Birthday: January 25, 1882 (Aquarius)
Born In: Kensington, London, England
Virginia Woolf
(One of the Most Important Modernist 20th-Century Authors)
Virginia Woolf was an English author and novelist who wrote modernist classics. Not only is she known as a pioneer of modernism, but also as the greatest modernist literary personality of the twentieth century. She pioneered feminist texts as well. She is known for her works like ‘To the Lighthouse,’ ‘Mrs. Dalloway,’ ‘Orlando,’ and an essay titled ‘A Room of One's Own.’ An important figure in the ‘Victorian Literary Society,’ as well as an influential figure in the Bloomsbury group of intellectuals, Woolf was an innovator of English literature who used experimental language. Her works are considered unique as they go deep into the psychology of a character, portraying the way her character thinks. She published novels and essays, and received both critical and commercial success. She self-published most of her works through ‘Hogarth Press’ which she co-founded. Throughout her life, she suffered from mental illnesses, and took her own life in 1941, at the age of 59. Her posthumous reputation suffered after the ‘Second World War,’ but was re-established with the growth of feminist criticism during the 1970s. Woolf’s novels can be described as highly experimental. Her passion to find a new narration style gave rise to a unique combination of poetry and prose, making her works that much more intriguing.
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