Quick Facts
Mrs Dalloway. A Room of One's Own. Stream of consciousness and feminist icon.
Conversation Starters
Life Journey
Virginia Woolf was born Adeline Virginia Stephen to Leslie and Julia Stephen in Kensington, London. Her father was a prominent literary figure and historian, and her mother was a renowned beauty and model for Pre-Raphaelite artists.
Virginia's mother, Julia Stephen, died of influenza, a profound loss that deeply affected Virginia and her siblings. This event marked the beginning of Virginia's struggles with mental health.
Virginia began her informal education at King's College London, where she studied Greek, Latin, and history. Her education was unconventional and largely self-directed due to her family's intellectual environment.
The death of Virginia's father, Leslie Stephen, a prominent literary figure, exacerbated her mental health issues, leading to a severe nervous breakdown and a brief hospitalization.
Virginia began writing reviews and articles for various publications, marking the start of her professional writing career. Her early work appeared in the Times Literary Supplement and the Guardian.
Virginia married Leonard Woolf, a writer and political theorist, on August 10, 1912. Their relationship was a partnership of mutual support and intellectual collaboration.
Virginia and Leonard founded the Hogarth Press, which published their own works and those of other writers, including T.S. Eliot and Katherine Mansfield. The press played a significant role in the modernist movement.
Virginia published 'Mrs. Dalloway,' a groundbreaking novel that explored the inner lives of its characters through stream-of-consciousness narrative. The book solidified her reputation as a leading modernist writer.
Virginia published 'A Room of One's Own,' an extended essay that argued for women's financial independence and the need for a space of their own to write. It became a foundational text of feminist literary criticism.
Virginia Woolf, suffering from severe depression, drowned herself in the River Ouse near her home in Rodmell, Sussex. Her death was a tragic end to a life of profound literary achievement and personal struggle.