Kathy Hamilton Where to start with Virginia Woolf. That’s a great question. Best known for Mrs Dalloway and A Room of One’s Own, she’s the kind of author that feels larger than life and so important it can be off-putting. You’ve likely heard of her, but never actually read her books. Why? Well, there’s probably a whole host of reasons why, but knowing where to start is a pretty good one. Don’t worry, this blog post is going to break things down for you and give you some places to begin.
Who is Virginia Woolf?
Adeline Virginia Stephen was born into a privileged family in 1882 to free-thinking parents and spent her childhood surrounded by her parent’s well connected, artistic and literary friends. She began writing from a young age, although her early career was curtailed by serious bouts of depression.
In 1912 she fell passionately in love with and married Leanard Woolf. Together they became part of the literary Bloomsbury Group as well as establishing their own printing press. “Hogarth Press”, which published their own work, also published the work of famous authors such as T.S Eliot, Catherine Mansfield and Sigmund Freud.
Despite achieving literary success, depression always loomed at the edges of Virginia’s life. In 1941, as WWII raged, she began to sink into a deep despair about the state of the world. Unable to cope, she eventually committed suicide by filling her coat pockets with rocks and walking into the River Ouse.
Although she tragically cut her life short, Virginia Woolf‘s legacy lived on. Her popularity waned after the second world war, but her work found a new audience in the 1970s thanks to the feminist movement. Today, she remains one of the most influential authors of the 21st Century.
What Books Did Virginia Woolf Write?
Writing was more than a passion for Virginia Woolf, it was a way of life. Every facet of her life revolved around her determination to write, and write well. In fact, she was extremely opinionated about the right ways to write and read. Every morning she spent at least 2.5 hours writing. After, she would walk, alone or with Leanord and think about better ways to pull together what she had written that morning. As a result, she was able to produce a large body of work that spread itself across a variety of genres from fiction to essays and criticism.
She is perhaps best known for the style of her writing – Stream of Consciousness. This style concentrates on the interior monologue, thoughts and feelings of a human which are depicted in a continuous flow uninterrupted by objective description or conventional dialogue. Stream of Consciousness marks a vast departure from the Victorian writing of her youth and her mastery of it led to her lasting success.
Where to Start with Virginia Woolf – 4 Reading Plans
If you have never read Virginia Woolf it can be difficult to know where to start since she was so prolific. However, I have created four reading plans below. Each takes a different approach and will allow you to begin reading Virginia Woolf at your own pace and hopefully get the best enjoyment from her writing.
Reading Plan 1: The Greatest Hits
Virginia Woolf was a prolific author, as we’ve just seen, and if you really just want to dip your toe in it can be a little overwhelming. But you could always read the greatest hits first. The books that made her famous will be a great introduction to her oeuvre and then, if you really enjoy her style you can go back and fill in the gaps.
I think this is the way many people would approach the question. When it comes to where to start with Virginia Woolf, why not start with the best? With that in mind, here’s a reading list for you:
- Mrs Dalloway
- To The Lighthouse
- The Waves
- Orlando
- A Room of One’s Own
Reading Plan 2: Chronological
Virginia Woolf didn’t start off writing genre-defining modernist fiction. In fact, her most famous novels were written during the middle and end of her career. Something that caused her personal frustration as she grappled with a way to express her thoughts in a new and authentic way.
However, if it’s the genre-defining modernism that makes you a little nervous, then this could be a good answer for where to start with Virginia Woolf. By starting from her first novel The Voyage Out, which is written in a much more traditional style, you can read along with her as she develops her style.
If that’s something that appeals to you, why not consider reading her novels in this order:
- The Voyage Out (1915)
- Night and Day (1919)
- Jacob’s Room (1922)
- Mrs Dalloway (1925)
- To the Lighthouse (1927)
- Orlando: A Biography (1928)
- The Waves (1931)
- The Years (1937)
- Between the Acts (1941)
Interestingly, in The Voyage Out, Virginia Woolf introduces a character called Clarissa who will later go on to be the famous Mrs Dalloway. So you could almost look at it as a sneak peek!
Reading Plan 3: Non-Fiction
I think that Virginia Woolf’s non-fiction work deserves to be treated as its own category. In many ways, it’s more approachable than her fiction since it was often adapted from speeches and talks or designed to be printed in the newspaper.
The reading list below is designed to give you a good example of her non-fiction work. If you tend to enjoy reading thought-provoking and engaging writing which is designed to prove a point this is an excellent place for where to start with Virginia Woolf.
- A Room of One’s Own
- Three Guineas
- The London Scene
- Flush
Reading Plan 4: Go with Your Gut
To wrap up I have less of a reading plan and more of a suggestion. When it comes to where to start with Virginia Woolf it might just be the book that appeals to you the most. Reading is an individual choice after all, and, whilst I can give you suggestions ultimately going with your gut might be the best way. For example, I read Mrs Dalloway first, followed by The Waves (my personal favourite) and then dabbled in her non-fiction for a while.
Wherever you start with Virginia Woolf, I hope you enjoy it
Virginia Woolf is a fantastic and nuanced author with an original approach to writing fiction. I hope that, whichever way you go about it, you fall in love with her books. Good luck!
