In 1907, when she was twenty-five and not yet a published novelist, Virginia Stephen had everything still to prove. She felt herself to be at a crossroads: ‘I shall be miserable, or happy; a wordy sentimental creature, or a writer of such English as shall one day burn the pages.’ Today her prose is still blazing; perhaps it burns brighter than ever.

This is the story of how a determined young woman with a notebook became one of the greatest writers of all time. It is a story that sparkles with wit and friendship, language and love, wicked jokes and passionate appreciation of ordinary things. Hers was a life lived with intensity from moment to moment, courageous and defiant of convention, and shaped into the lasting patterns of art.

Considering each of Woolf’s novels in context, this gripping account shows why, eighty years after her death, Virginia Woolf continues to haunt and inspire us.

Victorians 1882-1895
Getting Through 1896-1904
Setting Up 1905-1915
Making a Mark 1916-1922
Drawn on and on 1923-1925
This is it 1925-1927
A Writer's Holiday 1927-1928
Voices 1928-1932
Argument of Art 1932-1938
Sussex 1938-1941