1932 The Common Reader: Second Series

Description

First Edition, With Dustwrapper

The first edition, first impression, being one of 3200 copies. In the original unclipped dust wrapper designed by Vanessa Bell. The Common Reader: Second Series, was the second collection of Woolf's essays published, following on from the successful first in 1925. Arranged in chronological order, the volume begins with Elizabethan authors, all the way to her contemporary, Thomas Hardy. Woolf's essays are enthusuastic and insightful and highlight her skill as a journalist and critic. Written by the Bloomsbury author Virginia Woolf, a central figure of the literary group, herself known for her experimental writings and affair with fellow author Vita Sackville-West. Published by the Hogarth Press, the Bloomsbury publishing house founded ran by Leonard and Virginia Woolf. The press was founded in the interwar period, as printing became a hobby for the couple, diverting Virginia when her writing became too stressful. Both Woolfs' taught themselves to use a printing press, publishing 527 titles from the period of 1917 to 1946.