The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf is one of the most widely discussed, influential and iconic writers in the English language today yet her work exists in an array of differently edited texts. This Cambridge University Press edition of her writing – supported by a major grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council – aims to redress this.
Each volume takes the first British edition of Woolf’s work as its copy-text, ensuring for the first time that scholars and readers in both Britain and America will have access to the same transparently edited and reliable reference text. Each volume supplies a complete list of variants between the first British edition, the first American edition, any extant proofs, and any other editions that appeared in Woolf’s lifetime. Extracts from Woolf’s drafts showing significant differences from the published text will also be included.
Alongside an extensive introduction — narrating Woolf’s creative process, as well as the publishing history and early reception of each work — a major new feature of these volumes are the in-depth explanatory notes, which chart the erudition and rich variety of Woolf’s complex tapestry of reference, word-play and allusion.
The edition will cover all Virginia Woolf’s fiction as well as her seminal essays A Room of One’s Own and Three Guineas. The project is managed by Susan and Dr Jane Goldman (University of Glasgow), and its editorial board comprises Professor Tuzyline Jita Allan (City University, New York), Professor Dame Gillian Beer (Cambridge), Dr Ian Blyth (St Andrews), Dr David Bradshaw (Worcester College, Oxford), Professor Rachel Bowlby (University College, London), Stuart N Clarke (independent scholar), Professor Mark Hussey (Pace University, New York), Dr Jim Stewart (Dundee).
Reviews and Media
“These spectacular editions include commentary on Woolf’s strategies in developing the novels, discussion of differences between the first British and American editions and the typescript drafts, a chronology of the works’ composition, and a treasure trove of information in the Explanatory Notes. The detailed notes identify, in many cases for the first time, important historical, political, cultural and geographical references, numerous literary allusions, possible sources for character names, and cross-references to Woolf’s letters, diaries and essays.”
—Holly Henry, Journal of English Studies
To watch Susan Sellers discuss the new edition, click here.