10 April 2003
British Library Acquire Virginia Woolf Autograph Manuscripts
A previously unpublished series of Virginia Woolf's hand-written, mock newspaper supplements discovered in an old tin trunk is part of a collection acquired by The British Library. The seven autograph manuscripts are among the acquisition of 188 editions of The Charleston Bulletin and The New Bulletin, a partly hand-written, partly typed domestic newspaper composed by Woolf's nephews, Julian and Quentin Bell, as children. Woolf offers a revealing and intimate view into the world of Bloomsbury through her playful and humourous contributions to their newspaper in the form of full-colour Christmas or Year in Review specials, written in her favourite purple-colour ink.
The collection, owned by Quentin's widow, Mrs Olivier Bell, has remained in family hands until now. It includes miscellaneous manuscript material and artworks by Julian and Quentin, their parents Clive and Vanessa Bell, and other members of the Bloomsbury group. Woolf's supplements are devoted to such topics as Eminent Charlestonians, The Dunciad (on Duncan Grant), The Messiah (about 'our hero, the Messiah of Bloomsbury, Clive Bell'), Scenes in the Life of Mrs Bell and The Life and Death History of a Studio, with a cast of characters including Duncan Grant, Roger Fry and an exploding cow.
The newspaper chronicles the comings and goings at Charleston, in Sussex, the country refuge of the Bloomsbury group. The reports, through the eyes of Julian and Quentin, reveal an adolescent's sharp, wry view of the activities of these adults, renown for their Bohemian lifestyle. Major and minor events, triumphs and unforeseen catastrophes, outings, dinner parties, dances and entertainment are all recounted and often illustrated, providing a vivid insight into their world.
The journals afforded Woolf an interesting angle on the circle in which she moved - nowhere is this more evident than in the literary collaborations between the three, during the years in which the boys published The Charleston Bulletins. In her lightest moments Woolf adopted the role of older sister or godmother to her nephews - the journals show her taking the children's side against the adults and casting a wicked eye over the peccadilloes of the household's adult population.
The acquisition is an important addition to the Library's existing collection of Woolf manuscripts which includes her own inventive, juvenile periodical, The Hyde Park Gate News, written with her sister Vanessa. Her involvement with her nephews' journals must have evoked poignant memories of her own childhood times.
Apart from the Bulletins and supplements the archive includes contributions by Vanessa and Clive Bell and various visitors - written in their capacity as 'Charleston Bulletin' stringers - as well as letters and plays. These include a 24-page outline for a play 'Country Life' and a 5-act drama entitled 'The Conspirators', intended (as the preface announces) "as a reply to the series of libels and caricatures with which Charlestonians have been overwhelmed with during the last two years.'
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