Julia Stephen with Virginia on her lap 1884
By Henry Herschel Hay Cameron (1852-1911) - Smith College Libraries, Leslie Stephen Photo Album, Public Domain, Link
Reading Virginia Woolf's famous book To the Lighthouse is still one of the most fascinating reading experiences I have ever had.
I remember reading the book and focussing on the mother's loving care for her family and how the main protagonist of this story must have given us some information and similarities with the writer's true family story. This was one of the many books I had chosen to study for my English Literature exams when I was finishing my university years . It was so nice reading it and I loved Mrs Ramsay and the way she took care of the house and the children.
Listen to this beautiful radio drama based on the novel and imagine how she must have worked on the characterization of each member of the family. It is said that the family she described was based on her life and the children who were in the writer's family.#VirginiaWoolf's great novel "To the Lighthouse" was published #onthisday 1927. The first edition ran to 3000 copies - this is one of them. pic.twitter.com/wZlKUR34ua— The London Library (@TheLondonLib) 5 maggio 2018
What is really great is the way she creates situations and we get into the beauty of their minds.
What follows are some interesting documents which I have found online and which I feel can help us read and understand the way of writing which was the peculiarity of the writer V.Woolf.
Woolf wrote novels but she worked on the magic power of words and images. I loved the beautiful image of the Lighthouse and I thought that it had a great meaning for the child and the mother who wanted him to be pleased and to experience the lighthouse.
If you have some free hours and you would like to read I think that this book is still one of the best ones I should spend some time on.
References and Links
https://www.bl.uk/works/to-the-lighthouse
https://youtu.be/M2zE-Trmfd8
