The irreplaceable Stuart N. Clarke, who co-founded the Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain in 1998 and served as editor of the Virginia Woolf Bulletin for 23 years, died
Stuart was known for his encyclopedic knowledge of Virginia Woolf, often stepping up to answer esoteric questions posed to the VW Listserv.
“His vigorous recall of facts and quotations not only astounded those around him but became a reliable resource for the Society and its members,” according to the email from the society’s executive committee that announced his passing. “The Society would not have been what it has grown to become without the seemingly endless, encyclopaedic knowledge that Stuart had of Virginia Woolf’s life and work.”
The Centre for Modernist Cultures at the University of Birmingham made him an Honorary Fellow in 2022 “in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the study of Virginia Woolf.”
His work as a distinguished textual editor includes Volumes 5 and 6 of The Essays of Virginia Woolf (Hogarth Press, 2009 and 2011), A Room of One’s Own with David Bradshaw (Shakespeare Head Press, 2015), and Jacob’s Room for The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Virginia Woolf (Cambridge University Press, 2020). Among his earlier publications are Orlando: The Original Holograph Draft (1993), and Translations from the Russian (2006), a volume devoted to the collaborative translations undertaken by Virginia Woolf and S.S. Koteliansky.
To honor Stuart’s dedication, the VWSGB will produce a supplement with the next issue of the Bulletin, containing pieces written by his fellow Woolfians in appreciation of his huge contribution to Woolf studies over the years.
Tributes should reach the society at bulletinvwsgb@gmail.com by March 1. You can also post your memories about Stuart in the Comments section below.
