Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf was an English writer and literary critic.

She was born in London into the family of the noted literary critic Sir Leslie Stephen and Julia Duckworth. Virginia was the third child born to Leslie and Julia. When Virginia was 13, she suffered the death of her mother, which caused the writer’s first nervous breakdown.

Virginia’s elder sister Stella acted as mistress of the house for some time, but soon died. Vanessa, the next oldest, had to take over household duties; unlike her elder sister, however, she had a strong character and nerves of steel, and could stand up to her father, who was gradually turning into a despot.

Sir Leslie Stephen died of cancer on 22 February 1904. All his children except Virginia received this news with immense relief. At last they were free! Virginia, however, did not feel fully free even after her father’s death. Until the end of her life she carried on unceasing inner arguments with him, sometimes accusing him, sometimes excusing him.

Soon after her father’s death the family moved from expensive, respectable Kensington to the cheap bohemian district of Bloomsbury, which soon became famous throughout the world thanks to the circle of intellectuals whose center Virginia soon became. Here, in disputes with representatives of the new, young British culture, she honed her skill and shaped her aesthetic program.

In 1905 she began her literary career. Her first publications were articles and reviews for the literary supplement of the Times and other periodicals, devoted to works by the classics and contemporary authors.

However, a succession of misfortunes did not leave the Stephen family. In 1906 Vanessa, Virginia, Toby, and Adrian set off on a trip to Greece, during which Toby, Virginia’s beloved brother and a promising mathematician, contracted typhoid and died upon returning to London. He was only 26.

Two days later a new blow followed: Vanessa accepted a proposal from Clive Bell, one of the members of the “Bloomsbury circle,” and Virginia was left alone with her brother Adrian. In 1907 she wrote Memories, in which she recounted family history and her own attitude toward it. Officially the book was written for the