January 2015

Confession here: As I was not an English major, I do not have an encyclopedic memory of the work of Virginia Woolf. I had heard of the Bloomsbury Group, but knew little about their members. I am happy to share that after reading VANESSA AND HER SISTER, I am pop quiz-worthy on the latter topic. In this book, Priya Parmar has crafted a fictionalized diary of Vanessa Stephen Bell, otherwise known as the sister of Virginia Woolf.

VANESSA AND HER SISTER opens in 1905 in London, a time period before this group has come to fame. Eager to make a mark on the world with artistic talent, Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf, Lytton Strachey and E. M. Forster run in a pack with other players that include Leonard Woolf, who is a civil servant in Ceylon as the novel opens. (The book has a handy list of characters up front, and I found myself referring to it again and again.) Virginia and Vanessa are the shining lights that others orbit around. The story is paced with these letters.

The players galavant around London and Europe with few cares and seemingly few worries about money in these last innocent years before the people come to know a world war. Comrades and supporters of each other’s work, they also are nurturing their own romantic lives. Virginia relies on Vanessa for an unhealthy measure of emotional support. Thus, when Vanessa embraces the idea of marriage, Virginia unravels.

The book is played out through diary and postcard entries, as well as various pieces of memorabilia. I read it in a day, completely wrapped up in this world.

If you enjoyed THE PARIS WIFE, LOVING FRANK or MRS. HEMINGWAY, this is a book that will strike a chord with you. And I dare you not to want to read something by Virginia Woolf once you finish the last page. If so, be sure to check out our “We’re Not Afraid of Virginia Woolf” bookshelf here.