Woman of Letters; A
life of Virginia Woolf, Phyllis Rose (Oxford U Press, 1978)****
If you are still "afraid of Virginia Woolf", I have to recommend to you an amazing biography,. The book is out of print, unfortunately, but it's worth a trip to the library or an internet search if you'd really like to read an outstanding biography, beautifully written and fun to read by a woman scholar who has done extensive research on Woolf. I've read other biographies but this one stands out. It's a reader's biography, with a chapter on each of Woolfs major works, yet follows the chronology of a standard biography, with lots of interesting photos. If you're not a fan of Virginia Woolf now, you might be by the time you finish Rose's book. In fact, you'll be a fan of Rose's.