Then move on to The Guardian’s “Big Christmas Book Quiz 2014.” You’ll find questions related to Woolf, including one posed by author Will Self that every self-respecting Woolf fan will be able to readily answer:
Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse comprises three sections; what are the time periods described by each of them?
There are still places available for the Virginia Woolf 2015 Birthday Lecture, “Woolf in Winter,” by Alexandra Harris.
Alexandra Harris
Co-sponsored by the Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain, the event will be held Saturday, Jan. 24, at 2 p.m. in Senate House, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU. Tickets are £15 for VWSGB members and £20 for non-members.
The event includes a wine reception following the lecture and a copy of the lecture when printed.Bookings may be made via the Institute of English Studies website. For further details, contact Lindsay Martin on 020 8245 3580 or at lindsay@lindsaycmartin.co.uk
The topic of Woolf in winter is a natural for Harris, as she is in the midst of writingThe Weather Glass, which discusses the British preoccupation with weather. The cultural history of English weather, which will include a chapter on Woolf, will be published by Thames & Hudson in autumn 2015.
In 2011, Harris was named among the 10 New Generation Thinkers by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and BBC Radio 3 for her new research on how the weather has influenced English art, music and literature.
Read Harris’s February 2014 essay in The Guardian that discusses English literature’s use of rain, torrential or otherwise: “Drip, drip, drip, by day and night.”
Here are some books to add to your list for either giving or receiving this holiday season:
Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar, Ballantine, 2015, $26. A novel featuring intimate glimpses into the lives of Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf, as well as other writers and artists in the Bloomsbury Group. Stay tuned for Blogging Woolf’s review.
The Other Shakespeare by Lea Rachel, Writer’s Design, 2015, $8.96. A novel that brings Judith, Woolf’s imagined sister of William Shakespeare, to life. Stay tuned for Blogging Woolf’s review.
The Bloomsbury Cookbook: Recipes for Life, Love and Art, by Jans Ondaatje Rolls, Thames & Hudson, 2014, $39.95. An extensive compilation of recipes and social history of the Bloomsbury Group that includes artwork, quotes, letters and personal reminiscences.
Mrs. Dalloway, edited by Anne Fernald, 2014, $150. Part of The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Virginia Woolf. This labor of love provides a substantial introduction, including the composition history of the novel, documenting how Woolf’s reading, writing, personal life and the world around her contributed to the book. Explanatory notes compile decades of scholarship while identifying numerous new allusions to Homer, Shakespeare, Tennyson and others.
For a catalog of rare books related to Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group, contact Jon S. Richardson Rare Books at yorkharborbooks@aol.com. Richardson founders Jon and Margaret Richardson have made hunting down the works of Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group their mission since opening York Harbor Books more than 20 years ago. Among other interesting offerings, including Hogarth Press advertising flyers, the Holiday 2014 list includes:
A first American edition (1931) of Mrs. Dalloway with the Vanessa Bell dust jacket, $950.
A first edition of The Common Reader (1925), published by the Hogarth Press, $585
A 1910 edition of the Life & Letters of Leslie Stephen, which includes Woolf’s first appearance in print, $95.
Virginia is one of my 2 favorite authors of all time, and my dream is to one day own a book signed by her (perhaps if this little shop of mine keeps gaining steam…).
Each 2″ x 2″ solid wood block features the portrait, signature, and famous works of a particular author. The Woolf block includes the Vanessa Bell cover designs for To the Lighthouse, Mrs. Dalloway, Kew Gardens, and A Room of One’s Own.
Single blocks are priced at $8. The three-block bundle allows you to choose any three authors you like, from Shakespeare to Dr. Seuss.
The shop is temporarily closed until Jan. 1, 2015, to allow Sadler time to make and ship current orders.
