Virginia Woolf: A Biography (Paperback)

~ Quentin Bell (Author) "VIRGINIA Woolf was a Miss Stephen..." (more)
Key Phrases: Hyde Park Gate, Gordon Square, Violet Dickinson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The first full-scale biography of the eminent British writer, written by her nephew. Index; photographs.

About the Author

Quentin Claudian Stephen Bell (19 August 1910 in London – 16 December 1996 in Sussex) was an English art historian and author.

Bell was the son of Clive Bell and Vanessa Bell née Stephen, and the nephew of Virginia Woolf née Stephen. He was educated in London and at the Quaker Leighton Park School.

Principally an artist, as a potter, he was drawn to academia. Bell's biography of his famous aunt, Virginia Woolf: A biography, 2 vols (London: Hogarth Press, 1972), won not only the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, but also the Duff Cooper Prize and the Yorkshire Post Book of the Year Award. He also wrote several books on the Bloomsbury Group and Charleston Farmhouse.

He later became a lecturer in Art History at the Department of Fine Art, King's College, University of Durham from 1952 to 1959, then professor at Leeds University. In 1964 he was appointed Slade professor of fine art at Oxford University and, in 1965, Ferens professor of fine art at Hull University. He was a professor of art history and theory at the University of Sussex from 1967 to 1975.

He was married to (Anne) Olivier Bell née Popham. They had three children: Julian Bell, an artist and muralist; Cressida Bell, a notable textile designer; and Virginia Bell, the writer of Among the Bohemians and Singled Out.

His older brother was the poet Julian Heward Bell who died in the Spanish Civil War in 1939, aged 29. The writer Angelica Garnett is his half-sister.

Quentin Bell is buried in the churchyard of St. Peter's Church, West Firle, East Sussex. 

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Harvest Books (March 20, 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156935805
• ISBN-13: 978-0156935807
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #97,016 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

117 of 119 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A definitive source..., March 31, 2001

By	Dianne Foster "Di" (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

I read VIRGINIA WOLFE: A BIOGRAPHY by Quentin Bell after I had read several other books about Wolfe. I was pleased to discover that Bell included some of the more unsavory aspects of Woolfe's life even though he was a blood relative and wrote his book in an age that frowned on revealing "dirty" family secrets. I am referring to the presumed incestuous behavior of Woolfe's brothers towards Virginia and Vanessa.

Quentin Bell was the son of Virginia's sister the artist Venessa Bell. Virginia and Vanessa were the daughters of the very prominent English Victorian Leslie Stephen. Stephen married Virginia's mother Julia after her first husband Herbert Duckworth died. The brothers accused of incest were sons from the first marriage and much older than Virginia who was the next to the youngest child of Julia and Leslie.

Much has been written about the end of Virgina's life, how she placed several heavy stones in her pockets and walked into the river Ouse near her home and drowned herself in the early 1940s. As recently as last week on Garrison Keilior's "Writer's Almanack" on NPR on the anniversary of her birth this event was mentioned again as if it was the only thing she ever did of interest.

But Virginia did not take her life easily. She had survived some horrific events including the death of her beloved brother Thoby--her closest sibling, and the deaths of many other loved persons during WWI, as well as the death of Lytton Strachey her best friend. Moreover, at the time of her death, her London home in Bloomsbury had been bombed and Hitler was threatening to invade England. Virginia's husband Leonard was Jewish and they were both aware of what Hitler was doing to the Jews.

The most wonderful aspect of Bell's book is that he tells the complete story of Virgina's life--how she coped with sorrow and used her life experiences to frame her art. She was probably the most original writer of the 20th Century, and much of the glory that went to James Joyce should have gone to her. At the very least, she was his equal. She wrote in a 'stream of consciousness subjective voice' before James, but she wrote in an era when women writers found it difficult to become published. In fact, Virginia and Leonard started their own publishing press to deal with this deficiency. Even so, Virginia's work remained relatively obscure until it was "discovered" during the women's movement of the 1960's.

This is an illuminating, sad, and reflective book written by a man who knew and loved her. If you want to know more about Virginia Wolfe this is the place to begin.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Most Interesting Perspective, January 25, 2001

By	kristy marcotte (New England) - See all my reviews

An amazing and unique look at the life of Virginia Woolf, through the thoughts and studies of her own nephew--Quentin Bell. Filled with history, quotes, parts of letters and diary entries, this makes a wonderful and educational read. A peek into the society of Bloomsbury and beyond. This biography follows Virginia and all who were close to her through turbulent times and the happiness and stress of new households.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Nephew's Perspective, April 2, 2000

By	Pamela J. Atwood (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

Almost sixty years after Virginia Woolf's death, her image is chrystalized in numerous bodies of boigraphical works. Most writers who commemorate Woolf must write as an onlooker. Quentin Bell is unlike most biographers. Woolf was his aunt. Bell is able to capture the smallest peculiarity in Woolf's character. She was a central personality in his life. His childhood memories of her are particularly strong. He remembers that she was a wonderful as a child's companion. She understood the young better than any other adult. Bell says that Woolf was a first-rate story teller. She could frighten children, even if the story was not terribly scary. THe only shortcoming of Bell's biography is that it has no criticism of Woolf's writings. Bell's work is simply a reccolection. However, it is an interesting read and a lovely memior.