logo
Wrong email address or username
Wrong email address or username
Incorrect verification code
Vanessa and Her Sister: A Novel - Priya Parmar
Vanessa and Her Sister: A Novel
by: (author)
3.60 75
For fans of The Paris Wife and Loving Frank comes a captivating novel that offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of Vanessa Bell, her sister Virginia Woolf, and the controversial and popular circle of intellectuals known as the Bloomsbury Group.  London, 1905: The city is alight with change,... show more
For fans of The Paris Wife and Loving Frank comes a captivating novel that offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of Vanessa Bell, her sister Virginia Woolf, and the controversial and popular circle of intellectuals known as the Bloomsbury Group.  London, 1905: The city is alight with change, and the Stephen siblings are at the forefront. Vanessa, Virginia, Thoby, and Adrian are leaving behind their childhood home and taking a house in the leafy heart of avant-garde Bloomsbury. There they bring together a glittering circle of bright, outrageous artistic friends who will grow into legend and come to be known as the Bloomsbury Group. And at the center of this charmed circle are the devoted, gifted sisters: Vanessa, the painter, and Virginia, the writer.   Each member of the group will go on to earn fame and success, but so far Vanessa Bell has never sold a painting. Virginia Woolf’s book review has just been turned down by The Times. Lytton Strachey has not published anything. E. M. Forster has finished his first novel but does not like the title. Leonard Woolf is still a civil servant in Ceylon, and John Maynard Keynes is looking for a job. Together, this sparkling coterie of artists and intellectuals throw away convention and embrace the wild freedom of being young, single bohemians in London.   But the landscape shifts when Vanessa unexpectedly falls in love and her sister feels dangerously abandoned. Eerily possessive, charismatic, manipulative, and brilliant, Virginia has always lived in the shelter of Vanessa’s constant attention and encouragement. Without it, she careens toward self-destruction and madness. As tragedy and betrayal threaten to destroy the family, Vanessa must decide if it is finally time to protect her own happiness above all else.   The work of exciting young newcomer Priya Parmar, Vanessa and Her Sister exquisitely captures the champagne-heady days of prewar London and the extraordinary lives of sisters Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf.Advance praise for Vanessa and Her Sister   “Priya Parmar is on a high-wire act all her own in this radiantly original novel about the Bloomsbury Set. Irrepressible, with charm and brio to spare, Vanessa and Her Sister boldly invites us to that moment in history when famous minds sparked and collided, shaping the terrain of art and letters. But it’s the two sisters who are most bewitching here—rocking on the brink of unforgivable transgression, changing each other in ways far-reaching and profound. Prepare to be dazzled.”—Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife        “With sparkling wit and insight, Priya Parmar sets us down into the legendary Bloomsbury household of the Stephen siblings, where sisters Vanessa and Virginia vie for love and primacy amid a collection of eccentric guests. Vanessa and Her Sister kidnapped me for a couple of days. I couldn’t put it down.”—Nancy Horan, author of Loving Frank   “This is the novel I didn’t know I was waiting for, and it is, quite simply, astonishing. Not just because of Priya Parmar’s preternatural skill at evoking the moment when the lid was coming off the Victorians and the heated talk about art, life, and sex swirled through Bloomsbury, but because of how she has caught the two sisters at the center of that swirl—the women who would become Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf. Vanessa and Her Sister is beautiful and wise, and as deft as a stroke upon the canvas.”—Sarah Blake, author of The Postmistress
show less
Format: hardcover
ISBN: 9780804176378 (080417637X)
ASIN: 080417637X
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Pages no: 368
Edition language: English
Bookstores:
Community Reviews
Brenna M's Book Blog
Brenna M's Book Blog rated it
3.5 VANESSA AND HER SISTER: A NOVEL by Priya Parmar
VANESSA AND HER SISTER: A NOVEL Priya Parmar Paperback, 384 pages Published October 13th 2015 by Ballantine Books (first published February 12th 2015) ISBN: 0804176396 (ISBN13: 9780804176392) This was a very interesting book to read. A novel, from Vanessa's point of view, about her sister, Virg...
Blah, Blah, Blah, Book Blog
Blah, Blah, Blah, Book Blog rated it
4.0 Vanessa and Her Sister
I chose this book because it was recommended for fans of The Paris Wife and Loving Frank, two books I really enjoyed as much for their writing as for the historical nature of their themes. By the time this made it to the top of my to-read pile, I had forgotten what it was about. When I finally start...
Beamis12
Beamis12 rated it
4.0 Vanessa and her sister
Starting in 1904, this novel spans six years in the life of the Stephen family and the very talented members who make up the Bloomsbury group. I loved this book and loved that the novel is told from the journal or diary writings of Vanessa Bell. Additional letters from other members of the group alo...
It's a Hardback Life
It's a Hardback Life rated it
4.0 Review: Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. Published by Ballantine Books, December 30, 2014 Thousands, probably millions, of words have been written about the figures in and around the Bloomsbury Group, and no one has probably been examined...
Memories From Books on Booklikes
Memories From Books on Booklikes rated it
2.0 Vanessa and Her Sister
Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar is the story of Vanessa Bell and her sister Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group in early twentieth century England. The epistolary format of the book and the extensive list of characters creates a sense of viewing snapshots in quick succession without a sen...
Other editions (1)
Books by Priya Parmar
On shelves
Share this Book
Need help?