Friday Flashback: Rec. #98: Freshwater --- A Comedy

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: Virginia Woolf is not known for writing comedies or plays, but this is both of those things. Freshwater: A Comedy is a farce about Woolf's great-aunt, Julia Cameron, who was a famous Victorian photographer.

Comparable to: Woolf gets a little Wilde and a little Shavian.

Representative quote: "The donkey is eating thistles on the lawn. There are moments when I despair of modern life altogether."

You might not like it if: You feel like it wasn't written for you. (You're not wrong; Woolf wrote it primarily for her family. Aren't we lucky to get a peek at Stephen-Woolf family life?)

How to get it: There's a great edition out now that features illustrations by Edward Gorey (see cover above).

Connection to previous Wreckage: After you fall in love with Gorey's drawings (as is inevitable), you can read interviews with him in Ascending Peculiarity (Rec. #80). Also, Virginia Woolf makes an appearance in The Tournament (Rec. #12).



[Originally posted 4/7/11.]