Award-winning biographer Victoria Glendinning draws on her deep knowledge of the twentieth century literary scene, and on her meticulous research i...
read full description
reviews
Aug 22, 2010
Stephanie
rated it: 
When I was a young graduate student in English, Leonard Woolf was a feminist punching bag-the oppressive middle-class husband of the brilliant, ethereal Virginia Woolf. No one seemed to consider that living with someone mentally ill before the age of anti-psychotic and mood stabilizing medication could have been somewhat of a struggle or that a little stolidness might provide Mrs. Woolf with the stable environement she needed in order to write.
Over the years Leonard has begun to get his du More...
Over the years Leonard has begun to get his du More...
Nov 26, 2009
Rob
rated it: 
How to make it through a time of great social and political change while a) being of a marginalized race, b) being the stabilizing influence for a very creative and bright but very unstable wife, c) influencing 20th century social and political thinking, d) starting an important press and e) living 89 productive years. Among many other things there would have been no Virginia Woolf had there been no Leonard Wolf. Well written, typically name ridden (it is a biography)—it's an empathetic look int
More...
Sep 01, 2011
Cindy
rated it:
I'm such a nerd. The man died before I was born, but when I got to the account of Leonard's death, I cried.
OK, I'm a nerd, but the book is also that good. Glendinning writes vividly, accounting for Woolf's contradictions, his mannerisms, his friendships, his relations with all the many sorts of people whose lives he touched. She makes it clear that although he was a central part of Bloomsbury, Bloomsbury was not necessarily the center of his life. She provides a beautiful and movi More...
OK, I'm a nerd, but the book is also that good. Glendinning writes vividly, accounting for Woolf's contradictions, his mannerisms, his friendships, his relations with all the many sorts of people whose lives he touched. She makes it clear that although he was a central part of Bloomsbury, Bloomsbury was not necessarily the center of his life. She provides a beautiful and movi More...
Jul 30, 2010
James
rated it:
Because I've also read Victoria Glendinning's excellent biography of Vita Sackville-West, and now her life of Leonard Woolf, I think she knows these people well. Leonard was a person who certainly deserved the attention this book provides. Despite his own considerable achievements as writer and publisher, he's obviously important as the first critic and care-giver and "nurturer" (Glendinning's word) of Virginia Woolf. He played a very large role in making it possible for her to hav
More...
2 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Aug 18, 2008
Ilze
rated it:
What is it about elm trees – the good-tempered tree?
Elms tolerate a great deal and this could be why cabinet-makers had an interest in them, but the Woolfs? … Glendinning has written a unique and beautiful biography of a man she clearly has a lot of respect for. Enough respect that we don’t only get to see what Leonard Woolf did in his life, in a curriculum vitae kind of way, but there are descriptions of the way people treated him and his wife (and later his “mistress”). The book contains More...
Elms tolerate a great deal and this could be why cabinet-makers had an interest in them, but the Woolfs? … Glendinning has written a unique and beautiful biography of a man she clearly has a lot of respect for. Enough respect that we don’t only get to see what Leonard Woolf did in his life, in a curriculum vitae kind of way, but there are descriptions of the way people treated him and his wife (and later his “mistress”). The book contains More...
Feb 05, 2010
Kate
rated it:
A well-written and engrossing biography that makes me want to delve deeper into Leonard Woolf's writings. While interested in reading about Leonard Woolf's life with Virginia Woolf, the chapters discussing his life following his wife's suicide held greater fascination for me. I realised, while reading, that I had not given much consideration to what Leonard Woolf's life must have been like in his later years. Victoria Glendinning paints a captivating picture of Leonard and includes many interest
More...
Sep 24, 2008
Rob & Liz
rated it:
A book that took me a while to read because of the details involved. An amazing man who certainly deserved his own biography apart from his perhaps more famous wife.
Liz
Liz
Aug 07, 2007
Martha
rated it:
Having read so many bios of V Woolf, it's good to read about how those events in Leonard's life related to VW and also to learn more about him.
Jun 30, 2007
Laura
rated it:
after my Bloomsbury class am very intrigued (she's a very good biographer)
Feb 06, 2012
Jan 20, 2012
Jan 09, 2012
Dec 31, 2011
Dec 22, 2011
Dec 22, 2011
Dec 20, 2011
Dec 08, 2011
Dec 02, 2011
Nov 21, 2011
Nov 15, 2011
Nov 13, 2011
