Woolf A-Z

Woolf A-Z Mark Hussey. Virginia Woolf A to Z: A Comprehensive Reference for Students, Teachers, and Common Readers to Her Life, Works, and Critical Reception. New York: Facts on File, 1995. 452 pp. $50.00

VIRGINIA WOOLF'S life and work have never been the subject of more critical attention than in recent decades. Editions of her work easily number in the double digits, scholarship has never been more prolific (with the publication of an annual journal specifically devoted to Woolf studies), an international conference annually provides a forum for new perspectives on Woolf, and courses and seminars are regular offerings at colleges and universities worldwide. With such broad interest in WoolfÂ-from scholars to undergraduates and the non-academic readerÂ-interest seems genuine for the type of encyclopedic guide Mark Hussey offers with his recent edited work.

Hussey's avowed goal is "to provide both a quick reference to and also a more leisurely and comprehensive overview of Woolf's writings and life, her contemporaries and times," and he has fulfilled this purpose. Directed toward the novice reader primarily, the Facts on File text nonetheless is firmly rooted in Woolf studies and would offer even the most schooled literary scholar valuable information in a concise and complete fashion. It would be impossible in a short review to list all the types of information which fall within the scope of Hussey's work,...