Woolf in Summer; Woolf in Autumn

An update on our Woolf courses

Woolf Summer Course 2025. Virginia Woolf: Writing Life

It is such a pleasure to be working on Virginia Woolf every day for five days in our live online summer course. Each day starts at 10.00 am with a lecture. We study one text per day for the five days. Everyone has read the books in advance. Some participants know them well; some are new to Woolf. After the lecture, there is a supervision (tutorial) with 3 or 4 participants and a supervisor. We also have an afternoon talk or reading.

Today, we enjoyed a really interesting lecture by Karina Jakubowicz on Woolf’s comic biography (mock biography?), Orlando (1928). Woolf parodies the seriousness of Victorian biographies, while at the same time, she is seriously exploring questions about how we write a life; indeed, how do we know people; how do we write that knowledge? (Karina writes more about Woolf on her Substack account,

Woolf in the World

.)

In the afternoon, we did a reading of Woolf’s only play, Freshwater. This was organised by Ellie Mitchell, who works on Woolf and theatre. It was perhaps a little surprising to discover that Freshwater is really funny; this comes through strongly when the parts are read aloud. The participants are all excellent readers; it was a pleasure to listen.

Tomorrow, we turn our attention to The Waves (1931) Woolf’s most poetical novel, to explore how this lyrical, often dense book is writing life.

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Woolf in August 2025

We have more Woolf coming up soon. In August, we repeat four lectures from previous Seasons:

Sunday 10 August 2025. Women in A Room of One’s Own (1929) with Trudi Tate. 10.00am-12.00 noon British Summer Time.

Sunday 17 August 2025. War Trauma in Mrs Dalloway with Trudi Tate. 6.00-8.00 pm British Summer Time.

Sunday 24 August 2025. Mrs Dalloway and Politics with Mark Hussey. 6.00-8.00 pm British Summer Time.

Sunday 31 August 2025. Sapphic Love in Orlando (1928) with Alison Hennegan. 6.00-8.00 pm British Summer Time.

Further information on Woolf in August 2025.

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Virginia Woolf Season 2025-26

The new Woolf Season has just been posted on the website.

Join us for a unique season of lectures and seminars on the major works of Virginia Woolf. Our theme for 2025-26 is Virginia Woolf’s Rooms.

Rooms are important in all of Woolf’s novels, and are even named in two of her book titles: Jacob’s Room (1922) and A Room of One’s Own (1929). We will explore the ways in which rooms shape, or contain, the human lives within them. How do people connect (or not) in Mrs Dalloway’s party room? Why is the dining room so important in To the Lighthouse? Why is it difficult for us to picture Jacob in his own room, and what happens in the many rooms in The Waves (1931) and The Years (1937)?

And why is it so important for a woman to have a room of her own?

These sessions are all at 18.00-20.00 pm British time, one per month from September 2025 to June 2026. Live online via Zoom. Further information on our website.

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