Readership: Readers of modern literature, of Virginia Woolf, of essays; students of twentiethcentury English literature, the modern essay, modernism

'A good essay must draw its curtain round us, but it must be a curtain that shuts us in, not out.'According to Virginia Woolf, the goal of the essay 'is simply that it should give pleasure...It should lay us under a spell with its first word, and we should only wake, refreshed, with its last.' One of the best practitioners of the art she analysed so rewardingly, Woolf displayed her essay-writing skills across a wide range of subjects, with all the craftsmanship, substance, and rich allure of her novels. This selection brings together thirty of her best essays, including the famous 'Mr Bennett and Mrs Brown', a clarion call for modern fiction. She discusses the arts of writing and of reading, and the particular role and reputation of women writers. She writes movingly about her father and the art of biography, and of the London scene in the early decades of the twentieth century. Overall, these pieces are as indispensable to an understanding of this great writer as they are enchanting in their own right. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Brilliant and subtle essays.

Autorentext
Virginia Woolf wurde am 25. Januar 1882 in London geboren und wuchs im großbürgerlichen Milieu des viktorianischen England auf. Der Tod ihrer Mutter 1895 und ihrer älteren Schwester führte zu einer schweren psychischen Krise, deren Schatten sie nie mehr loslassen sollten. 1912 heiratete sie Leonard Woolf. Zusammen gründeten sie 1917 den Verlag The Hogarth Press. Bereits in jungen Jahren bildete sie gemeinsam mit ihrem Bruder den Mittelpunkt der intellektuellen "Bloomsbury Group". Ihr Haus war eines der Zentren der Künstler und Literaten der Bloomsbury Group. Ihre Romane zählen zu den Meilensteinen moderner Literatur. Zugleich war sie eine der einflußreichsten Essayistinnen ihrer Zeit. Aus Furcht, geistig zu umnachten, nahm sie sich am 28. März 1941 nach einem Bombenangriff das Leben.

Klappentext

This selection brings together thirty of Woolf's best essays across a wide range of subjects including writing and reading, the role and reputation of women writers, the art of biography, and the London scene. They are enchanting in their own right, and indispensable to an understanding of this great writer.

Inhalt

• The Decay of Essay-Writing

• Modern Fiction

• The Modern Essay

• How it Strikes a Contemporary

• Mr Bennett and Mrs Brown

• Character in Fiction

• Impassioned Prose

• How Should One Read a Book?

• Poetry, Fiction and the Future

• Craftsmanship

• The Feminine Note in Fiction

• Women Novelists

• Women and Fiction

• Professions for Women

• Memories of a Working Women's Guild

• Why?

• The New Biography

• On Being Ill

• The Art of Biography

• Thunder at Wembley

• The Cinema

• Street Haunting: A London Adventure

• The Sun and the Fish

• The Docks of London

• Oxford Street Tide

• Evening over Sussex: Reflections in a Motor Car

• Flying over London

• Why Art Today Follows Politics

• Thoughts on Peace in an Air Raid