VIRGINIA WOOLF IN RICHMOND

A debut literary/historical study examines the 10 years Virginia Woolf spent in Richmond.

Woolf, the English writer and pioneer of modernism, lived in Richmond, a town southwest of London, between 1914 and 1924. In the summer of 1913, she had suffered a serious breakdown, which led to a failed suicide attempt. The strains of writing her first novel, combined with the pressures of living in busy central London, had taken a serious toll. Woolf’s husband, Leonard, wanted to relocate to somewhere quieter, where his wife could convalesce. The couple moved to lodging in Richmond in October 1914, before falling in love with Hogarth House, which they would acquire a lease for the following year. Drawing on extracts from Woolf’s diaries, the study broadly assesses her time in Richmond, and how the town influenced her—from her walks in the parks and woods to the arrival of the couple’s first printing press. Fullagar also considers key developments in Woolf’s career during this period, notably the founding of the Hogarth Press, which allowed her to publish her own works without having “to suffer the negativity of sending manuscripts to publishers for scrutiny.” He deftly shows readers Richmond through Woolf’s eyes by handpicking pertinent excerpts from her diaries. In one vivid entry, she notes: “We walked in Richmond Park this afternoon; the trees all black, and the sky heavy over London; but there is enough colour to make it even lovelier today than on bright days, I think.” Fullagar is keen to allow Woolf’s writing to take center stage, adding discreet, if occasionally prosaic, commentary: “Even when the weather was not very attractive, Virginia would walk around the Richmond area and still find beauty.” But the book can become repetitive; for instance, Fullagar includes a diary excerpt in chapter one where Woolf expresses a desire to buy a “bulldog called John.” This information resurfaces in the following chapter. Repetitions also arise regarding a typesetting mix-up that confused “the h’s with the n’s.” While Fullagar’s tight focus on Richmond makes this study of Woolf a compelling proposition, the argument lacks order. And his own critical voice is often lost among the many sizable hunks of text carved from Woolf’s diaries.

An informed but flawed work that explores the impact of an English town on Woolf.