Virginia Woolf
The Will to Create as a Woman
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
This groundbreaking study of the work and legacy of Virginia Woolf is also an account of the intertwined lives of two extraordinary women.
In 1932, Ruth Gruber earned her PhD—the youngest person ever to do so—with a stunning doctoral dissertation on Virginia Woolf. Published in 1935, the paper was the first-ever feminist critique of Woolf’s work and inspired a series of correspondences between the two writers. It also led to Gruber’s eventual meeting with Woolf, which she recounted six decades later in Virginia Woolf: The Will to Create as a Woman. Described by Gruber as “the odyssey of how I met Virginia Woolf, and how her life and work became intertwined with my life,” Virginia Woolf is a clear and insightful portrait of one of modern literature’s most innovative authors, written by one of America’s most remarkable journalists.
Customer Reviews
Interesting and In-Depth Glimpse Into V. Woolf
Note: I requested this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve never heard of Ruth Gruber before, but now that I have I am going to be seeking out other works by her. She was the youngest person ever to get her PhD and the first journalist in the Soviet Arctic (click here to read about how great she is). Plus, her style of writing flows so easily that I was rode along beside her throughout this fairly short book. The first quarter of the book is Gruber’s synopsis of her life and how they led to her personal interactions with Virginia Woolf, followed by photos and explanations of the actual correspondence, and finishing up with Gruber’s 1935 dissertation of Woolf’s work (she’s 101 now).
I must confess that this book is difficult for me to review because, while I appreciate the popularity and importance of Virigina Woolf, I’ve only read one of her books. I’m also pretty far behind on most of the other classics, so the academic comparisons and contrasts made between Woolf and other classic females were lost on me. But the writing was clear, concise, and coherent and I learned a lot’ I’m looking forward to reading more Bronte and Austen.
The great thing is that I feel like I know Virginia Woolf a bit better and am better prepared to read more of her books. I did not like Mrs. Dalloway because of it’s stream-of-consciousness style, but now that I know more about her mental states during the times that she wrote her books, I’m looking forward to reading another (maybe one that is a little less frazzled, though).
I have a feeling that the dissertation in this book is something I will reread after I’ve read a few other classics and Woolf books. If you’re not well-versed in all things Woolf, then you’ll enjoy this book but perhaps be a little bewildered like me. If you’re a big Woolf fan, then you should absolutely read it.