Where to start with Virginia Woolf

[StiffyByngsDogBartholomew]

I've never read any Woolf and I'm interested in dipping my toe in as i've a rather irreverent love of Gloomsbury (a very funny radio 4 comedy series sending up thr Bloomsbury set).
For 20th century fiction I like Mapp & Lucia, Noel Coward, PG Wodehouse, Christie, Du Maurier and short stories so Woolf is a bit different from my usual fiction choices. What would you recommend for an easy introduction if there is such a thing ? I was looking at The Lighthouse.

I'd say Mrs Dalloway. Reading it now in my 50s was a bit of a revelation. I think it's one of those books where the author writes past their own limits.

I was going to say definitely not Mrs Dalloway! I read that one first and thought it so awful I've read no more!

Yes, I think I'd agree. It's more accessible than To the Lighthouse or Orlando.

I started with a room with a view

That's E. M. Forster. Are you thinking of 'A Room of One's Own'? But then OP is looking for fiction.

Personally I would start with To the Lighthouse - but just my opinion.

I love Orlando and would recommend that but it's very different to the others with its magical elements. Mrs Dalloway would probably be my next suggestion and is probably the most famous. Watch The Hours on Netflix and if you enjoy that you'll like Mrs Dalloway.

To the Lighthouse. But I don't think you'll finish it it.

I rate Orlando as one of the best books I’ve ever read, it absolutely blew me away. It’s very different to her other novels though - in a good way as far as I’m concerned. Whatever you do, don’t read The Waves first, you might lose the will to live, it’s err… very challenging 🫣

Definitely To The Lighthouse! Fabulous book and not a difficult read.

Oh, I'd also say Mrs D. I loved it.

Orlando probably as your second or third, but just never ever read The Waves. Christ.

I love Mrs Dalloway and I'm really not a great fan of Woolf's fiction. I prefer her polemical work, but Mrs Dalloway was a revelation. That said, I was at level 3 of an OU literature degree by that time and had traipsed through Camus and one or two even more dreadful than him. I don't think I was hard to please at that stage.

Woolf wrote short stories as well as novels and one of them, 'Mrs Dalloway on Bond Street' was later developed into Mrs Dalloway and is a good starting point. It's set (as is the novel) in the period after the First World War and there's a haunted eeriness about it. You also get a strong sense of the consumer culture that was developing at around that time.

Another Orlando fan here, I really warmed to Woolf as I was reading it - wonderful book.

I know it's a lecture, but I really liked A room of one's own, too - fascinating stuff.

I’ve only read A Room of One’s Own, and I couldn’t exactly relate given that Virginia was rather posh and extremely privileged. I found something of worth in there but her frivolous language also bored me to death. It’s actually a short essay, not fiction, but I’m can’t say I’m eager to return to Woolf. Daphne du Maurier is one of my all time favourite authors and nothing like the writing style of Woolf IMO.

Haha I've read two Camus in the original French and translation so I reckon I know what you mean 😂. Next try some Kafka 😀

was it The Plague and The Outsider perchance ?

The Outsider. By the time I got to the end of it, my will to live had almost drained away😁

That's interesting, I'm not too keen on florid prose so I did think this might be an issue for me.

Mrs Dalloway is one of my favourite books, I have re-read it many times, I think it is way more accessible than To The Lighthouse, which I have only read once. I've also read Between the Acts, which I enjoyed but doesn't have the same structure as Mrs Dalloway I think, and Orlando, which I read as a teenager so can't really remember how I found it!

I think I shall meditate on the topic while ironing and listening to Gloomsbury. Which I highly recommend. Miriam Margoyles plays Vera Sackcloth Vest and Alison Steadman Ginny Fox..

Ah, yes! Apologies, I was glad asleep last night!

Can't believe I got that wrong 🤦🏼‍♀️

Mrs Dalloway, then To the Lighthouse, or, if you enjoy a sort of headlong dive into a wild experience, straight to Orlando which is quite different from either.

The short stories are a good read.

Another vote for starting with Mrs Dalloway then Orlando.

Gloomsbury is brilliant. I ❤D H Lollipop