Leonard Woolf - Bloomsbury Socialist (2019) [SPIRITUAL LIVES]

This is a wide-ranging biography of Leonard Woolf (1880–1969), an important yet somewhat neglected figure in British life. He is in the unusual position of being overshadowed by his wife, Virginia Woolf, and his role in helping her is part of this study. He was born in London to a father who was a successful barrister but whose early death left the family in economic difficulty. Though he abandoned his Judaism when young, being Jewish was deeply significant in shaping Leonard’s ideas, as well as the Hellenism imbibed as a student at both St Paul’s and Trinity College, Cambridge. Despite his secularism, there were surprisingly spiritual dimensions to his life. At Cambridge he was a member of the secret discussion group, the Apostles, as were his friends Lytton Stracheyand John Maynard Keynes, thus becoming part of the later Bloomsbury Group. He spent seven years as a successful civil servant in Ceylon, which later enabled him to write brilliantly about empire as well as a powerful novel, __The Village in the Jungle__. Returning to London in 1911, he married Virginia Woolf the next year. In 1917 they founded the Hogarth Press, a successful and significant publishing house. During his long life he became a major figure, a prolific writer on a range of subjects, most importantly international affairs, especially the creation of the League of Nations, a range of domestic problems, and issues of imperialism, particularly in Africa. He was a seminal figure in twentieth-century British life. Leonard Woolf: Bloomsbury Socialist is an invaluable biography of an extremely important and somewhat neglected figure in British life. Leonard Woolf (1880-1969) was somewhat overshadowed by his wife, Virginia Woolf, and his role in helping her is a part of this study. He was born in London to a father who was a successful barrister but whose early death left the family in some economic difficulty. Although in his youth he abandoned his Judaism, Fred Leventhal and Peter Stansky expertly show that being Jewish was deeply significant in shaping Woolf's ideas as well as the Hellenism he imbibed both as a student at St Paul's and Trinity College Cambridge. While there, as a member of the famous small discussion group, the Apostles--as were his close friends, Lytton Strachey and John Maynard Keynes--he became part of what would become some years later the Bloomsbury Group. He then spent seven years as a very successful civil servant in Ceylon, gaining experience that would later enable him to write brilliantly about empire as well as a powerful novel, The Village in the Jungle . Returning to London in 1911, he married Virginia Woolf the next year and in 1917 they founded the Hogarth Press, which went on to be a successful and significant publishing house. In the course of his long life he became a major figure, as a prolific author of important texts and many shorter pieces on a wide range of subjects, but most importantly on international affairs, notably in the creation of the League of Nations, on a whole range of domestic problems and on the issues of imperialism, particularly in Africa. Throughout this authoritative study, Stansky and Leventhal illustrate how this seminal figure in twentieth-century British society was shaped by religion and spirituality. "Leonard Woolf: Bloomsbury Socialist is an invaluable biography of an important if somewhat neglected figure in British cultural and political life,whose significance has been overshadowed by that of his wife, Virginia Woolf. His vital role in her life and career is a central aspect of this incisive study. Born to a prosperous middle-class Jewish family, he was profoundly affected by the early death of his father, a prominent barrister and QC, which left his family in reduced economic circumstances. Fred Leventhal and Peter Stansky expertly reveal that, despite his youthful loss of religious faith, being Jewish was as crucial in shaping Woolf's ideas as the Hellenism he imbibed at St Paul's and Trinity College, Cambridge. As an undergraduate member of the0celebrated elite Apostles-along with his close friends, Lytton Strachey and John Maynard Keynes-he played a formative role in what later became the Bloomsbury Group. He subsequently spent seven years as a colonial servant in Ceylon, the background to his powerful novel, The Village in the Jungle. Within a year of his return to England in 1911 he married Virginia Stephen, and in 1917 they founded the Hogarth Press, an innovative and commercially successful publishing house. In the0course of his long life he wrote prolifically on international relations, notably on the creation of the League of Nations, on socialism, and on imperial policy, particularly in Africa. Throughout this authoritative study,Leventhal and Stansky illuminate the life, scope, and thought of this seminal figure in twentieth-century British society." -- University Press Scholarship Online Leonard Woolf: Bloomsbury Socialist is an invaluable biography of an important if somewhat neglected figure in British cultural and political life, whose significance has been overshadowed by that of his wife, Virginia Woolf. His vital role in her life and career is a central aspect of this incisive study. Born to a prosperous middle-class Jewish family, he was profoundly affected by the early death of his father, a prominent barrister and QC, which left his family in reduced economic circumstances. Fred Leventhal and Peter Stansky expertly reveal that, despite his youthful loss of religious faith, being Jewish was as crucial in shaping Woolf's ideas as the Hellenism he imbibed at St Paul's and Trinity College, Cambridge. As an undergraduate member of the0celebrated elite Apostles-along with his close friends, Lytton Strachey and John Maynard Keynes-he played a formative role in what later became the Bloomsbury Group. He subsequently spent seven years as a colonial servant in Ceylon, the background to his powerful novel, The Village in the Jungle. Within a year of his return to England in 1911 he married Virginia Stephen, and in 1917 they founded the Hogarth Press, an innovative and commercially successful publishing house. In the0course of his long life he wrote prolifically on international relations, notably on the creation of the League of Nations, on socialism, and on imperial policy, particularly in Africa. Throughout this authoritative study, Leventhal and Stansky illuminate the life, scope, and thought of this seminal figure in twentieth-century British society Leonard Woolf: Bloomsbury Socialist is an invaluable biography of an important if somewhat neglected figure in British cultural and political life, whose significance has been overshadowed by that of his wife, Virginia Woolf. His vital role in her life and career is a central aspect of this incisive study. Born to a prosperous middle-class Jewish family, he was profoundly affected by the early death of his father, a prominent barrister and QC, which left his family in reduced economic circumstances. Fred Leventhal and Peter Stansky expertly reveal that, despite his youthful loss of religious faith, being Jewish was as crucial in shaping Woolf's ideas as the Hellenism he imbibed at St Paul's and Trinity College, Cambridge. As an undergraduate member of the celebrated elite Apostles-along with his close friends, Lytton Strachey and John Maynard Keynes-he played a formative role in what later became the Bloomsbury Group. He subsequently spent seven years as a colonial servant in Ceylon, the background to his powerful novel, The Village in the Jungle. Within a year of his return to England in 1911 he married Virginia Stephen, and in 1917 they founded the Hogarth Press, an innovative and commercially successful publishing house. In the0course of his long life he wrote prolifically on international relations, notably on the creation of the League of Nations, on socialism, and on imperial policy, particularly in Africa. Throughout this authoritative study, Leventhal and Stansky illuminate the life, scope, and thought of this seminal figure in twentieth-century British society Leonard Woolf: Bloomsbury Socialist is an invaluable biography of an important if somewhat neglected figure in British cultural and political life,whose significance has been overshadowed by that of his wife, Virginia Woolf. His vital role in her life and career is a central aspect of this incisive study. Born to a prosperous middle-class Jewish family, he was profoundly affected by the early death of his father, a prominent barrister and QC, which left his family in reduced economic circumstances. Fred Leventhal and Peter Stansky expertly reveal that, despite his youthful loss of religious faith, being Jewish was as crucial in shaping Woolf's ideas as the Hellenism he imbibed at St Paul's and Trinity College, Cambridge. As an undergraduate member of the celebrated elite Apostles-along with his close friends, Lytton Strachey and John Maynard Keynes-he played a formative role in what later became the Bloomsbury Group. He subsequently spent seven years as a colonial servant in Ceylon, the background to his powerful novel, The Village in the Jungle. Within a year of his return to England in 1911 he married Virginia Stephen, and in 1917 they founded the Hogarth Press, an innovative and commercially successful publishing house. In the course of his long life he wrote prolifically on international relations, notably on the creation of the League of Nations, on socialism, and on imperial policy, particularly in Africa. Throughout this authoritative study,Leventhal and Stansky illuminate the life, scope, and thought of this seminal figure in twentieth-century British society.