The Genesis of Virginia Woolf's Late Cultural Criticism

Alice Wood's Virginia Woolf's Late Cultural Criticism: The Genesis of 'The Years', 'Three Guineas' and 'Between the Acts' takes a fresh approach to Virginia Woolf's last three major works, synthesizing "feminist-historicist" analysis with genetic criticism. For Wood, genetic criticism not only provides a means to investigate the under-studied pre-publication materials of Woolf's late works, but also calls for engagement with the historical and socio-cultural circumstances that shaped their composition. With an emphasis on its potential to mediate between textual and cultural criticism, Wood adapts the methodology of genetic criticism to examine an extensive gathering of sources, ranging from Woolf's reading notes, research scrapbooks, holograph and typescript drafts, manuscripts, and proofs to her diaries, essays, and correspondence. Wood's genetic-cultural study combines critical interpretations of Woolf's evolving aesthetic practices and political stance with detailed analysis of authorial considerations under the influence of contemporary writing and political climate in the last decade of Woolf's life.