Product Description

The Voyage Out (1915) is the story of a rite of passage. When Rachel Vinrace embarks for South America on her father's ship she is launched on a course of self-discovery in a modern version of the mythic voyage. Virginia Woolf knew all too well the forms that she was supposed to follow when writing of a young lady's entrance into the world, and she struggled to subvert the conventions, wittily and assiduously, rewriting and revising the novel many times. The finished work is not, on the face of it, a `portrait of the artist'. However, through The Voyage Out readers will discover Woolf as an emerging and original artist: not identified with the heroine, but present everywhere in the social satire and the lyricism and patterning of consciousness.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #218415 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 496 pages

From the Publisher
With an introduction by Angelica Garnett

About the Author
Virginia Woolf was born in London in 1882, the daughter of Sir Leslie Stephen, first editor of The Dictionary of National Biography. From 1915, when she published her first novel, The Voyage Out, Virginia Woolf maintained an astonishing output of fiction, literary criticism, essays and biography. In 1912 she married Leonard Woolf, and in 1917 they founded The Hogarth Press. Virginia Woolf suffered a series of mental breakdowns throughout her life, and on 28 March 1941 she committed suicide.

Customer Reviews

Not one of Woolf's experimental greats but well worth a read
Woolf's first novel, "The Voyage Out", can get overlooked because many readers and critics focus on her more experimental and more widely-read works (such as "To The Lighthouse" and "The Waves"). Although this work is not as revolutionary in its style it is still an excellent piece of literature and the traditional narrative style means that there is more direct exploration of specific themes (such as the value of the arts in society).

Most importantly Rachel Vinrace seems to me to be one of Woolf's best and most endearing characters. The reader first meets her as a young and naive girl and watches as a series of events in the book transforms her into a more mature young woman. This makes the book a fulfilling read in itself because Rachel's character progresses and develops (some would argue that progression of character is detrementally absent in, for example, "The Waves"). However I think "The Voyage Out" is not only a good book in its own right, but also a very interesting piece when read in relation to Woolf's other novels. "Mrs. Dalloway", "To the Lighthouse" and "The Years" all contain female heroines, who, despite being complex and well developed characters, could be argued to show little progression. Rachel Vinrace can be seen as a younger but similar character whose progression may thus be a reflection of these other characters' progressions to their mature and stable opinions and personalities. Even if you haven't read any other novels by Woolf, "The Voyage Out" with its engaging characters and interesting themes is well worth reading.