Virginia Woolf is considered by many to be one of the greatest Modernist writers, defining thegenre that took hold of the literary world in the early 20th-century. In her writing, Woolf captured a rapidly changing world — rejecting the tradition of bourgeois, Victorian storytelling. The break from such narrative was entirely conscious amongst leading writers of the new century and Woolf was at the helm of the literary revolution. Her writing aimed at disentangling writing from its dependence on aesthetic value and instead, Woolf wanted to write the world how she
saw it. Such an approach produced an array of work that pushed the boundaries of writing, ranging from masterpieces such as The Lighthouse to feminist and literary criticism.

Adeline Virginia Stephen — better known as Virginia Woolf — was born on January 25, 1882, in London, England. She was the quintessential product of free-thinking, albeit Victorian, parents: her father was the editor of the Dictionary of National Biography and her mother was greatly connected to the social and artistic world of the era. However, much of her early life was tumultuous within the familial strata: both of her parents had children from other marriages before theirs, and the union of the families created a tense dynamic between the siblings and older half-siblings. But Virginia channeled her unusual family life into writing and began Hyde Park Gate News, a family newspaper that she used to tease her siblings. The writing ceased,
however, in 1897 with the death of Virginia’s mother. Aged 13, Virginia grappled with grief and depression, made that much worse by the death of her half-sister at the end of the very same year.

Such loss was incredibly difficult for young Virginia to come to terms with, disrupting her idyllic Victorian life. Though after the loss of loved ones Woolf suffered mental health issues, she continued on her formal education and pursued studies in German, Greek, and Latin at the Ladies’ Department of King’s College London. It was in such a setting that she came across radical feminist thought, which would greatly influence her novels and criticisms. However, another loss struck Woolf as she was freshly done with her studies: her father passed away in 1904, and his death was a catalyst for Woolf’s first nervous breakdown.

Despite the personal tragedies that seemed to keep befalling upon her, the prodigious Woolf could not resist the itch to write. In 1908, Virginia Woolf had the brilliant notion to redefine the novel: railing against the Victorian tradition, Woolf wanted to explore an entirely new genre. She published her first literary work, The Voyage Out in 1915. In it, Woolf experimented with unusual narrative techniques, dream-states, and free association prose. Like many of her Modernist contemporaries, she was a proponent of stream of consciousness: Mrs
Dalloway, for instance, is a classic example of the narrative technique. Following the thoughts, experiences, and memories of a socialite in London over a single day, Mrs Dalloway largely pioneered what would become the standard for many Modernists. It challenged the very essence of what a book can be, uprooting the classic structure of Victorian prose. Having married Leonard Woolf in 1912, the pair decided to open Hogarth House, their own publishing house. The couple used it to publish their work as well as the writing of Sigmund Freud, Katharine Mansfield, and T.S. Eliot.

After a lifelong struggle with depression, Virginia Woolf committed suicide on March
28, 1941. She walked into a river, her pockets laden with stones. A prolific and innovative writer, Woolf left behind an immense legacy. She captured a
world in motion and her writing — novels, essays, diaries, letters, and biographies — are entrenched in such radical change. Her work has been translated into over 50 languages and she has been maintained as one of the most important literary and feminist figures of the 20th-century.