by Julia Briggs (Author)

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 commen­tary 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.

Front Jacket

Virginia Woolf is one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century literature. She was original, passionate, vivid, dedicated to her art. Yet most biographies of her still revolve around her social life and the Bloomsbury set.
In this fresh, absorbing book, Julia Briggs puts the writing back at the center of the life. Working closely with diaries, letters and original manuscripts, Briggs has created a masterly study of Woolf's writing process, the finished works, and their reception in the wider world. From The Voyage Out (1915) to Between the Acts (1941), Briggs traces the creation of Woolf's major novels and explores the contradictions that recur in her life and her work: her critique of marriage as a hopelessly patriarchal institution along with her enduring, if essentially platonic, devotion to her husband; her need for solitude and contemplation along with the social skills and ambitions that would make her part of the legend of Bloomsbury; her loathing of patriotism and her love of England, its landscapes and literature; her natural reserve and her deep conviction that women need to speak more openly of their bodies and their sexuality. Using Woolf's own matchless commentary on the creative process, Julia Briggs has produced a book which is a convincing, moving portrait of an artist at full stretch, but also a brilliant meditation on the whole nature of creativity.
Virginia Woolf: An Inner Life-a profound new insight into a literary genius.

Back Jacket

Rich and engaging.--The Times Literary Supplement
One of the most influential figures in twentieth-century literature, Virginia Woolf was original, passionate, and dedicated to her art. Yet most biographies of her still revolve around her social life and the Bloomsbury set.
In Virginia Woolf, Julia Briggs gives us a fresh perspective and puts the writing back at the center of the life. Working closely with diaries, letters, and original manuscripts, Briggs has created a masterly study of Woolf's writing process as well as the finished works and their reception in the wider world. From The Voyage Out (1915) to Between the Acts (1941), Briggs traces the creation of Woolf's major novels and explores the contradictions that recur in her life and her work. With profound new insight into the mind of a literary genius, Julia Briggs has produced a moving portrait of an artist at full stretch and a brilliant meditation on the nature of creativity.
"A fun read . . . Briggs traces Woolf's thoughts as they traveled from private meditation to public novel."--Chicago Tribune
"If you re looking for lucid insight into an intricate mind, a biography that s also a companion to reading Woolf s fiction, Briggs book is what you want." The Houston Chronicle
Julia Briggs is a professor of English literature at De Montfort University in Leicester, England. Shepreviously taught at Oxford University, where she was a fellow and tutor in English at Hertford College. She has three sons and lives in London.
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