I do so love these posts of yours, Ann Kennedy Smith, so generous in nature, enough for me, a free subscriber to build a literary plateful and feel satisfied and looking forward to the next course. Recently I saw an adaptation of Orlando set to music performed by the Orchestre Métropolitain and a handful of actors, very condensed. Posts like this one really give another glimpse into Virginia Woolf's life and added to the experience.
Thanks for this interesting post. I agree with your thoughts about Virginia Woolf’s loving but sometimes complex relationship with the Bell children. It seems to me from photos that VW and Leonard Woolf both genuinely liked the children, played with them and listened to them, and were much loved. Though, as you note, VW did feel later she’d not been generous enough to Julian and his poetry in young adulthood.
Thanks also for the thoughts on Elizabeth von Arnim’s wonderful novel, The Enchanted April. We sometimes study this book on our von Arnim courses at Literature Cambridge. The recent Oxford World’s Classics edition is brilliantly edited by Isobel Maddison, who co-teaches von Arnim for us. I have not seen the film but will seek it out. Thank you.
Yes it was good to see the TLS highlighting Woolf's relationship with Vanessa's children. Angelica later regretted that they had made fun of her as 'cracked', but Quentin Bell's 1972 biography contributed to the long-running 'pathobiography' of Woolf. My sense is that Julian was the one who understood Virginia best. I'm so pleased Isobel Maddison is running a new course on Elizabeth von Arnim later this year. It's a brilliant programme of lectures generally – I'm planning to catch up on a few. Thanks for your great comment.
There are so many films adapted from novels that I have loved. A few: The Enchanted April, Howard’s End, A Room With a View, Remains of the Day, Atonement, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, The Age of Innocence . . .
Absolutely agree with you about those, Susan. And Sense and Sensibility is another great one, as Laura Thompson has said on her Substack post about Austen – so I'm keen to see it again!
This is a really interesting look at Woolf. I'm embarrassed to admit I've only read Mrs. Dalloway, though I'm resolved to read more of her work this year. I think I've put off reading her because I've been intimidated by her greatness, and also because I was not quite ready to tackle Mrs. Dalloway when I did. But I like thinking of her the way you've written here--as someone who enchanted others with the playfulness of words. I'm also looking forward to your post on Elizabeth von Arnim. I'm currently watching Tea with Mussolini (in short spurts after my kids go to bed) inspired by watching Tea with the Dames. I had never seen it before though I loved Joan Plowright in The Enchanted April and Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont. She's just wonderful.
Thank you Dominika, I would love to see Tea with Mussolini again & had forgotten about the film of Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont! So that's another one to look out for, and Joan Plowright is always brilliant. Mrs Dalloway is very much my own favourite Woolf novel, & I love her Diaries - the selected version by Annie Olivier Bell (who was married to Quentin) is very good, and easy to find secondhand.
This is fascinating, Ann. And i couldn't help noticing Lettice's surname Ramsey, so close to the of the heroine of To the Lighthouse, published 5 years earlier. Virginia Woolf being visited by Mrs Ramsay...
Thanks for your great comment, Jeffrey. It is an intriguing connection! Lettice's husband Frank Ramsey, a brilliant mathematician who died far too young, was from a very respected family of Cambridge academics. Perhaps Woolf remembered them when she was writing To the Lighthouse...
Fascinating, and I love your bit of speculation about the poems and the visit that was captured in Lettice Ramsey’s photos. I also wonder if that tender photo of Woolf and Angelica led Michael Cunningham to the scene with Virginia and the three children in THE HOURS.
Thank you Sarah, I had forgotten about that scene in The Hours. It's a lovely photo, isn't it – I think Woolf had a good rapport with Lettice Ramsey and was less wary than she was with other photographers. Sophie Oliver's point about VW's poetry being relational was a good one, so I wanted to remember it (poetry can be just for fun!)
How lovely - I never knew that there is a film of The Enchanted April, one of my favourite books. Talking of adaptations apparently an 80s BBC production of All Passion Spent in three episodes is now on BBC iPlayer.
Oh, I have bookmarked that BBC production Vicky, so thank you for the tip! And I am delighted to hear you love The Enchanted April too. Funnily enough the film directed by Mike Newell (who did Four Weddings and a Funeral) is quite hard to get hold of in the UK, despite all the streaming options available. But I am determined to track it down.
I found this post fascinating and started reading lots of your others posts through the links. I am definitely not an academic, which is obvious, but Virginia Woolf & co have fascinated me from an early age. X
Interesting to see a picture of Lettice Ramsey, who established herself as a photographer after the tragically early death of her brilliant husband Frank - I'd love to know more about her. Also intrigued to discover there's a film of Enchanted April!
Hurray on both counts! I am slightly obsessed with Lettice so will write more about her soon. Cheryl Misak's recent biography of Frank Ramsey is excellent, especially the paperback version which she updates with new information about Lettice. I think her story gets particularly interesting after Frank's tragic death, when she took up photography.
Wonderful, and moving. And so much fun to see the connections come together! I tend to remember the stories more than the names, so didn't register immediately that this was the same photographer as in the other pieces. Amazing.
Thank you Maria! I felt so happy to see Lettice Ramsey's photographs acknowledged properly. There has been much more attention paid to Helen Muspratt's work (her archive was acquired by Oxford University a few years ago), so I like to give Lettice her due.
Looking forward to reading more, as you write them. This crowd seems to have been exceptionally fortunate in the friendships they fostered, even if less fortunate in other ways.
I do so love these posts of yours, Ann Kennedy Smith, so generous in nature, enough for me, a free subscriber to build a literary plateful and feel satisfied and looking forward to the next course. Recently I saw an adaptation of Orlando set to music performed by the Orchestre Métropolitain and a handful of actors, very condensed. Posts like this one really give another glimpse into Virginia Woolf's life and added to the experience.
Thank you Corrine, that's very kind. That adaptation of Orlando sounds wonderful. I need more music in my life!
Thanks for this interesting post. I agree with your thoughts about Virginia Woolf’s loving but sometimes complex relationship with the Bell children. It seems to me from photos that VW and Leonard Woolf both genuinely liked the children, played with them and listened to them, and were much loved. Though, as you note, VW did feel later she’d not been generous enough to Julian and his poetry in young adulthood.
Thanks also for the thoughts on Elizabeth von Arnim’s wonderful novel, The Enchanted April. We sometimes study this book on our von Arnim courses at Literature Cambridge. The recent Oxford World’s Classics edition is brilliantly edited by Isobel Maddison, who co-teaches von Arnim for us. I have not seen the film but will seek it out. Thank you.
Yes it was good to see the TLS highlighting Woolf's relationship with Vanessa's children. Angelica later regretted that they had made fun of her as 'cracked', but Quentin Bell's 1972 biography contributed to the long-running 'pathobiography' of Woolf. My sense is that Julian was the one who understood Virginia best. I'm so pleased Isobel Maddison is running a new course on Elizabeth von Arnim later this year. It's a brilliant programme of lectures generally – I'm planning to catch up on a few. Thanks for your great comment.
I love this term, 'pathobiography' -- nails it! Thank you for this and your post!
My pleasure - and I'd need to check, but I think it was Quentin Bell himself who came up with the term. Will investigate!
Those photographs remind me of Mrs Dalloway's reflections on her carefree days at college.
What a lovely connection to make, Marjorie. I think Angelica really brought out Woolf's carefree side.
Yes. I'd like to believe she had those good times too.
There are so many films adapted from novels that I have loved. A few: The Enchanted April, Howard’s End, A Room With a View, Remains of the Day, Atonement, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, The Age of Innocence . . .
Absolutely agree with you about those, Susan. And Sense and Sensibility is another great one, as Laura Thompson has said on her Substack post about Austen – so I'm keen to see it again!
This is a really interesting look at Woolf. I'm embarrassed to admit I've only read Mrs. Dalloway, though I'm resolved to read more of her work this year. I think I've put off reading her because I've been intimidated by her greatness, and also because I was not quite ready to tackle Mrs. Dalloway when I did. But I like thinking of her the way you've written here--as someone who enchanted others with the playfulness of words. I'm also looking forward to your post on Elizabeth von Arnim. I'm currently watching Tea with Mussolini (in short spurts after my kids go to bed) inspired by watching Tea with the Dames. I had never seen it before though I loved Joan Plowright in The Enchanted April and Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont. She's just wonderful.
Thank you Dominika, I would love to see Tea with Mussolini again & had forgotten about the film of Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont! So that's another one to look out for, and Joan Plowright is always brilliant. Mrs Dalloway is very much my own favourite Woolf novel, & I love her Diaries - the selected version by Annie Olivier Bell (who was married to Quentin) is very good, and easy to find secondhand.
What a great post. I've never seen the film, but I love the original book.
Thanks June! Quite hard to get hold of the film in the UK it seems (unless you have a working DVD player).
Thanks for reminding about this wonderful movie, and prompting me to read the book.
So pleased, Lesley! It is such a good – and underrated – book. I loved re-reading it.
This is fascinating, Ann. And i couldn't help noticing Lettice's surname Ramsey, so close to the of the heroine of To the Lighthouse, published 5 years earlier. Virginia Woolf being visited by Mrs Ramsay...
Thanks for your great comment, Jeffrey. It is an intriguing connection! Lettice's husband Frank Ramsey, a brilliant mathematician who died far too young, was from a very respected family of Cambridge academics. Perhaps Woolf remembered them when she was writing To the Lighthouse...
Fascinating, and I love your bit of speculation about the poems and the visit that was captured in Lettice Ramsey’s photos. I also wonder if that tender photo of Woolf and Angelica led Michael Cunningham to the scene with Virginia and the three children in THE HOURS.
PS I must rewatch The Enchanted April—thanks for the reminder!
Thank you Sarah, I had forgotten about that scene in The Hours. It's a lovely photo, isn't it – I think Woolf had a good rapport with Lettice Ramsey and was less wary than she was with other photographers. Sophie Oliver's point about VW's poetry being relational was a good one, so I wanted to remember it (poetry can be just for fun!)
How lovely - I never knew that there is a film of The Enchanted April, one of my favourite books. Talking of adaptations apparently an 80s BBC production of All Passion Spent in three episodes is now on BBC iPlayer.
Oh, I have bookmarked that BBC production Vicky, so thank you for the tip! And I am delighted to hear you love The Enchanted April too. Funnily enough the film directed by Mike Newell (who did Four Weddings and a Funeral) is quite hard to get hold of in the UK, despite all the streaming options available. But I am determined to track it down.
I found this post fascinating and started reading lots of your others posts through the links. I am definitely not an academic, which is obvious, but Virginia Woolf & co have fascinated me from an early age. X
Many thanks Jo, and I also can't resist reading about the Bloomsberries! I really enjoy EJ Barnes's posts about them, like this one:
https://ejbarnes.substack.com/p/christmas-with-mrs-woolf-and-mr-keynes
It’s actually inspired by more than one novel, but Master and Commander with Russell Crowe is an adaptation that I love.
Oh yes, I do like that one. Did you enjoy the books too, Katy?
Yes! I’ve read the series twice, and I anticipate reading them again! :)
Interesting to see a picture of Lettice Ramsey, who established herself as a photographer after the tragically early death of her brilliant husband Frank - I'd love to know more about her. Also intrigued to discover there's a film of Enchanted April!
Hurray on both counts! I am slightly obsessed with Lettice so will write more about her soon. Cheryl Misak's recent biography of Frank Ramsey is excellent, especially the paperback version which she updates with new information about Lettice. I think her story gets particularly interesting after Frank's tragic death, when she took up photography.
Wonderful, and moving. And so much fun to see the connections come together! I tend to remember the stories more than the names, so didn't register immediately that this was the same photographer as in the other pieces. Amazing.
Thank you Maria! I felt so happy to see Lettice Ramsey's photographs acknowledged properly. There has been much more attention paid to Helen Muspratt's work (her archive was acquired by Oxford University a few years ago), so I like to give Lettice her due.
Looking forward to reading more, as you write them. This crowd seems to have been exceptionally fortunate in the friendships they fostered, even if less fortunate in other ways.