Virginia Woolf / Nigel Nicolson

Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-165).

As the volumes of Virginia Woolf scholarship continue to multiply, literary detectives are beginning to grasp at straws. Recent studies have blamed the tragic circumstances of Woolf's life on childhood trauma and sexual abuse and even eating disorders. Given that Woolf herself left behind perhaps one of the most complete and insightful diaries ever written by a novelist, all the fuss seems speculative at best, condescending at worst. In contrast, the newest addition to the excellent "Penguin Lives" series is by Nicholson, the son of Vita Sackville-West, one of Woolf's lovers. In this beautifully written literary biography, Nicholson interweaves childhood memories of time spent with Woolf with in-depth analyses of her novels, showing, for instance, how he may have been a model for the character of James in Mrs. Dalloway. While Nicholson's personal stake in Woolf's memory lends an intimate quality to his portrait, he does not allow his fond recollections to cloud his view of his subject's troubled life. He describes Leonard as an imperfect man perpetually walking on eggshells. Nicholson pays tribute to a great artist by showing that her work gave her whatever fleeting peace she may have experienced in her lifetime: "Pain was relieved, and pleasure doubled, by recording it."