Peter Fullagar, author of ‘Virginia Woolf in Richmond’ was our speaker at the May ’22 meeting. He started off by saying he was not originally a fan of the author , having been forced to study ‘Mrs Dalloway’ for his ‘A’ levels.
A few years later Peter decided to give her ‘another go’ and, after reading ‘To the Lighthouse’, The Waves’ and ‘Orlando’ he ended up choosing her as the subject of his Masters degree.
Virginia Woolf lived in Richmond from 1914 to 1924 and, although she is often quoted as saying she hated Richmond, it was not really true. It wasn’t the place she hated, but actually living there. She was a gregarious person and missed the social and literary life of Bloomsbury, often returning to London.
Peter spoke of Virginia’s family background and her friends – among them Vita Sackville-West who was very much a part of her life.
In 1914 her husband Leonard instigated the move to Richmond, hoping that removal from the distractions of London would be better for her health. She suffered from depression and during the Richmond years she was incarcerated three times in Burley House, Twickenham, a mental institution. She was allowed no letters or visitors but wrote often to Leonard. It probably helped that she was able to talk about her experiences in letters and diaries.
While at Richmond Virginia wrote prolifically but Leonard thought she also needed a hobby and he bought her a printing press so that she could print her own stories and poems. From this they built up a business, The Hogarth Press, publishing works of other writers, including Katherine Mansfield and T. S. Eliot.
By 1922 Virginia was gaining in confidence and had found her voice. She became involved with local issues, joining the Women’s Co-operative Guild and enjoyed walks by the river.
Leonard believed Richmond was good for Virginia but she still craved London and in 1924 she moved back to Tavistock Square. However, she always had kind words to say about Richmond and Hogarth House.
There is a bust of Virginia in Tavistock Square which she hated and Peter said that he is now involved in fund-raising for a sculpture of her to be placed in Richmond.
Robbie Grieve