; it also deals with themes of family and personal emotion. Piers and Celeste Crescent are examples of parents whose behaviour and response to the death of a child impact their remaining children. Triss becomes a child they want to protect and save, leaving Pen to become an attention-seeking troublemaker.
As the story progresses, Triss and Pen’s relationship develops, or rather Pen and Not-Triss, into something more recognizable and sisterly. Through their strength and newfound love for each other, they fight to get the happy ending they deserve. And through it all, Triss discovers that just because someone calls you a monster does not mean you are a monster.
It is difficult to say who the target audience of Cuckoo Song is. The protagonist is eleven, but the writing may be difficult for some children. On the other hand, it cannot be classed as Young Adult fiction since the characters are not even in their teens. Overall, Cuckoo Song is an exciting, fast-paced, fairytale-like story with original characters. It is not scary and is fun to read; there is nothing to stop older readers from enjoying it too!
Lies like Love Author: Louisa Reid Published: 5th June 2014 Goodreads Rating: 3.87 out of 5 Reviewed: September 2016
Lies Like Love by Louisa Reid is an emotional story full of disturbing, discomforting themes. It is a book that will linger in the mind long after the final page. The story alternates between two characters’ perspectives. The first is Audrey, a sixteen-year-old who has just moved to a new home and school after being in and out of various treatments for depression, amongst other things. She lives with her little brother, Peter and her overprotective mother, who appears to want to do everything she can to make Audrey better.
The second character is Leo, a couple of years older than Audrey, who has also had experiences with depression. The stress his over-ambitious parents inflicted on him became too much to handle, so now he lives with his Aunt Sue on a farm near where Audrey has recently moved.
With his therapist’s prompts, Leo becomes good friends with Audrey and does not care about her mental health issues. Due to his own experiences, he is more understanding of the circumstance. But once he gets to know Audrey well, he begins to think there is nothing wrong with her.
Audrey’s mental health problems only escalate when she is at home, and the reader begins to wonder whether there is more to it than is being revealed. Perhaps the mother has problems of her own?
Both Leo and Audrey become more confident throughout the story. Leo eventually gets to the stage where he no longer needs a therapist, whilst Audrey begins to sort out the truth from the lies in her mind and only continues to endure her “illness” to protect her brother.
At times it is challenging to read Lies Like Love. Those who have experienced similar situations or illnesses may feel upset or triggered by some content. It is also easy to feel angry about what is happening.
Overall, it is an excellent book dealing with very important themes. There are people in the world who have suffered or are suffering from these mental illnesses, which makes the storyline feel very real. Lies Like Love also emphasizes that there are different ways of loving people. Loving someone can make them strong, but it can also suffocate them.
When asked to name some Spanish artists, the majority will answer Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí before thinking of Francisco Goya. Goya is a name recognised by many, but the same cannot be said about his long life. Considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Goya bridges the gap between the Old Masters and modern art. During his career, Goya worked for the Spanish court before turning to darker, delusional themes that suggest he struggled with his mental health.
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was born on 30th March 1746, in Fuendetodos, Aragón, Spain, to lower-middle-class parents. Around his third birthday, the family moved to the city of Zaragoza, where his father oversaw the gilding and ornamentation of the Santa Maria del Pilar (Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar). At 14, Goya studied under the painter José Luzán (1710-85) before moving to Madrid at 18 to study with Anton Raphael Mengs (1728-77).
Twice, Goya applied to study at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, but after the second failed attempt, he decided to try his luck in Rome, Italy. A gap of at least a decade is missing from Goya’s biography after he moved to Rome, leaving historians to speculate about his movements. Early biographers suggest Goya either worked for a Russian diplomat or earned money as a street acrobat.
Records reveal Goya earned second place in a painting competition held in Parma in 1771, then returned to Zaragoza to paint frescoes in the Basilica of the Pillar and the Charterhouse of Aula Dei. Around this time, Goya began studying with Francisco Bayeu y Subías (1734-95), through whom he met and married Bayeu’s sister, Josefa (1747-1812), in July 1773. Their first child, Antonio Juan Ramon Carlos, was born thirteen months later.
Bayeu helped Goya earn a commission for a series of tapestry cartoons for the Royal Tapestry Factory in 1777. The project lasted five years, during which time Goya designed 42 patterns, which later hung in the residences of the Spanish monarchy. Unfortunately, the work put a strain on Goya’s physical health, and he frequently succumbed to illnesses. With some tapestry cartoons measuring eight by ten feet, the task became too difficult for Goya. He also felt it restricted his artistic development because tapestries could not capture the same tones and textures as paintings.
Goya’s fortunes changed in 1783 when Count José Moñino of Floridablanca (1728-1808) commissioned Goya to paint his portrait. Moñino was a favourite of King Charles III (1716-88) and his half-brother Luis (1727-85), whom Goya briefly befriended. In 1786, the king offered Goya a salaried position as his personal painter, which transferred to King Charles IV (1748-1819) in 1789.
As First Court Painter, Goya earned 50,000 reales a year, with an allowance of 500 ducats for transport. Among his work for the king is the life-size group portrait of Charles IV of Spain and His Family (1800-1801), which features 14 figures, including Goya. Critics liken this painting to Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas (1656), in which the artist includes himself looking at the viewer from behind a canvas. Unlike Velázquez‘s informal group portrait with figures conducting various tasks, Goya shows the royal family’s importance through stiff poses. Rather than only painting Charles IV, his wife and his children, the king wished to include other family members, such as his brother, his sister, his future daughter-in-law, his son-in-law and his first grandchild, Carlos Luis (1799-1883).
Goya’s connection with the king earned him many prestigious commissions amongst the highest ranks of Spanish nobility. Patrons included the Duke of Osuna, the Duke of Alba and Prime Minister Manuel Godoy (1767-1851). It is widely believed the latter commissioned Goya to paint La maja desnuda, the first life-size female nude in Western art without allegorical or mythological meaning. Goya also painted a clothed version called La maja vestida, in which the unidentified model reclines in the same pose. Suggestions for the model’s identity range from María Cayetana de Silva, 13th Duchess of Alba (1762-1802), to Pepita Tudó, Godoy’s mistress. Unable to pinpoint who the lady is, many critics believe she is a product of Goya’s imagination.
In the early 1790s, Goya suffered from a mysterious illness, leaving him deaf. The condition affected Goya’s mental health, which is evident in his paintings. Goya began depicting nightmarish elements in his work, such as Yard with Lunatics, which shows “a yard with lunatics, and two of them fighting completely naked while their warder beats them, and others in sacks.” Goya claimed it was a scene he witnessed at Zaragoza, yet his choice to paint it while recovering from an illness says a lot about his state of mind.
Art critics suggest Yard with Lunatics reflects Goya’s fear that he was going mad. Many historians believe Goya suffered from viral encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), which causes tinnitus, deafness and delusional thoughts, among other more serious symptoms. Others suggest Ménière’s disease, which affects the inner ear. Lead poisoning is another theory because Goya used large amounts of lead white paint. It is impossible to determine a definite diagnosis, but the illness marked a turning point in Goya’s career as an artist.
In 1808, the French invaded Spain, leading to the Peninsular War, which lasted until 1814. Joseph Bonaparte (1768-1844), the older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), usurped the Spanish throne, leaving Goya in a precarious position as First Court Painter. Goya claims he kept neutral during the war but continued to produce paintings for French patrons. After the restoration of the Spanish King Ferdinand VII (1784-1833) in 1814, Goya continued working in the royal courts but never painted anything at the request of the king. Any portraits produced of Ferdinand were commissioned by other members of the court.
Goya witnessed several events during the Peninsular War, which may have contributed to his health woes. He also lost his wife in 1812, and only one of their seven children lived past infancy. In 1814, Goya painted two war scenes titled The Second of May 1808 and The Third of May 1808, which art historians believe he did not witness in person but heard about in stories. The first painting, also known as The Charge of the Mamelukes, depicts an uprising of Spanish people against the Mamelukes of the French Imperial Guard. The French received instructions to charge and subdue the rioters, but instead, the revolt became a chaotic, ferocious melee.
The Third of May 1808 is set a few hours after the riot. Hundreds of Spaniards involved in the uprising were rounded up and shot in various locations around Madrid. Unlike The Second of May 1808, in which Goya attempted to depict the Spanish as heroic, the second painting has no motive other than to record the executions. Art historian Kenneth Clark (1903-83) described it as “the first great picture which can be called revolutionary in every sense of the word, in style, in subject, and in intention.” The position of the man standing with his arms raised later inspired Gerald Holtom’s (1914-85) international peace symbol: “I drew myself: the representative of an individual in despair, with hands palm outstretched outwards and downwards in the manner of Goya’s peasant before the firing squad. I formalised the drawing into a line and put a circle round it.”
From 1819 onwards, Goya began to retreat from public life. Whilst he continued completing some royal commissions, much of his work he produced privately. He moved to a small cottage outside the city, which people referred to as La Quinta del Sordo (The House of the Deaf Man). Fearing old age and madness, Goya’s paintings became even darker. Fourteen artworks produced between 1819 and 1823 are collectively known as the Black Paintings because they demonstrate Goya’s bleak outlook on humanity. Goya poured his fears and the panic, terror, and hysteria he experienced during the war into these artworks, which include Saturn Devouring His Son, Judith and Holofernes, and Witches’ Sabbath.
Goya’s Black Paintings were never exhibited in his lifetime, and he likely never intended to show anyone these works. The disturbing themes indicate Goya was not of sound mind during his final years, but so does how he produced the paintings. Rather than using canvases or wooden boards, Goya painted directly onto the walls of his cottage. Fred Licht (1928-2019), in his book Goya: The Origins of the Modern Temper in Art, wrote, “these paintings are as close to being hermetically private as any that have ever been produced in the history of Western art.” Following Goya’s death, the walls were carefully demolished to preserve the murals, which now reside in the Museo del Prado in Madrid.
Despite his hermit-like ways, Goya had a live-in maid called Leocadia Weiss (1788-1856), a widow with a young daughter, Rosario, who also lived at the cottage. Weiss met Goya at the wedding of his son Javier, which suggests she may have been related to the bride’s family. Weiss left her unhappy marriage to Isidore Weiss, a Jewish jeweller, in 1811, leaving many wondering about the identity of Rosario’s father, who was born three years later. Some suspect Goya, who is listed as Rosario’s godfather, but there is no evidence Goya and Weiss were ever romantically attached.
Although Goya struggled with his health, he taught Rosario how to draw. She studied with him until 1823 when she started receiving lessons from the architect Tiburcio Pérez. Goya spent the final year of his life paralyzed on his right side following a stroke, eventually passing away on 16th April 1828. He left nothing in his will to Weiss or her daughter, and both women contested the will, suggesting a closer relationship than maid and pupil, but Goya’s son denied them anything. Weiss spent the remainder of her life in poverty, as did her ex-husband. Rosario continued to develop her artistic career but passed away at age 28 from cholera.
Following his death, Goya was buried at a local church. Later, the Spanish consul reinterred his body in the Real Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida (Royal Chapel of St. Anthony of La Florida) in Madrid. On digging up Goya’s body, they discovered the skull was missing. The whereabouts of Goya’s skull remain a mystery.
Goya’s 82 years of life have been immortalised in contemporary films, such as Goya’s Ghosts (2006), starring Stellan Skarsgård (b.1951) as Goya and Natalie Portman (b. 1981) as the artist’s model. Goya has influenced many artists since his death, including Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and Salvador Dalí (1904-89), who admired his Black Paintings.
Virginia Stephen (Woolf) in 1902 Photo: George Charles Beresford
Considered to be the most important modernist writer of the 20th-century, Virginia Woolf is continuing to inspire feminism long after her death. Born in an era when women were fighting to be seen as equals to men, Woolf was influenced by women’s rights movements whose ideals are reflected in many of her novels. Known for the phrase “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction,” from her essay A Room of One’s Own (1929), the author has been honoured by statues, societies and a building at the University of London in her name.
Whilst her popular novels and ongoing feminist movements keep her memory alive, her struggle with mental health problems and death by suicide, no longer the taboo subject it once was, is gradually being understood and accepted. Yet what is repeatedly overlooked is the woman herself. Who was Virginia Woolf? Everyone has heard of her regardless as to whether they have read her books, but who was the woman behind the pen?
Virginia with her mother, 1884
Virginia with her brother Adrian, 1886
Virginia with her sister Vanessa (1894)
Virginia with her father, 1902
Virginia Woolf was born Adeline Virginia Stephen on 25th January 1882 in South Kensington, London. Her mother Julia (née Jackson) (1846–1895), originally from Calcutta, British India, had once been a model for the Pre-Raphaelites and had three children from a previous marriage: George (1868-1934), Stella (1869-97) and Gerald (1870-1937). An exhibition last year (2018) at the National Portrait Gallery, featured a photograph of Julia taken by her aunt and celebrated photographer Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-79).
Virginia’s father had also married prior to meeting her mother. Leslie Stephen (1832–1904), a writer, historian and mountaineer, married Harriet Marian (Minny) Thackeray (1840–1875), the youngest daughter of the famous novelist William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-63). Unfortunately, Minny died in childbirth leaving Leslie to care for their only child Laura (1870–1945) who, due to developmental handicaps, was eventually institutionalised.
Julia and Leslie were married on 26th March 1878 and welcomed their first child, Vanessa (1879-1961), the following year. The next four years saw the arrival of three more children: Thoby (1880-1906), Adrian (1883-1948) and the second youngest, Adeline Virginia in 1882. Fortunately, the family was wealthy enough to cope with eight children and, whilst the boys were sent off to schools and universities, the girls were homeschooled in subjects such as English classics and Victorian literature.
Most of the details about Virginia Woolf’s childhood can be found in her own writings. These include essays, such as A Sketch of the Past (1940), but she also alluded to some of her childhood memories in her fictional novels. Woolf also kept a diary for twelve years beginning in 1897, “the first really lived year of my life”.
Due to the nature of their father’s career, Virginia and her siblings were brought up in a household often frequented by well-known members of Victorian literature society. Amongst these were writers Henry James (1843-1916) and Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), the poet Alfred Tennyson (1809-92), and the pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones (1833-98), Virginia’s honorary godfather. As a result, the Stephen children were keen readers and writers, making their own magazine in 1891 called Hyde Park Gate News to record the events that occurred within their family. Their mother was recorded saying the magazine was “Rather clever I think”.
Naturally, Virginia Woolf showed an early proclivity for writing and was later encouraged by her father to pursue a career as an author despite his disapproval of educated women. From the age of five, Woolf was penning letters and making up stories that she often recited to her father, which, along with her love of books, created a strong bond between them.
Talland House, St. Ives, c. 1882–1895
Every year from 1882 until 1894, Leslie Stephen rented Talland House in St. Ives, Cornwall from mid-July to mid-September. He referred to it as “a pocket-paradise” and stated that his happiest memories were passed there. This was also the same for Virginia who, when writing about her childhood, mentioned fond memories of Talland House more than years spent in London. For Virginia and her brothers and sisters, it was the highlight of the year. It was also a setting that inspired a handful of Virginia’s novels, including To the Lighthouse (1927).
“Why am I so incredibly and incurably romantic about Cornwall? One’s past, I suppose; I see children running in the garden … The sound of the sea at night … almost forty years of life, all built on that, permeated by that: so much I could never explain.” The Diary of Virginia Woolf Volume Two 1920–1924
Virginia Woolf’s childhood ended in 1895 with the death of her mother after a three-month battle with influenza. Having felt her life had fallen apart, this moment sparked the beginning of Woolf’s mental health issues that would plague her future. To make matters worse, her pregnant step-sister Stella, who took charge of the younger siblings died two years later. Suffering from nervous breakdowns, Woolf became dependant on her older sister, Vanessa.
In 1902, Leslie Stephen underwent an operation but never recovered, leaving his children as orphans in 1904. This sparked another breakdown for poor Virginia who later described the feeling of grief as being a “broken chrysalis”.
The family home was now a dark, gloomy place of mourning and the siblings were desperate to escape, which they did by travelling to the village of Manorbier on the Pembrokeshire coast in Wales. A couple of months later they decided to holiday in France and Italy, spending time with their friend Clive Bell (1881-1964), who would later become Vanessa Stephen’s husband. Unfortunately, Virginia’s mental health was still fragile and she suffered another nervous breakdown resulting in her first suicide attempt on 10th May 1904.
46 Gordon Square
On returning to England, the Stephen children decided to sell their South Kensington property and look for accommodation elsewhere. Vanessa found a house in the leafy, bohemian district of Bloomsbury and she and Virginia moved into 46 Gordon Square before the end of the year. By now, Virginia had recovered from her most recent mental health ordeal.
Life began to feel more positive for Virginia, helped with the Thursday Club that her brother Thoby began hosting in the girls’ house from March 1905. This was initially made up of a group of Thoby’s intellectual friends from university, including writers such as Saxon Sydney-Turner (1880-1962) and Lytton Strachey (1880-1932). Together, they discussed various matters from literature and the importance of arts, to feminism and sexuality. The Thursday Club later became the famed Bloomsbury Circle, which included well-known members, for instance, the economist John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946), whose English Heritage blue plaque can be seen in Gordon Square, the painter Ducan Grant (1885-1978), the novelist E. M. Forster (1879-1970), and the political theorist Leonard Woolf (1880-1969).
Later that year, Virginia began teaching at Morley College of adult education whilst Vanessa started up another group, the Friday Club, which met at their house to discuss the fine arts. Although things were beginning to look up for Virginia, she was soon to receive another blow. In 1906, Virginia lost her brother Thoby to typhoid fever, which he had caught on their recent holiday in Greece.
29 Fitzroy Square
Whilst trying to come to terms with Thoby’s death, Virginia had to deal with the news that Vanessa had accepted Clive Bell’s proposal of marriage (his third attempt). The couple were married in 1907 and Virginia needed to find a new place to live. In April 1907, Virginia moved to the Fitzrovia district in central London, where she lived in a house once owned by the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) – 29 Fitzroy Square.
In her new home, Virginia and her brother Adrian resumed the Thursday Club, which began to explore more progressive ideas than before. More importantly, however, Virginia began working on her first novel. With the intended title of Melymbrosia but the eventual publication title of The Voyage Out (1915), it was “… a strange, tragic, inspired book whose scene is a South America not found on any map and reached by boat which would not float on any sea, an America whose spiritual boundaries touch Xanadu and Atlantis.” (E.M Forster, 1926)
Although living separately from her sister, Virginia continued to go on trips abroad with Vanessa, for instance, to the French capital and other areas of France and Italy. Unfortunately, there began to be a little rivalry between the sisters, perhaps spurned from jealousy, not helped by Virginia’s flirting with Clive. This may have contributed to the breakdown of Vanessa and Clive’s marriage, however, Vanessa’s affairs would have had a greater impact on the situation.
On 17th February 1909, Virginia was proposed to by Lytton Strachey but, although she accepted, he quickly withdrew the offer. This blow along with the stresses of daily life prompted her close family and friends to suggest that Virginia needed a quiet country retreat. Accompanied by her brother Adrian, Virginia had a brief stay in Lewes, Surrey, where she set about looking for a place to buy that would be easy to reach from London whenever she needed to retreat from the city. She eventually settled on a house in Firle, which she named Little Talland House.
Back in London, however, the lease was coming to an end of Virginia and Adrian’s house and they needed to move once again. Rather than buying a home just for the two of them, the brother and sister moved into a four-storey house in Bloomsbury, which they shared with Maynard Keynes and Duncan Grant. Their new home, 38 Brunswick Square, was adjacently opposite the Foundling Hospital, which Virginia found oddly amusing, however, the three-acre public garden provided the house with a beautiful view from the front facing windows.
Leonard Woolf
Engagement photograph, Virginia and Leonard Woolf
Leonard Woolf with Dog by Nigel Henderson
In June 1911, Leonard Woolf, a friend of Thoby who Virginia had met in 1904 before he took up a position in the civil army in Ceylon, returned to London on a one-year leave. Yet, he was never to go back to the army. After renewing old friendships, Leonard met Virginia once again at Vanessa’s house along with many other members of the future Bloomsbury group. In fact, Leonard, when asked the date the Bloomsbury group formed, responded with the date of that very meeting – 3rd July 1911.
Leonard once described Virginia and Vanessa as “formidable and alarming”, recalling their “white dresses and large hats, with parasols in their hands, their beauty literally took one’s breath away”. Therefore, it did not take much persuasion to convince him to join Virginia at Little Talland House for a long weekend. By the end of the year, Leonard had moved into the Brunswick Square household and in less than a month had decided he was in love with Virginia.
On 11th January 1912, Leonard Woolf bared his heart to Virginia and asked her to marry him. With the failed engagement to Lytton Strachey still on her mind, Virginia told him she would think about it, however, time was running out for Leonard. The one-year period of leave from the civil army was coming to an end and despite continuing to pursue Virginia, she had not yet made up her mind. Leonard’s application to extend his period of leave was refused, so he sent in his letter of resignation instead.
Eventually, Virginia agreed to marry Leonard and their wedding took place on 10th August 1912 at the St Pancras Register Office. They continued living at Brunswick Square, however, Leonard was gradually becoming aware of Virginia’s mental health problems, which he had previously not known about. Within the next few months, Virginia’s mental ill health had increased rapidly and in 1913 she made another suicide attempt.
After these events, the couple decided to move away from Brunswick square, first in October 1914 to Richmond in the suburbs of London, and then, in early March 1915, to Hogarth House, Paradise Road also in Richmond.
Little Talland House
Hogarth House
Shakespeare plays hand-bound by Virginia Woolf
Since the age of 19, Virginia had enjoyed bookbinding as a pastime. Knowing of his wife’s passion, Leonard suggested setting up a publishing company as well as publishing Virginia’s own works, thus The Voyage Out was published in 1915 – unfortunately followed by another suicide attempt. Hogarth Press, as it began to be called, was not fully set up until 1917, although, at this stage, it was merely a printing press on their dining room table.
The first publication under the name Hogarth Press was Two Stories which consisted of two short stories, one by Virginia, The Mark on the Wall, and one by Leonard, Three Jews. Although only 32 pages, the publication process took over two months, each of the 150 copies being hand bound and sewn. The stories were accompanied by woodcut illustrations designed by Dora Carrington (1893-1932), which helped to make the publication a great success. Other short stories quickly followed, such as Kew Gardens written by Virginia and illustrated by her sister Vanessa.
Woolf’s bust in Tavistock Square
To begin with, Hogarth Press only concentrated on small publications, often works that commercial publishers would reject or overlook, however, the Press eventually moved on to bigger things. In 1924, the Woolfs took out a lease at 52 Tavistock Square, Bloomsbury where they used the basement space to run Hogarth Press in a more efficient manner. Virginia also had a personal room where she could concentrate on her writing, which was published by the Press. Subsequently, other notable authors began to approach Hogarth Press with their own work, particularly the poet T. S. Eliot (1888-1965).
A large number of publications by Hogarth Press were, of course, written by Virginia. Her second novel, Mrs Dalloway was published in 1925, which describes a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a middle-aged high-society woman in post–War England. The story, which is arguably Virginia’s best-known novel, alternates between Clarissa’s preparation for a party in the evening and the psychiatric problems of Septimus Warren Smith, a war veteran with severe PTSD.
Her third novel, To the Lighthouse (1927), was published the following year and rates at 15th place on the Modern Library’s 100 best English-language novels of the 20th centuryselected in 1998. The story focuses on the Ramsay family and their visits to the Isle of Skye, however, it contains very little dialogue or action. Instead, the novel is formed of a series of thoughts and observations that recall childhood memories and adult relationships. To the Lighthouse has many similarities with Virginia’s own childhood and it is believed she began writing it in order to deal with unresolved issues concerning both her late parents.
Vita Sackville-West, 1934
Just as To the Lighthouse was inspired by her own life, her third novel Orlando (1928) was sparked after learning about the turbulent family history of her close friend and lover, Vita Sackville-West (1892-1962). Virginia and Vita’s relationship was recently studied at the Barbican Centre in an exhibition called Modern Couples: Art, Intimacy and the Avant-garde. Despite being married, Virginia began an intimate relationship with the poetess Vita after meeting her through Bloomsbury Group connections in December 1922.
Virginia and Vita’s relationship was strongest between 1925 and 1928 but by the 1930s they had evolved into good friends rather than intimate lovers. During this time, Vita attempted to raise Virginia’s self-esteem and, regardless as to whether she was successful, Virginia’s work began to flourish. As well as To the Lighthouse and Orlando, Virginia also completed The Waves (1931) and wrote a number of essays.
Orlando is an eponymous novel that describes the centuries-long adventures of a poet who changes sex from man to woman. Despite being a work of fiction, the reference to Vita was obvious, causing her son to comment “The effect of Vita on Virginia is all contained in Orlando, the longest and most charming love letter in literature, in which she explores Vita, weaves her in and out of the centuries, tosses her from one sex to the other, plays with her, dresses her in furs, lace and emeralds, teases her, flirts with her, drops a veil of mist around her.”
Around the same time as her relationship with Vita, Virginia lectured Women & Fiction at Cambridge University. As well as exploring her own sexuality, Virginia was concerned about the rights of women and the importance of independence. From these lectures, Virginia penned the essay A Room of One’s Own.
The 172-page essay published by the Hogarth Press in 1929, argues both literally and figuratively for a space for women writers in a world predominately dominated by men. At the time of publication, women had only just been given the freedom to vote in Britain and were still a long way off the rights that women in the western world have today. Thus, A Room of One’s Own quickly became an important feminist text.
Before the essay was published, Virginia was worried that she would be “attacked for a feminist & hinted at for a sapphist [lesbian]”, however, the theme of lesbianism was discussed in such a discreet way that it avoided complaints of obscenity.
Virginia Woolf 1927
Plaque at King’s College
Suicide letter from Virginia to Leonard
Despite her lesbian tendencies – or, perhaps, bisexuality – Virginia remained married to Leonard for the remainder of her life. Unfortunately, these years were marred by her mental health, often suffering a nervous breakdown after the publication of each novel. After finishing the draft for her final book Between the Acts (published posthumously, 1941), Virginia fell into another bout of depression. Along with all the blows she had encountered in life, the war years had taken its toll of Virginia’s fragile mind. To make matters worse, the beginning of the Blitz saw the destruction of her London home, which, along with the death of a close friend, worsened her condition until she could no longer work.
During her final years, Virginia’s diaries were full of ramblings about death and in March 1941, she wrote a final letter to her devoted husband.
Dearest,
I feel certain that I am going mad again. I feel we can’t go through another of those terrible times. And I shan’t recover this time. I begin to hear voices, and I can’t concentrate. So I am doing what seems the best thing to do. You have given me the greatest possible happiness. You have been in every way all that anyone could be. I don’t think two people could have been happier till this terrible disease came. I can’t fight it any longer. I know that I am spoiling your life, that without me you could work. And you will I know. You see I can’t even write this properly. I can’t read. What I want to say is I owe all the happiness of my life to you. You have been entirely patient with me and incredibly good. I want to say that—everybody knows it. If anybody could have saved me it would have been you. Everything has gone from me but the certainty of your goodness. I can’t go on spoiling your life any longer. I don’t think two people could have been happier than we have been. V.
On 28th March 1941, Virginia Woolf walked into the River Ouse near her home in Sussex with her pockets full of stones. Her body, which was eventually found on 18th April was cremated and interred under an elm tree in the garden at Monk’s House, the Woolfs’ final home together in Rodmell, Sussex.
Since her death, Virginia’s mental health has received a lot of attention from professionals – the sort of attention that would have been more beneficial during her lifetime. Most psychiatrists agree that Virginia was suffering from Bipolar Disorder, also known as manic depression, which would account for her extreme mood swings and psychotic episodes.
Despite her untimely end, Virginia Woolf is known throughout the world for her contributions to twentieth-century literature, as well as the influence she has had on feminism. Many authors state Virginia as one of their greatest inspirations, including Margaret Atwood (b.1939) and Gabriel García Márquez (1927-2014).
Virginia’s works have been adapted for the screen and her name has appeared in many other areas of popular culture. The play by Edward Albee (1928-2016) Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a prime example. Also, in 2014, an exhibition about Virginia Woolf was held at the National Portrait Gallery in London, and it is believed her portrait on a postcard has been the most sold than any other person in their gift shop.
In 2013, King’s College London honoured the writer with the opening of the Virginia Woolf Building on Kingsway. A plaque commemorating her work and contributions to the college is in pride of place on the building bearing her name. Sculptures of Virginia’s head and shoulders have also been errected near two places she once lived: Rodmell and Tavistock Square.
Virginia Woolf’s name and ideas will live on through her books, essays and organisations such as the Virginia Woolf Society and The Virginia Woolf Society of Japan. It is important, however, to remember Virginia as a human being and not just one of the greatest 20th-century writers. Everyone has struggles of one form or another but Virginia had more than her fair share. Nevertheless, this only goes to emphasise her talents; despite being very unwell, Virginia Woolf wrote and did things that people will respect forever.
Hazel Stainer 