Virginia Woolf, To the lighthouse, The waves

A central figure in the development of English fiction, Virginia Woolf is recognised as one of the most original novelists of the Twenties and Thirties. Determined to find a new form for the novel, and dedicated to observing and recording the momentary experiences of life, she dispensed with conventional plot and characterisation in her major works, experimenting with narrative technique and the passage of time in human consciousness. For its technical innovation and its important contribution to the modernist movement in English fiction, Woolf's work has been the subject of critical interest for over sixty years. In this Icon Critical Guide, Jane Goldman explores critical material on To the Lighthouse and The Waves, two of Woolf's most important novels. The reader is guided through the critical debates that have centred on the novels, and is given a clear view of the widening scope of 'Woolf Studies' in the Nineties. The Guide includes extracts from the more recent innovatory work of Rachel Bowlby and Gillian Beer, as well as a significant revisionary essay from Jane Marcus, which has opened up important debates on race and Empire in 'Woolf Studies'.… (more)