A Moment's Liberty: The Shorter Diary [Paperback]

Virginia Woolf (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 1992

The Diary of Virginia Woolf has been acclaimed as a masterpiece. Anne Olivier Bell edited the five-volume original, and she has now abridged the Diary in this splendidly readable single volume edition. “A fine opportunity to experience Woolf’s biting wit and scathing depiction of her contemporaries” (Booklist). Introduction by Quentin Bell; Index.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Woolf's diaries of 1915-1941, abridged to a fifth of their original published size, include portraits of T. S. Eliot and Katherine Mansfield; comments on sales and reviews of her books; pleasant musings and acerbic remarks. According to PW , ``The diaries here may appeal to a larger audience, not least because each year represented is prefaced by a wonderfully succinct overview.''

Copyright 1991 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

Woolf's diaries of 1915-1941, abridged to a fifth of their original published size, include portraits of T. S. Eliot and Katherine Mansfield; comments on sales and reviews of her books; pleasant musings and acerbic remarks. According to PW , ``The diaries here may appeal to a larger audience, not least because each year represented is prefaced by a wonderfully succinct overview.'' (Publishers Weekly )

A tastefully abridged edition of the five volumes of Woolf's Diary (1977-1984). Featuring a new introduction by Woolf's nephew Quentin Bell, and edited by Quentin's wife, Anne, who edited the five-volume set, the abridgement provides an intimate record of Woolf's life from 1915 to 1941. The earliest entries focus mostly on social and domestic matters (1915: "Sunday 31 January: O dear! We quarrelled for almost all the morning! and it was a lovely morning, and now gone to Hades for ever . . .I explode; and L. smoulders"), but as the years fly by (each is introduced with a concise summary by Anne Bell), the diary opens up to comment on literature, current events, and the rigors of celebrity (1932: "Thursday 21 July: Oh but I'm so tired - I sometimes think people can't know what they do to me when they ask me to 'see' them: how they hold me in the scorching light: how I dry and shrivel. . ."). Woolf's great talent shimmers across every page here; a marvelous volume. (Kirkus Reviews )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (January 15, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156619121
• ISBN-13: 978-0156619127
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #513,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine distillation of Woolf's diary, June 27, 2000

By 

Matthew Cheney (New Hampton, NH USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Moment's Liberty: The Shorter Diary (Paperback)

Virginia Woolf's diaries contain much of her most accessible and interesting writing, but the average reader is not likely to wade through all five volumes of the complete diary. This book, edited by the editor of the full diary, Anne Olivier Bell, presents most of the best of Woolf's reflections on her daily life and times, the people she knew, the struggles and joys of her days. Each year is prefaced with a helpful biographical sketch, and the index of names gives not only page references, but a quick description of the person's connection to Woolf.

It's important to know, however, that the book was meant as a sort of companion to the previous selection from Woolf's diaries created by her husband, Leonard, and published as A Writer's Diary. This earlier book printed the diary entries concerning Woolf's writings, and it is a marvelous selection. However, it was published at a time when many of the people Woolf mentioned were still alive, and so it wasn't until the full diary was published that readers got to see how dangerously witty and sharp Woolf could be about her colleagues and compatriots. A Moment's Liberty benefits from being able to draw from the full diary without need of censorship.