Review by Choice Review
This first volume of Essays of Virginia Woolf is a worthy complement to her six volumes of Letters (CH, Mar '77) and Diary (5v., 197784). Quite simply, the essays (particularly in conjunction with the above-mentioned material) furnish a record of Woolf's intellectual and professional life. The material itself is actually her literary journalism-signed and unsigned book reviews originally published in various British periodicals: TLS, Cornhill, etc. An interesting literary document is also furnished in this volume: Virginia Woolf's reading notes on Henry James's The Golden Bowl. This edition of her essays is more complete than previous ones, a fact owed to the excellent scholarship that has taken place over the last two decades on Woolf (e.g., Quentin Bell's biography, CH, Feb '73) and on Bloomsbury writers and figures in general. The editor supplies copious notes correcting errors, identifying allusions, and generally tying together related material in the Diary and Letters by cross-referencing them. An index is also provided. Therefore this should be regarded as a necessary (as well as a welcome) addition to all academic library collections. Highly recommended.-A.R. Nourie, Illinois State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Some of Woolf's essays are available in both volumes of The Common Reader (1925 and 1932) and in the four volumes of Collected Essays (1966-67) edited by Leonard Woolf; now Andrew McNeillie is compiling a definitive six-volume collection of the complete essays, arranged chronologically as they were originally published. From the vast array of research and published material on Woolf's life and writing it has been possible to establish her authorship of numerous unsigned pieces, which appear here for the first time. (McNeillie notes in his introduction that 83 of the pieces scheduled for publication in the complete set have never been previously collected.) This first volume includes the author's earliest efforts as a literary journalist and extends to work published at the time of her marriage to Leonard Woolf. These musings on subjects as various as Queen Elizabeth I and street music provide further insight into Woolf's development as a writer, as well as offering a fine sampling of her ever-delightful prose style. Notes following each selection supply details on publication dates and clarify period issues and individuals. Index. DPD. 824'.912 86-29520
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Here is the first volume in another major series of Virginia Woolf's writings: her essays and reviews, arranged chronologically and annotated. Most of the pieces109 in all, 83 of which have not previously been collectedbegan as anonymous reviews in the Times Literary Supplement. Evidently, Woolf had to endure quite a lot of rubbishy fiction during these years, but she usually managed to find something positive to say, and a few essays stand out in the way they seem to point to Woolf's gestating fictional vision. Overall, these are polished works of literary journalismshrewd, deft, inquisitive, graceful, and often sparkling. They ``form an invaluable record of their author's intellectual and professional life'' and in the bargain survive as enjoyable reading. Keith Cushman, English Dept., Univ. of North Carolina, Greensboro (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
