Woolf: A Guide for the Perplexed

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Woolf: A Guide for the Perplexed
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Dr Kathryn Simpson
SeriesGuides for the Perplexed
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:216
Dimensions(mm): Height 216,Width 138
Category/GenreLiterary studies - from c 1900 -
Literary studies - fiction, novelists and prose writers
ISBN/Barcode 9781441191229
ClassificationsDewey:823.912
Audience
General
Tertiary Education (US: College)
Professional & Vocational

Publishing Details

Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic USA
Publication Date 25 February 2016
Publication Country United States

Description

Virginia Woolf is one of the best-known and most influential modernist writers; an iconic figure, her image and reference to her work and life appear in the most varied of cultural sites. Her writing is, however, in many ways kaleidoscopic and has given rise to a diverse and, sometimes, conflicting body of critical work. Whilst Woolf envisaged that her readers could be 'fellow-worker[s]' in the creative process, there is much to perplex any reader approaching her writing, especially for the first time. Drawing on some of the main critical debates and on Woolf's non-fictional writings, this guide untangles some of the difficulties and perplexities that can prove a barrier to understanding of Woolf's writing. These include aspects of the process of writing (such as narrative techniques, formal structures, characterisation), as well as the thematic concerns so central to Woolf's writing, the cultural context in which it emerged and to recent criticism, including representations of gender and sexuality, class and race.

Author Biography

Kathryn Simpson Senior Lecturer at Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK, where she primarily teaches modernist, contemporary and nineteenth-century literature. She is author of Gifts, Markets and Economies of Desire in Virginia Woolf (2008).

Reviews

[CC] Simpson (Cardiff Metropolitan Univ., UK) offers an insightful and approachable explanation Woolf's narrative techniques, poetic language, and characterizations ... Simpson points out that unlike realist writers, Woolf emphasizes the inner life and consciousness of the characters. Simpson links themes such as empire and imperialism, anti-Semitism, and class structure to the works associated with them, once again offering clear explanations ... [T]hose struggling with Woolf's complex, rich narrative structures will welcome this addition to the "Guides for the Perplexed" series. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; general readers. * CHOICE *