Melymbrosia: A Novel - Softcover

Virginia Woolf

Softcover

ISBN 10: 157344197X ISBN 13: 9781573441971

Publisher: Cleis Press, 2004

Synopsis

Virginia Woolf completed Melymbrosia in 1912 when she was thirty years old. The story concerned the emotional and sexual awakening of a young Englishwoman traveling abroad, and bristled with social commentary on issues as varied as homosexuality, the suffrage movement, and colonialism. She was warned by colleagues, however, that publishing an outspoken indictment of Britain could prove disastrous to her fledgling career as a novelist. Moreover, the critical offensive from men would be especially harsh towards a woman author. Woolf thus revised the novel extensively, omitting much of the political candor until, in 1915, the quieter book was published under the title The Voyage Out. The original Melymbrosia offers a rare look into the formative mind of the modernist master who revolutionized twentieth century literature. Here, one sees the young Virginia Woolf learning her craft. Like James Joyce s Stephen Hero, the original treatment of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, or Ralph Ellison s posthumously published Juneteenth, Melymbrosia is a "lost classic" that owes its existence to the research of a devoted scholar, in this instance Louise DeSalvo, who spent seven years uncovering the original novel from Woolf s papers in the archives of the New York Public Library."

About this title

Review:

"DeSalvo's newly edited version of Woolf's first novel gives us a fresh look at an important modernist writer...a vision of Woolf's first novel as she would have preferred it." - Bloomsbury Review "This book is a remarkably fresh read, and is something contemporary readers can easily relate to. By uncovering this important volume, DeSalvo has made a significant contribution to literature." - Associated Press"

Synopsis:

Melymbrosia was completed by Woolf in 1912 when she was thirty years old. The book centres on the emotional and sexual awakening of a young Englishwoman travelling abroad and bristles with social commentary on issues as varied and important as homosexuality, the suffrage movement and colonialism. However, she received advice that such an open indictment of Britain could prove catastrophic for her fledgling career as novelist. Thus she revised the novel extensively, omitting the political candour, until a "quieter" book was published under the title The Voyage Out. T his book offers a rare and exciting look into the formative mind of the modernist master who revolutionised twentieth century literature. Excellent material for scholars and academics, this book is equally captivating for the more casual reader who would like to gain further insight into the life and mind of Virginia Woolf. Like James Joyce's Stephen Hero and Ralph Ellison's Juneteenth, Melymbrosia is a "lost classic" that can now be presented to the world thanks to Louise DeSalvo's seven years spent uncovering the original novel from Woolf's archives.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cleis Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 157344197X
• ISBN 13: 9781573441971
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 372