Virginia Woolf was one of the most important novelists of the twentieth century. She has been the subject of innumerable books and articles, most portraying her as someone as mentally ill and that her death by suicide was inevitable.

This book, written by Dr Michael Bender who has Ph.Ds in both psychology and English literature, aims to see her death in the context of her life; it stays close to her Diaries and Letters and the recollections of her Bloomsbury circle and her colleagues. It examines her relationships with, and the personalities of, the people who were most important to her – her sister, Vanessa, her husband Leonard and the woman with whom she had a passionate affair, Vita Sackville-West.

It radically revises our understanding of the last months of her life, the limited help she received, and her decision to end that life, through a careful, detailed analysis of what actually happened.

This book is a groundbreaking examination of Virginia Woolf’s life through the lenses of modern psychology and literary history.

Get a Free Excerpt

Enter your email to receive free excerpts and insights.