Between the Acts (Annotated): The Virginia Woolf Library Annotated Edition - Paperback

by Virginia Woolf (Author), Mark Hussey (Author), Melba Cuddy-Keane (Introduction by)

The annotated, authorized edition of the renowned author's last novel with commentary by literary critic and Virginia Woolf specialist Melba Cuddy-Keane.

Between the Acts takes place on one summer's day at a country house in the heart of England, where the villagers are presenting their annual pageant as World War II looms.

In the garden of Pointz Hall, the Oliver family's country seat, everyone from the village has gathered to present the traditional pageant--scenes from the history of England starting with the Middle Ages. As the story of England unfolds, the lives of the villagers also take shape. The past blends with the present and art blends with life in a narrative full of invention and lyricism.

Through her character's passionate musings and private dramas, and through the enigmatic figure of the pageant author, Miss La Trobe, Virginia Woolf's final novel both celebrates and satirizes Englishness. Even so, the coming of war hangs over the whole community, heralding a new act.

This authorized edition from the Virginia Woolf library features:

Biographical PrefaceChronologyIntroduction to the textExtensive notesSuggestions for further reading

This annotated edition is the perfect companion to more fully understand Between the Acts, its importance in twentieth century literature, and Virginia Woolf's world.

Back Jacket

Virginia Woolf stands as the chief figure of modernism in England and must be included with Joyce and Proust in the realization of experiments that have completely broken with tradition.--The New York Times

Between the Acts takes place on a June 1939 day at Pointz Hall, the Oliver family's country house in the heart of England. In the garden, everyone from the village has gathered to present the annual pageant--scenes from the history of England, beginning with the Elizabethan Age and ending with "ourselves," the audience. As the story unfolds, the lives of the villagers also take shape. We learn of the strained relationship between Isa Oliver and her husband, Giles, discontented stockbroker and son of Bart Oliver, the owner of Pointz Hall. When a storm rushes in and hastens the completion of the play, the performers and the audience take their leave, and Giles and Isa are finally left alone. In its juxtaposition of interior life and social life, personal history and world history, Woolf s final novel reveals the richness of whathappens between the acts. Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), one of the major literary figures of the twentieth century, transformed the art of the novel. The author of numerous novels, collections of letters, journals, and short stories, she was an admired literary critic and a master of the essay form.
Mark Hussey, general editor of Harcourt's annotated Woolf series, is professor of English at Pace University in New York City and editor of the Woolf Studies Annual.Melba Cuddy-Keane is professor of English and Northrop Frye Scholar at the University of Toronto."

Number of Pages: 288

Dimensions: 0.9 x 7.9 x 5.2 IN

Publication Date: June 23, 2008