Customer Reviews

Mrs. Woolf and the Servants: An Intimate History of Domestic Life in Bloomsbury

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Alison Light clearly does her homework. "Mrs. Woolf and the Servants" is absolutely loaded with the products of her very thorough research. Not only does she tell us as much as humanly possible about the various servants who worked for Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell, and others of the Bloomsbury set, but she tells us about the lives of their parents, as well. Light strives to create a clear picture of these servants, including where they came from, how they lived, and how their lives drew to a close. In addition, she pays a good deal of attention to the conditions of life and stratification along class structure in England during the early 1900's. Initially, I was worried that the book would prove to be too dry, as some books which prove to be information dumps can be. Thankfully, Light paints vivid portraits of these famous (and not so famous) figures, bringing them to life while keeping the reader's interest.

My main criticism of the book consists of there being occasionally too much information. We don't necessarily need to know the smallest details of the lives of these servants' parents. In addition, Light does stray away from the main topic of domestic servants and simply focus on Virginia Woolf for a good portion. Since my main attraction to this book was my thirst for all things Virginia Woolf, I appreciated that. However, those looking simply for a critical analysis of domestic service might not be as pleased. Light certainly goes above and beyond in her approach to discovering exactly what Woolf's view of domestic service was. Not only does she turn to diaries, correspondence, and interviews for her information, but she goes so far as to do her own interpretation of servants in Woolf's literary work in a manner that is well thought out and truly revealing of the famous writer.

Whether you're interested in England's history of household servants or solely here for the Virginia Woolf insight, I definitely recommend this book.

For compulsive readers of Virginia Woolf. If you have been intrigued for years over the many references to Virginia`s "servant problem" in her diaries and letters, this is the book to read.

It throws new light on middle-class families in Victorian times, and right through WWI. Questions are answered, secrets are revealed, and there is a surprise at the end.

I liked it very much.

Interesting perspective, but the materials tend to be repetitive and have a "patched-together" feel. The scarcity of records on these servants may be the cause of it, the effect, though, is an ironic one. The "thinly" portrayed lives of the servants almost reinforce the snobbish views of their masters, Virginia Woolf in particular, that their lives are insignificant.
Several "slips" also demonstrate how the materials taken from various sources are not well integrated. For example, on p. 270, the author mentions a friend "Morgan Forster". This "Morgan Forster" is no other than E.M. Forster. The passage must be directly taken from Woolf's diary or letters. Morgan is always the way she addresses him but "Morgan Forster" would not mean anything to most readers. Same thing happens on p. 287, the "Tom Eliot" who goes to church is actually T.S. Eliot! It is inexcusable that the editors did not catch these.

This was a very interesting look at the day to day life of Virginia Woolf. I really enjoyed the stories of the women who made Woolf's household work so she could write without having to stop to open a can of soup. It's a wonderful look at a certain level of British society and after all Woolf was of the upper class and she was used to having servants. I particularly enjoyed the story of the one woman who ended up working for Charles Laughton and his wife and endorsed a "cooker" or stove in an ad after she was let go by Woolf who found her just too much of a problem. This book helps put Virginia Woolf's feet on the ground and it was a very refreshing look. I have recommended this book to a good number of people. It's a wonderful bit of social and literary history.

This book is a fascinating look at the lives of servants and those they worked for in the Victorian era and on, through the eyes of Virginia Woolf and her Bloomsbury crowd. I have read other books about Woolf, including Shaggy Muses: The Dogs Who Inspired Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edith Wharton, and Emily Brontė by Maureen Adams, which I also found fascinating. And other books about life in Victorian England including The Victorian House by Judith Flanders, which I also recommend.

I don't know enough about Woolf to judge Alison Light's research skills, but I liked her writing style. I liked learning more about Woolf's life by seeing how she interacted with her servants.

I thought the last fifty pages were too detailed about what happened to each servant from the time Woolf died until each of them died. Ho-hum. I couldn't keep all those women straight, they felt interchangeable, which in itself is a statement on the servant issue.

Where has good research gone?
Seems it's gone to quoting old BBC radio productions and bits of diary without context.
Some new information but the interplay between Woolf and her servants is really rather scant. A lot of this book is filler.
Sue S.