Vanessa & Virginia

Told from the point of view of the artist Vanessa Bell as a fragmented series of notes to her sister Virginia Woolf, this is a wonderfully imagined book by Susan Sellers; and a courageous one. There are all kinds of gems here, her portrait of sibling rivalry, the inner life of an artist, the profound effect of family and time, the struggle to become; all are drawn with great power and beauty of writing.

Virginia Woolf in a deck chair, 1912, by Vanessa Bell

Virginia Woolf, oil on board, 1912, by Vanessa Bell