header
   

Woolf in the World: A Pen and a Press of Her Own

Virginia Woolf's Education

Virginia WoolfVirginia Woolf attended lectures in history, German, Greek, and Latin at King's College, London, and educated herself by reading her father’s large, unexpurgated library, and by studying languages. Lessons in Greek, Latin, German, French, Italian, and Russian occupied her intermittently for most of her life. This manuscript book of notes and exercises in Italian is from the period of Woolf’s first attempt at the language. It begins with lesson XXXI and is probably the second of two notebooks. (Woolf’s earlier lesson book in Italian is in the British Library.) After her father’s death, Woolf visited Italy in 1904 for the first time, and thereafter took regular trips to the Continent.

George Beresford. Virginia Stephen: photograph (modern print), 1902. Presented by Blanche Cooney.

Italian notebook
Virginia Woolf. Italian: autograph manuscript notebook, 7 June 1916. Purchased.

Mortimer Rare Book Room, Smith College

Click on each image to open it at full size in a new window.

next case | return home

Terms of Use

   
  footer  
Need Help?  Ask a Librarian! Smith College Libraries Smith College Home Smith College Directory Smith College Moodle Course Management System Smith College Email Workday Smith College Libraries on Facebook