We are nearing the tail end of Women’s History Month and who better to read than Virginia Woolf?
Virginia and Leonard Woolf moved into Monk’s House in Rodmell in 1919, and as the Monk’s House guidebook states, “Books dominated the house.” During a 2019 visit, books were the first thing we saw as we entered through the back doorway. They lined the stairs to the second floor.
To that end, I have two resources that give advice on “Where to start with Virginia Woolf.”
At the starting gate with Penguin
“Are you afraid of Virginia Woolf?” asks Penguin. The publisher then advises: “There’s no need: there’s something for everyone in the Modernist writer’s back catalogue.”
The website gives a synopsis and link for seven of Woolf’s novels and/or polemics, along with links to other works related to Woolf, such as Square Haunting: Five Women, Freedom and London Between the Wars (2020).
The recommended Woolf works include the following:
- Mrs. Dalloway (1925)
- To the Lighthouse (1927)
- Orlando (1928)
- A Room of One’s Own (1929)
- The Waves (1931)
- The Years (1937)
- Between the Acts (1941)
At the starting gate with NYPL
The second comes from the New York Public Library. Their guide on “Where to Start With Virginia Woolf” includes a brief synopsis of each work and recommends reading them in this order:
- Mrs. Dalloway (1925)
- A Room of One’s Own (1929)
- To the Lighthouse (1927)
- The Waves (1931)
- Orlando (1928)
A book list of her own
Meanwhile, Woolf scholar Maggie Humm’s Twitter post two years ago on World Book Day included a list of the books Woolf liked and disliked most in 1924, 100 years ago.
Happy #WorldBookDay from #VirginiaWoolf These are Woolf’s book likes and dislikes in 1924 ‘Belloc most overrated English writer living’ @modernistudies @WomenRead pic.twitter.com/ATG5hSeWRv
— Maggie Humm (@MaggieHumm1) March 3, 2022
