A Room of One's Own

By: Virginia Woolf

Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson

A Room of One's Own, based on a lecture given at Girton College Cambridge, is one of the great feminist polemics. Woolf's blazing polemic on female creativity, the role of the writer, and the silent fate of Shakespeare's imaginary sister remains a powerful reminder of a woman's need for financial independence and intellectual freedom.

©2011 Canongate Books (P)2011 CSA Word

Big Bad Woolf

I can not express how much I loved this book , there are no words that do not pale in comparison to the strength,integrity and humor of this delight.
I fell I'm tarnishing the alphabet by writing this review but I need to say that one Juliet Stevenson should read every book she is amazing ,her voice gives such gravity to Virginia wisdom and two the fact that a woman was fighting for her sex's rights back in her day and age makes me proud to be a woman and a feminist . In my time where the word feminism has become something to hide or be ashamed take strength form this book , it will make you scream your a feminist from the roof tops ..

A classic every woman should read

Would you listen to A Room of One's Own again? Why?

I'd knew Virginia Woolf mainly by reputation and knew I should read her. I was right. She has a message for today's women and despite the time that has passed, it is still relevant. This was a perfect book for listening. The narrator was clear and the book was informative. Listening to it was the perfect way to approach Woolf.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Room of One's Own?

My most memorable phrase is that women need support in order to achieve and that only comes with the ability to earn a living.

A MISOGYNIST SEA

Virginia Woolf is a woman outside of time. As Woolf implies in the early twentieth century, women are drowning in a misogynist sea. Woolf is born when female inequality breaches that existential threat with a first wave; i.e. American Women’s Suffrage in 1920 and British Women’s Suffrage in 1928. The preeminent feminist, Betty Friedan, is just born (actually, 1921). (Friedan later writes “The Feminine Mystique”–published in 1963.)

“A Room of One’s Own” contemplates –“why women are not great poets or fiction writers?” With the exception of Harriet Beecher Stowe, there are no 19th century women renowned for fiction. Apocryphally, the unlikely story of Lincoln saying “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this Great War” is an apt coda for the public’s view of women writers.

Woolf’s point is that women had no money because they were dependent on men or family inheritance. Often, young ladies are discouraged from college by their families who feel marriage and bearing children are their primary duties. Without educational support and few opportunities for gainful employment, women (on their own) had little money. Without money, there is little opportunity for independence; without money, there is little chance of having “A Room of One’s Own”.

Misogyny still roils the sea but more women writers have a room of their own. The second wave is forty years in the future but Friedan steadies the helm-bearing toward equality. At $.79 cents to the dollar in 2016, there is still a long way to go. As Aristotle once said, contemplation is the highest form of activity for the soul. Woolf implies great literature; great fiction, and poetry come from authors who have money and a room of their own.

Beautiful. Expressive. Accurate.

Juliet Stevenson's rendition brings the text to life. Extremely helpful to work out the long, complicated syntax Woolf employs. It feels as is if a friend is making a point to you over coffee. However, not a single comma or inflexion is missed. Awesome, all around.

A stunning performance of Woolf’s excellent writing

Juliet Stevenson is a treasure. This is the first of Woolf’s writings that I’ve read, and Stevenson gave such spirit to this masterfully written essay.