This story of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s cocker spaniel, Flush, enchants right from the opening pages. Although Flush has adventures of his own with bullying dogs, horrid maids, and robbers, he also provides the reader with a glimpse into Browning’s life. Introduction by Trekkie Ritchie.
Flush
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Review
A novel contribution to Browning material, which will interest anyone who saw THE BARRETTS OF WIMPOLE STREET, anyone who is collecting Browning data, and most people who like to read about dogs. For with the slenderest material to work on, Miss Woolf has produced a sympathetic study of the famous spaniel, and made him a real and vivid personality. First owned by Miss Mitford, he roamed the country at will; after he was given to Miss Barrett, he settled down into the role of invalid's dog. When Robert Browning appeared on the scene, he showed keen resentment at sharing his mistress' attention, but eventually accepted him as inevitable. The move to Italy was a ticket to freedom. Though essentially Flush's story, Virginia Woolf has given interesting sidelights on the Brownings and those associated with them, and she has told it in her most delightful style, devoid of the indirection and obscurity of most of her fiction. (Kirkus Reviews )
About the Author
VIRGINIA WOOLF (1882-1941) was one of the major literary figures of the twentieth century. An admired literary critic, she authored many essays, letters, journals, and short stories in addition to her groundbreaking novels.
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More About the Author
VIRGINIA WOOLF (1882-1941) was one of the major literary figures of the twentieth century. An admired literary critic, she authored many essays, letters, journals, and short stories in addition to her groundbreaking novels.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
FLUSH probably gets the least respect of all of Virginia Woolf's books, and many critics at the time of its publication in 1933 (and since) thought she was being more than a bit twee in telling the satory of the Elizabeth Barrett-Robert Browning courtship from the point of view of Barrett's adored cocker spaniel. But this experiment in biography is much more than that: it's an attempt to understand the world from a non-human point of view, and it also is Woolf's most overt look in her fiction at class difference and (more unusually) at the world of crime. It's also a terrific addition to Woolf's extended engagement from an early 20th-c. perspective with the world of genteel Victorian society and its snobberies and hypocrisies.
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I bought and read Flush with some scepticism. While I can't praise Virginia Woolf enough, I tend to shy away from animal stories. Flush, however, is the exception to the rule. My scepticism soon dissipated and I was thrown into a world more human than most written worlds. Flush is among the most sympathetic and beautiful character sketches I have ever come across. This is a very different book for Woolf and I couldn't be more glad that she took the chance to write something that seems so trivial. There is feeling of release in the way it is written, but it is not flippant. Rather, it makes the character of Flush that much more accessible to the reader.
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
One of my very favorite reads this year. This is a biography of sorts - and a fiction of sorts. It's the story of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's cocker spanial Flush. An absolute charmer. This is one of those volumes that can truly be read in a single setting - it is possessed of a free flowing lyric quality often absent in this writer's more cerebral fictions. Still, this isn't a slight piece by any means, but a richly detailed work of the imagination by one of the great literary minds of the past century. This is the kind of book you'll want to recommend to all your friends.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Autobiography of a Wonderful Dog Named Flush
I fell in love with Flush the minute he was introduced into the story. Flush was a great dog. I was unhappy with the way several of the characters treated Flush. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Waifey Lea
4.0 out of 5 stars
For the spaniel lover
Cute book, I like that flush was less humanized than dogs in modern novels. Anyone who loves spaniels will enjoy!
Published 4 months ago by Rebecca L King
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my all time favorites
This is a wonderful story written through the eyes of a very big heated dog. You are immediately sucked into the story and his life and you cannot wait to see what happens next.
Published 8 months ago by Andrew Nessl
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dog Lover's Lively Imagination Lives Forever!
There are only two books in the 20th century that contain the greatest classic dog story ever written. One was written by a man; the other by a woman. Read more
Published 10 months ago by G. Charles Steiner
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Right Method
Woolf has chosen just the right narrative method for this pseudo-biography of Elizabeth Barret Browning's red spaniel Flush. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Charles B. Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book!
Although Flush isn't Virginia Woolf's most known book, you can be sure it is one of the best. Based on the love letters between English poets Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Gisele
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Book!
As a lover of Spaniels and fan of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, this book was a double hit! Told from the perspective of the dog, it is especially charming. HIGHLY recommended!
Published on February 17, 2011 by S. Post
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
Received this book super fast - which was great since I needed to read it for my class.
The book was in perfect condition!
The book was in perfect condition!
Published on December 21, 2010 by Arvilla C. Fee
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lover of V. Woolf
This is a great book. I enjoy the way that Ms Woolf puts words together. It is like poetry.
Published on April 28, 2009 by Deborah M. Rodriguez
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Perfect Novella and a Fun Read
Woolf has 16 major works and I think this is one of her funnier works. It would be a good place to start reading Woolf's works. Read more
Published on August 4, 2007 by J. Robinson
Citations (learn more)
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66
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- Between the Acts by Virginia Woolf in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Passionate Apprentice: The Early Journals, 1897-1909 by Virginia Woolf in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Freshwater: A Comedy by Virginia Woolf in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf in Front Matter, and Back Matter
See all 26 books this book cites
- The Cambridge Introduction to Virginia Woolf (Cambridge Introductions to Literature) by Jane Goldman on 5 pages
- Dog Love by Marjorie Garber on 5 pages
- Animal Spaces, Beastly Places (Critical Geographies) by Chris Philo on page 35, page 37, and page 49
- Trespassing Boundaries: Virginia Woolf's Short Fiction by Kathryn N. Benzel on page 148, page 149, and Back Matter
- City Images: Perspectives from Literature, Philosophy, and Film by M. A. Caws on page 108, page 110, and page 118
See all 66 books citing this book
