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内容简介

　　Virginia Woolf is one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century literature. She was original, passionate, vivid, dedicated to her art. Yet most writing about her still revolves around her social life and the Bloomsbury set. In this fresh, absorbing book, Julia Briggs puts the writing back at the center of Woolf's life, reads that life through her work, and mines the novels themselves to create a compelling new form of biography. Analyzing Woolf's own commen-tary on the creative process through her letters, diaries, and essays, Julia Briggs has produced a book that is a convincing, moving portrait of an artist, as well as a profound meditation on the nature of creativity.

作者简介

　　JULIA BRIGGS is a professor of English literature at De Montfort University in Leicester, England. She formerly taught at Oxford University, where she was a fellow and tutor in English at Hertford College. She acted as general editor for the Penguin UK reprint series of Woolfs novels. She lives in London.

媒体评论

　　"Briggs masterfully uses Virginia Woolf''s own thoughts andwords to gain entrance into the layered world of her life andwork." (Biloxi Sun Herald )"Briggs pulls together a high-wire act;biographer and subject seem to commingle on the page, the resultbeing a joint effort of imaginative force." (AtlantaJournal-Constitution. )Briggs is a fluid writer, and she offersastute insights into both Woolf and her work. Making deft use ofletters and diaries, Briggs always steps aside to let Woolf expressit best: The urge to write was "like being harnessed to a shark,"Woolf wrote, while receiving praise was "like being a violin andbeing played upon." Briggs even allows Woolf to have her say on thesubject of biography: "People write what they call 'lives' of otherpeople; that is, they collect a number of events, and leave theperson to whom it happened unknown." Wisely, Briggs chooses not toquarrel directly with such comments. Instead, in its entirety, thisbiography offers a graceful refutation. (The New York Times -Curtis Sittenfield )Starred Review. [Signature]Reviewed by DaphneMerkinThe famous question, surely, needs amending by now: who isn'tafraid of Virginia Woolf—of writing about her, at least? Ever sincethis most singularly gifted of women, whose genius is as protean asit is profound, committed suicide at the age of 58 in 1941 at theheight of her creative powers, her life and work has engendered anunremitting flow of books. These have included massively researchedtomes and slender impressionistic volumes on every aspect of Woolf,from her pedigreed background and difficult Victorian childhood toher unconventional marriage to Leonard, the "penniless Jew," herSapphic inclinations and the modernist Bloomsbury circle in whichshe moved. Certain subsets of questions—what was the particularnature of her mental illness? Did she or did she not suffer sexualabuse as an adolescent at the hands of her two half-brothers?—haveinspired whole bookshelves of answers. In the more thanhalf-century since Woolf put a large stone in her pocket late oneMarch morning and walked into the Ouse River near her house inSussex, the documentation and speculation have not ceased. Enoughhas been said, or so one would think. I might add, with all duelack of humility, that I am in a particularly good position tothink thusly, since it would not be stretching things too far tosay that I have read the vast majority of these books, includingHermione Lee's magisterial biography, which appeared in 1997. So itis the more surprising to find Julia Briggs's new intellectualbiography of Woolf not only a mesmerizing read but one that addsfresh dabs of paint to what I had otherwise assumed to be afinished portrait. The emphasis on Woolf's "inner life"—on herongoing creative process and on her response to the criticalreception of her work—is especially suited to a writer who was inthe rapt habit of watching herself think, keeping track of thequicksilver movements of her own mind like a fisherman on thelookout for the sudden tug on his pole, the flash of a fin. (Woolfwas drawn to water imagery throughout her life as a metaphor forthe process of intellection.) And Briggs has done anextraordinarily skillful job of interweaving Woolf's experience asa writer with her experience as a woman in the world, one whopondered the "life of frocks" and who had arguments with hercook."How I interest myself!" Woolf wrote in a diary entry. And howshe continues to interest us, not least because of the fascinationshe exerts on other talented readers and writers, like JuliaBriggs. That this book is a must for Woolf fans goes withoutsaying, but it is also a must for anyone interested in the natureof female consciousness at its most self-aware and the workings ofartistic sensibility at their most illuminating. B w photos.(Nov.)Daphne Merkin is the author of Enchantment, a novel, andDreaming of Hitler, a collection of essays. She writes a bookcolumn for Elle. Copyright Reed Business Information, adivision of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. (PublishersWeekly )Yes, another Woolf biography, but a unique one given thatBriggs concentrates on Woolf's paradigm-altering work, and onWoolf's fascination with the workings of the mind. Briggs tracksthe creation of each book, beginning with Woolf's first novel, TheVoyage Out, published in 1915 when she was 33, and concluding withBetween the Acts (1941). By lacing her supple, revelatory readingsof each book with relevant, judiciously analyzed biographicalinformation, Briggs creates a vital portrait of a perfectionist whoendured "rewriting madness," a questing woman who relished lifewhen she was free of the depression that stalked her, and avisionary determined to combat misogyny and invent a new type ofnovel that would "give the feeling of the vast tumult of life."Happily, the vastly gifted writer who takes shape on these pages isthe very genius readers intuit when reading Woolf's work. Woolfbelieved that women writers could "make the connection betweenliterature and life," and Briggs has done just that in her sterlinginterpretation. Donna Seaman Copyright American LibraryAssociation. All rights reserved (Booklist )

<p>　　"Briggs masterfully uses Virginia Woolf''s own thoughts and
words to gain entrance into the layered world of her life and
work." (Biloxi Sun Herald )"Briggs pulls together a high-wire act;
biographer and subject seem to commingle on the page, the result
being a joint effort of imaginative force." (Atlanta
Journal-Constitution. )Briggs is a fluid writer, and she offers
astute insights into both Woolf and her work. Making deft use of
letters and diaries, Briggs always steps aside to let Woolf express
it best: The urge to write was "like being harnessed to a shark,"
Woolf wrote, while receiving praise was "like being a violin and
being played upon." Briggs even allows Woolf to have her say on the
subject of biography: "People write what they call 'lives' of other
people; that is, they collect a number of events, and leave the
person to whom it happened unknown." Wisely, Briggs chooses not to
quarrel directly with such comments. Instead, in its entirety, this
biography offers a graceful refutation. (The New York Times -
Curtis Sittenfield )Starred Review. [Signature]Reviewed by Daphne
MerkinThe famous question, surely, needs amending by now: who isn't
afraid of Virginia Woolf—of writing about her, at least? Ever since
this most singularly gifted of women, whose genius is as protean as
it is profound, committed suicide at the age of 58 in 1941 at the
height of her creative powers, her life and work has engendered an
unremitting flow of books. These have included massively researched
tomes and slender impressionistic volumes on every aspect of Woolf,
from her pedigreed background and difficult Victorian childhood to
her unconventional marriage to Leonard, the "penniless Jew," her
Sapphic inclinations and the modernist Bloomsbury circle in which
she moved. Certain subsets of questions—what was the particular
nature of her mental illness? Did she or did she not suffer sexual
abuse as an adolescent at the hands of her two half-brothers?—have
inspired whole bookshelves of answers. In the more than
half-century since Woolf put a large stone in her pocket late one
March morning and walked into the Ouse River near her house in
Sussex, the documentation and speculation have not ceased. Enough
has been said, or so one would think. I might add, with all due
lack of humility, that I am in a particularly good position to
think thusly, since it would not be stretching things too far to
say that I have read the vast majority of these books, including
Hermione Lee's magisterial biography, which appeared in 1997. So it
is the more surprising to find Julia Briggs's new intellectual
biography of Woolf not only a mesmerizing read but one that adds
fresh dabs of paint to what I had otherwise assumed to be a
finished portrait. The emphasis on Woolf's "inner life"—on her
ongoing creative process and on her response to the critical
reception of her work—is especially suited to a writer who was in
the rapt habit of watching herself think, keeping track of the
quicksilver movements of her own mind like a fisherman on the
lookout for the sudden tug on his pole, the flash of a fin. (Woolf
was drawn to water imagery throughout her life as a metaphor for
the process of intellection.) And Briggs has done an
extraordinarily skillful job of interweaving Woolf's experience as
a writer with her experience as a woman in the world, one who
pondered the "life of frocks" and who had arguments with her
cook."How I interest myself!" Woolf wrote in a diary entry. And how
she continues to interest us, not least because of the fascination
she exerts on other talented readers and writers, like Julia
Briggs. That this book is a must for Woolf fans goes without
saying, but it is also a must for anyone interested in the nature
of female consciousness at its most self-aware and the workings of
artistic sensibility at their most illuminating. B&w photos.
(Nov.)Daphne Merkin is the author of Enchantment, a novel, and
Dreaming of Hitler, a collection of essays. She writes a book
column for Elle. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a
division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. (Publishers
Weekly )Yes, another Woolf biography, but a unique one given that
Briggs concentrates on Woolf's paradigm-altering work, and on
Woolf's fascination with the workings of the mind. Briggs tracks
the creation of each book, beginning with Woolf's first novel, The
Voyage Out, published in 1915 when she was 33, and concluding with
Between the Acts (1941). By lacing her supple, revelatory readings
of each book with relevant, judiciously analyzed biographical
information, Briggs creates a vital portrait of a perfectionist who
endured "rewriting madness," a questing woman who relished life
when she was free of the depression that stalked her, and a
visionary determined to combat misogyny and invent a new type of
novel that would "give the feeling of the vast tumult of life."
Happily, the vastly gifted writer who takes shape on these pages is
the very genius readers intuit when reading Woolf's work. Woolf
believed that women writers could "make the connection between
literature and life," and Briggs has done just that in her sterling
interpretation. Donna Seaman Copyright © American Library
Association. All rights reserved (Booklist )</p>

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