A story the author wrote eight years before publishing her debut novel
Virginia Woolf's collection “The Life of Violet” will be published in the US. The book, which was thought to be lost, contains three comic stories, writes The Telegraph.
The manuscript offers a fresh look at the work of one of the most influential feminists of the 20th century. Virginia Woolf, who committed suicide in 1941, was known for her novels and essays. The Telegraph notes that she was perceived as a “gloomy, suicidal and dark” writer, but in the new book she appears different.
Virginia Woolf
The collection “The Life of Violet” is about a giantess who overcomes sea monsters and social conventions – and uses no less amazing powers than her height to do so. Presumably, the prototype of the main character was Violet Mary Dickinson, a close friend and mentor of Virginia Woolf. Her height is about 188 centimeters.
“‘Violet’s Life’ subverts the traditional plot of marriage, rejects the Victorian belief that women must choose between virtue and ambition, and celebrates female friendship…”, the book’s synopsis says.
The author worked on the book “Violet's Life” for eight years before the publication of her first novel, “Journey.”
However, the final manuscript was discovered by Professor Urmila Seshagiri, who was researching Virginia Woolf's autobiographical essay “A Sketch of the Past” at Longleat House in Wiltshire.
An edited and complete version of “The Life of Violet” will be published on October 7 by Princeton University Press.
