A romantic comedy in which the central characters have a distinctly unromantic disposition, Night and Day was Virginia Woolf's second novel. Written during the First World War, the novel is set in the suffrage campaign of the pre-war years. Often understood as a deliberate exercise in classicism, it has been neglected by critics drawn to Woolf's later more overtly experimental fictions. This edition provides a substantial introduction, which traces the chronology of the novel's composition and publication, and which draws ...
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A romantic comedy in which the central characters have a distinctly unromantic disposition, Night and Day was Virginia Woolf's second novel. Written during the First World War, the novel is set in the suffrage campaign of the pre-war years. Often understood as a deliberate exercise in classicism, it has been neglected by critics drawn to Woolf's later more overtly experimental fictions. This edition provides a substantial introduction, which traces the chronology of the novel's composition and publication, and which draws on previously neglected sources to trace its reception. Its extensive explanatory notes clarify the novel's relation to Woolf's reading and to the literary, cultural, and historical context of its time, with attention both to the time of its setting and its composition. Maps locate the key settings in London and England. The introduction and textual apparatus trace the complex history of the impressions and editions issued during Woolf's lifetime.
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I found Viriginia Woolf's second published novel(after the entertaining The Voyage Out) extremely tedious. None of the characters are particularly likeable, except for Mary, a suffragist who doesn't appear often enough. There is a modicum of humor-the current plot problems of Desperate Housewives comes to mind with "Yes, we're engaged, No we're not" complications that get old pretty quickly. Virginia Woolf wrote certifiable classics, but the general reader can skip this one and enjoy Mrs. Dalloway all the more.
