Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for Adeline by Norah Vincent - Available

Adeline

A Novel of Virginia Woolf

by Norah Vincent
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Read a sample Read a sample
1 of 1 copy available
A “skillfully rendered and emotionally insightful” reimagining of the Bloomsbury group and Virginia Woolf’s last years (Publishers Weekly).
 
In 1925, she began writing To the Lighthouse, an epic piece of prose that instantly became a beloved classic. In 1941, she walked into the River Ouse, never to be heard from again. What happened in between those two moments is a story to be told, one of insight and camaraderie, loneliness and loss—the story of a woman, named Adeline at birth, heading toward an inexorable demise.
 
With poetic precision and psychological acuity, Norah Vincent paints an intimate portrait of what might have happened in those last years of Virginia Woolf’s life. From her friendships with the so-called Bloomsbury Group, which included the likes of T. S. Eliot, to her struggles with her husband, Leonard, Vincent explores the intimate conversations, tormented confessions, and internal struggles Woolf may have faced.
 
Praised by USA Today as “daring” and by the New Statesman as “electrifyingly good,” Adeline takes a keen look at one of the most beloved, mourned, and mysterious literary giants of all time.
 
“Vincent is a sensitive recorder of a mind’s movements as it shifts in and out of inspiration, and as it fights before submitting to despair.” —The New York Times Book Review
 
“Skillfully rendered and emotionally insightful.” —Publishers Weekly 

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 7, 2015

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780544471917

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780544471917
      • File size: 2714 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 23, 2015
      It is perhaps not surprising that Vincent (Self-Made Man), whose nonfiction has dealt with issues of gender and mental illness, should choose as the topic of this novel the life and death of Virginia Woolf. Specifically, the novel focuses on a handful of scenes from the last 15 years of Woolf’s life, exploring not only Woolf’s complicated relationship with her own creative process but also the intricate and fraught entanglements of the Bloomsbury Group. Central to Vincent’s imagined version of Woolf’s later years are the consequences of the author’s troubled childhood and its implications for her close relationships, including her sister, Vanessa. Here, much of Woolf’s depression and anxiety is linked to her childhood self—and her given name, Adeline—with whom Woolf has a pivotal imaginary conversation that haunts her to the end. This exchange is skillfully rendered and emotionally insightful, leading Vincent’s novel to its somber conclusion.

    • Library Journal

      April 15, 2015

      Drawing deeply on Hermione Lee's 1996 biography of Virginia Woolf, Vincent's (Thy Neighbor) historical novel provides startling glimpses into the mind of this troubled genius at multiple intervals between 1925 and her suicide in 1941. This profound psychological exploration of the writer features her conversations with her own inner voices as well as the heady, intellectual exchanges she has with members of the Bloomsbury Group and other luminaries, including T.S. Eliot and William Butler Yeats. During her emotional crises, Woolf interacts with Adeline, a version of herself at 13, the age of her first psychotic break following the death of her mother. Woolf was a true lover of language, and Vincent peppers the book with delightful wordplay and linguistic exploration. The portrait of husband Leonard Woolf as Virginia's rock and constant supportive companion and helpmate is particularly touching. VERDICT This beautifully written and penetrating re-creation of the life of a feminist icon will appeal to anyone with a passing interest in Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group. Readers will come away with a deeper understanding of both Woolf's brilliance and her suffering and may be inspired to revisit her writings.--Lauren Gilbert, Sachem P.L., Holbrook, NY

      Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading
Check out what's being checked out right now