Virginia Woolf

Adeline Virginia Stephen was born January 25, 1882 in London. Her mother, Julia Prinsep Jackson Stephen was a famous model for Pre-Raphaelite painters. Her father, Sir Leslie Stephen was a notable scholar, author and critic. Virginia was home schooled by her parents. Her parents had each been married and widowed and had children from their previous marriages. Julia had Herbert, George and Stella. Leslie had a daughter who was mentally disabled and lived with the family until she was 21 and then institutionalized. Leslie and Julia had 4 children together (Vanessa, Thoby, Virginia and Adrian).

Their children were raised in an environment filled with Victorian literary society influences. Visitors in their home included Henry James, G. E. Moore, E. M. Forster, George Henry Lewes, Julia Margaret Cameron and James Russell Lowell who was Virginia’s honorary godfather. The girls of the family were taught the classics and English literature while the boys received a formal education.

Julia died suddenly in 1895 when Virginia was just 13 years old. She lost her half-sister Stella 2 years later. These deaths were the prelude to Virginia’s first nervous breakdown. Seven years later, in 1904, her father died and she was plunged into the depths of despair suffering a collapse so severe that she was institutionalized for a short period. Her breakdowns, mood swings and recurring depression were fueled by the sexual abuse committed against her and her sister Vanessa by their half brothers George and Gerald Duckworth. These maladies would torment her for the rest of her life.

Although Virginia’s instability often affected her social life, her writing continued with few breaks until the end of her life. She began her professional writing in 1905 for the Times Literary Supplement. She attained both critical and popular success for her writings.

In 1912 Virginia married Leonard Woolf who was a brilliant writer and critic. She often referred to as a ‘penniless Jew” but they enjoyed a close and loving bond. They often worked together professionally and opened the Hogarth Press which subsequently published Virginia’s novels. They also published works by T. S. Eliot, Laurens van der Post and others. In 1922 Virginia entered a long lasting sexual relationship with Vita Sackville-West. The women remained friends even after the affair ended.

The destruction of her London home during the Blitz at the onset of WW II worsened her already tentative condition until she was unable to work. On March 28, 1941 she put on her coat, filled the pockets with stones and walked into the River Ouse near her home and drowned. Her body was found 3 weeks later and her husband had her cremated and then buried her under a tree in the garden of their home in Rodmell, Sussex.

Virginia wrote several novels, short story collections, biographies, non-fiction books, autobiographical writings and diaries, 3 letters, 1 drama and 1 introduction preface.