Virginia Woolf’s Essays - Sketching the Past

Sep 21, 2026

Virginia Woolf’s Essays: Sketching the Past explores how essay writing engages memory, autobiography, and literary history. Through studies of form, authorship, and feminist literary arguments, the book examines eccentric approaches to history, the essay as a vehicle for selfhood, and the imaginative shaping of the past. It includes discussions of works such as Orlando and analyzes images of history, concluding with reflections on angels and harpies. The volume offers bibliographical references and an index.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages186

Reading Time4 h 46 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction: Virginia Woolf, European Essayist

1 Eccentric Histories

Virginia Woolf Practising

Eccentrics, Obscure and Anon

2 The Essay as Form

The Essay as Autobiography

Common Readers and Modern Audiences

3 Professing Literature

Working Women and Women Writers

Art and Feminist Propaganda: Three Guineas

4 Sketching the Past, or the Fictions of Autobiography

Literature and the Scene of Memory

Orlando: Literary History as Family Romance

5 Images of History

Feminist Histories

The Imagination as a Golden Cage

Postscript: Angels and Harpies

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Virginia Woolf’s Essays Sketching the Past Elena Gualtieri Virginia Woolf’s Essays This page intentionally left blank Virginia Woolf’s Essays Sketching the Past Elena Gualtieri First published in Great Britain 2000 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 0–333–74931–6 First published in the United States of America 2000 by ST. MARTIN’S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 ISBN 0–312–22791–4 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gualtieri, Elena, 1966– Virginia Woolf’s essays : sketching the past / Elena Gualtieri. [p. cm](p. cm). Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–312–22791–4 (cloth) 1. Woolf, Virginia, 1882–1941—Prose. 2. Literature and history––Great Britain—History—20th century. 3. Feminism and literature––England—History—20th century. 4. Women and literature—England––History—20th century. 5. English essays—20th century—History and criticism. 6. Criticism—England—History—20th century. 7. Autobiography. 8. Essay. I. Title. PR6045 .O72Z67 1999 824'.912—dc21 99–43172 CIP © Elena Gualtieri 2000 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire Per Tula e Franco Voor CornÂe This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgements viii List of Abbreviations ix Introduction: Virginia Woolf, European Essayist 1 1 Eccentric Histories 23 Virginia Woolf Practising 23 Eccentrics, Obscure and Anon 36 2 The Essay as Form 49 The Essay as Autobiography 49 Common Readers and Modern Audiences 57 3 Professing Literature 69 Working Women and Women Writers 69 Art and Feminist Propaganda: Three Guineas 82 4 Sketching the Past, or the Fictions of Autobiography 93 Literature and the Scene of Memory 93 Orlando: Literary History as Family Romance 104 5 Images of History 116 Feminist Histories 116 The Imagination as a Golden Cage 128 Postscript: Angels and Harpies 146 Notes 151 Bibliography 167 Index 173 Acknowledgements This book was originally written as a doctoral thesis at the University of Sussex. My first debt of gratitude goes to Rachel Bowlby, who supervised my work on the thesis with an unfailing critical eye and with clear respect for my own critical positions. Peter Nicholls examined the thesis and has ever since given generously of his advice, support and encyclopedic knowledge of modernism. Hermione Lee's suggestions on shaping the thesis into a book have also been very valuable. Thanks are also due to Mrs Elizabeth Inglis of the University of Sussex Library for the continuous help throughout the years in which this project was developed. Among friends and family, thanks go to Davide PerÂo and Elisabetta Zontini for helping, listening and laughing at my obsessions; to my parents for sustaining and loving me despite the distance; and to CornÂe Kros, who gave unstintin

FAQs

What is the main focus of Sketching the Past?

The book focuses on how essay writing and literary criticism shape and represent the past through memory, autobiography, and literary history.

How does the text treat the essay as a form?

It examines the essay as a vehicle for autobiography and as an engagement with audiences, emphasizing how readers and modern contexts influence meaning.

Which topics are covered in the chapters on history and feminism?

The chapters address images of history and feminist histories, including discussions of imagination, literary propaganda, and the role of women writers.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Clementine