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Vanessa and Her Sister: A Novel by Priya…
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Vanessa and Her Sister: A Novel (edition 2014)

by Priya Parmar

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
6139338,031 (3.9)74
"For fans of The Paris Wife and Loving Frank comes a captivating novel that offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of Vanessa Bell, her sister Virginia Woolf, and the controversial and popular circle of intellectuals known as the Bloomsbury Group. London, 1905: The city is alight with change, and the Stephen siblings are at the forefront. Vanessa, Virginia, Thoby, and Adrian are leaving behind their childhood home and taking a house in the leafy heart of avant-garde Bloomsbury. There they bring together a glittering circle of bright, outrageous artistic friends who will grow into legend and come to be known as the Bloomsbury Group. And at the center of this charmed circle are the devoted, gifted sisters: Vanessa, the painter, and Virginia, the writer. Each member of the group will go on to earn fame and success, but so far Vanessa Bell has never sold a painting. Virginia Woolf's book review has just been turned down by The Times. Lytton Strachey has not published anything. E.M. Forster has finished his first novel but does not like the title. Leonard Woolf is still a civil servant in Ceylon, and John Maynard Keynes is looking for a job. Together, this sparkling coterie of artists and intellectuals throw away convention and embrace the wild freedom of being young, single bohemians in London. But the landscape shifts when Vanessa unexpectedly falls in love and her sister feels dangerously abandoned. Eerily possessive, charismatic, manipulative, and brilliant, Virginia has always lived in the shelter of Vanessa's constant attention and encouragement. Without it, she careens toward self-destruction and madness. As tragedy and betrayal threaten to destroy the family, Vanessa must decide if it is finally time to protect her own happiness above all else. The work of exciting young newcomer Priya Parmar, Vanessa and Her Sister exquisitely captures the champagne-heady days of prewar London and the extraordinary lives of sisters Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf. Advance praise for Vanessa and Her Sister. "Priya Parmar is on a high-wire act all her own in this radiantly original novel about the Bloomsbury Set. Irrepressible, with charm and brio to spare, Vanessa and Her Sister boldly invites us to that moment in history when famous minds sparked and collided, shaping the terrain of art and letters. But it's the two sisters who are most bewitching here--rocking on the brink of unforgivable transgression, changing each other in ways far-reaching and profound. Prepare to be dazzled."--Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife "With sparkling wit and insight, Priya Parmar sets us down into the legendary Bloomsbury household of the Stephen siblings, where sisters Vanessa and Virginia vie for love and primacy amid a collection of eccentric guests. Vanessa and Her Sister kidnapped me for a couple of days. I couldn't put it down."--Nancy Horan, author of Loving Frank "This is the novel I didn't know I was waiting for, and it is, quite simply, astonishing. Not just because of Priya Parmar's preternatural skill at evoking the moment when the lid was coming off the Victorians and the heated talk about art, life, and sex swirled through Bloomsbury, but because of how she has caught the two sisters at the center of that swirl--the women who would become Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf. Vanessa and Her Sister is beautiful and wise, and as deft as a stroke upon the canvas."--Sarah Blake, author of The Postmistress"-- "In 1905, Virginia and Vanessa Stephens and their brothers Thoby and Adrian moved to unfashionable, bohemian Bloomsbury. All in their twenties, orphaned and unmarried, they began holding Thursday night gatherings in their unchaperoned, unconventional drawing room. Most of the young guests in that room would become famous, breaking the old rules and blazing their own new paths. It is from Vanessa's point of view at the center of this eccentric, charmed circle of artists and intellectuals that this novel is told, with unsparing honesty about their friendships, their love affairs, and in particular her own troubled relationship with her complicated, brilliant sister Virginia"--… (more)
Member:siri51
Title:Vanessa and Her Sister: A Novel
Authors:Priya Parmar
Info:Ballantine Books (2014), Hardcover, 368 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:****
Tags:None

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Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar

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Showing 1-5 of 94 (next | show all)
Historical fiction set in the circle of Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf and their Bloomsbury circle of intellectual and artistic friends. Great on audio-- several narrators. Such an interesting time in history. ( )
  bogopea | Feb 10, 2023 |
It was a reasonably enjoyable read (though despite the author's best efforts I still found Virginia more interesting than Vanessa), but I was retroactively soured on the whole thing by the "what happened to all these historical figures after the events of the novel" afterword, which deems romantic and sexual relationships with the opposite gender the only ones worth mentioning, thus giving the highly inaccurate impression that such people as Lytton Strachey, Duncan Grant, and, of course, Virginia Woolf lived heterosexually ever after once they had met the right woman or man (Vita Sackville-who?). Which, I don't know what the author's standard for noteworthiness of relationships was, but Virginia only wrote an entire novel about Vita; I think that's pretty damned significant.

It may seem petty to be soured on a whole book because of an author's end-note, but the book does contain a lot of questionable comments about queer people/relationships that I had originally taken as Vanessa's opinions, but that start looking authorially endorsed in light of the straight-washing of these figures' later lives. In particular, if you (somehow) read this book without knowing anything else about Virginia Woolf's personal life, the narrative and afterword together would seem to bear out Vanessa's belief that Virginia only develops crushes on women because she is intimidated by the prospect of "real" romantic and/or sexual relationships with men. ( )
  xenoglossy | Aug 17, 2022 |
In this book we get to know the people in Bloomsbury Group through Vanessa Stephen's (later Vanessa Bell) journal. This book also contains postcards and letter sent from various members of the group.

I can't say I was overly pleased with the journal approach of this book, and I was a bit confused about why there were dialogs in the journal. I mean I haven't written a journal in years, but who writes dialog in it? It would have been just better to have this book written from Vanessa's point of view without the journal entries.

I read Vanessa and Virginia by Susan Sellers some years ago and loved that book so I was intrigued by the thought of reading another book about the sisters, but this book was not nearly as good in my opinion. But still, Vanessa and Her Sister weren't all that bad, if you are interested in Bloomsbury Group, in Vanessa's relationship with Virginia that you will probably find this book interesting to read. Also, even though I wasn't overjoyed about this book, I still liked it, and I especially liked the last part of the book, then the story really picked up. I would have loved to read more about Vanessa's relationship with Roger Fry and Virginia's marriage to Leonard instead there it ended. A bit of a letdown...


Vanessa and Virginia

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review! ( )
  MaraBlaise | Jul 23, 2022 |
This book! I fell down the rabbit hole into Vanessa's journal and did not want to come out. An extremely compelling histoy of the Bloomsbury Group, with the sisters Stephen at the center -- and a beautiful, compassionate, troublesome, center it is. The book expresses the profound love of Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf sisters incredibly well, and the poignant betrayals and tragedies that form their lives. It's also a marvelous portrait of a group of intellectuals as they choose to change the cultural mores of their time. ( )
  jennybeast | Apr 14, 2022 |
If you've read Virginia Woolf and are familiar with the Bloomsbury group, there is much to enjoy about this novel. ( )
  DrFuriosa | Dec 4, 2020 |
Showing 1-5 of 94 (next | show all)
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Priya Parmarprimary authorall editionscalculated
Calf, AnthonyNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Corbett, ClareNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Fox, EmiliaNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pirrie, DanielNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rhind-Tutt, JulianNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
In 1905 a group of friends began to meet in the drawing room of a London townhouse in the bohemian neighborhood known as Bloomsbury. Defying the conventions of their day, they were brimming with new ideas about art, literature, love and friendship. Innovative and headstrong, they would go on to change the course of art and letters in the twentieth century. History remembers them as the Bloomsbury Group.
Dedication
For Tina and Nicky who made growing up fun and for M and D who gave us the moon
First words
THE PARTY- Thursday 23 February 1905 ---- 46 Gordon Square, Bloomsbury, London (early)----

I opened the great sash window onto the morning pink of the square and made a decision.
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"For fans of The Paris Wife and Loving Frank comes a captivating novel that offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of Vanessa Bell, her sister Virginia Woolf, and the controversial and popular circle of intellectuals known as the Bloomsbury Group. London, 1905: The city is alight with change, and the Stephen siblings are at the forefront. Vanessa, Virginia, Thoby, and Adrian are leaving behind their childhood home and taking a house in the leafy heart of avant-garde Bloomsbury. There they bring together a glittering circle of bright, outrageous artistic friends who will grow into legend and come to be known as the Bloomsbury Group. And at the center of this charmed circle are the devoted, gifted sisters: Vanessa, the painter, and Virginia, the writer. Each member of the group will go on to earn fame and success, but so far Vanessa Bell has never sold a painting. Virginia Woolf's book review has just been turned down by The Times. Lytton Strachey has not published anything. E.M. Forster has finished his first novel but does not like the title. Leonard Woolf is still a civil servant in Ceylon, and John Maynard Keynes is looking for a job. Together, this sparkling coterie of artists and intellectuals throw away convention and embrace the wild freedom of being young, single bohemians in London. But the landscape shifts when Vanessa unexpectedly falls in love and her sister feels dangerously abandoned. Eerily possessive, charismatic, manipulative, and brilliant, Virginia has always lived in the shelter of Vanessa's constant attention and encouragement. Without it, she careens toward self-destruction and madness. As tragedy and betrayal threaten to destroy the family, Vanessa must decide if it is finally time to protect her own happiness above all else. The work of exciting young newcomer Priya Parmar, Vanessa and Her Sister exquisitely captures the champagne-heady days of prewar London and the extraordinary lives of sisters Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf. Advance praise for Vanessa and Her Sister. "Priya Parmar is on a high-wire act all her own in this radiantly original novel about the Bloomsbury Set. Irrepressible, with charm and brio to spare, Vanessa and Her Sister boldly invites us to that moment in history when famous minds sparked and collided, shaping the terrain of art and letters. But it's the two sisters who are most bewitching here--rocking on the brink of unforgivable transgression, changing each other in ways far-reaching and profound. Prepare to be dazzled."--Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife "With sparkling wit and insight, Priya Parmar sets us down into the legendary Bloomsbury household of the Stephen siblings, where sisters Vanessa and Virginia vie for love and primacy amid a collection of eccentric guests. Vanessa and Her Sister kidnapped me for a couple of days. I couldn't put it down."--Nancy Horan, author of Loving Frank "This is the novel I didn't know I was waiting for, and it is, quite simply, astonishing. Not just because of Priya Parmar's preternatural skill at evoking the moment when the lid was coming off the Victorians and the heated talk about art, life, and sex swirled through Bloomsbury, but because of how she has caught the two sisters at the center of that swirl--the women who would become Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf. Vanessa and Her Sister is beautiful and wise, and as deft as a stroke upon the canvas."--Sarah Blake, author of The Postmistress"-- "In 1905, Virginia and Vanessa Stephens and their brothers Thoby and Adrian moved to unfashionable, bohemian Bloomsbury. All in their twenties, orphaned and unmarried, they began holding Thursday night gatherings in their unchaperoned, unconventional drawing room. Most of the young guests in that room would become famous, breaking the old rules and blazing their own new paths. It is from Vanessa's point of view at the center of this eccentric, charmed circle of artists and intellectuals that this novel is told, with unsparing honesty about their friendships, their love affairs, and in particular her own troubled relationship with her complicated, brilliant sister Virginia"--

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