The book about the brothers made no mention of Virginia Woolf’s writings. But an e-mail arrived from Isaac Gewirtz on October 29, 2004:
Dear Dr. Gruber,
The history of the Berg’s acquisition of its Virginia Woolf papers is considerably more complex than I suspected or than has been reported. I’ve spent several hours examining the voluminous correspondence and memos from that period and summarize my findings for you, below. …
Twenty-eight bound volumes of Virginia Woolf’s diaries for the period January 1, 1915—March 24, 1941, as well as virtually all of Virginia Woolf’s papers were sold by Leonard Woolf to the rare book and manuscript dealer Hamill and Barker (Chicago) in the spring of 1957, under the stipulations that they should not be resold until after his death, and that the purchaser must be a public or university library.
Later, in 1957, the Berg, in person of Dr. John Gordan, the Berg’s first Curator, entered into negotiations with Hamill & Barker for the papers’ purchase: novels, short stories, essays, correspondence (incoming and any copies of her outgoing), and diaries … Only a few significant manuscripts were absent from the transaction, most notably The Voyage Out (which was in the Bodleian), Night and Day, Orlando, and A Room of One’s Own. In 1962, Leonard Woolf donated to the Berg a part of the original manuscript of The Voyage Out. In the early 1960s, the Berg purchased Night and Day and A Room of One’s Own, as well as Notes on Books and a 50-page portion of the original draft and the various versions, in typescript, of Between the Acts, from H&B … Though Woolf did not object to the Berg’s purchase of the diaries with the rest of the papers, he insisted that the diaries not be delivered to the Berg until after his death, though Gordan had explained to H&B (who communicated this to Woolf) that Library policy forbade paying for material prior to receiving it. The Library and H&B surmounted this obstacle by stating in the purchase agreement that H&B would deliver all of the papers specified except for the diaries, that the Berg would pay for the papers delivered, and that the diaries would be delivered and paid for after Mr. Woolf’s death.
In 1964, the Berg purchased from H&B two slim diaries for 1905 and for the Sept. 7-Oct. 1, 1919, which are not part of the 28-volume series. In 1968, the Berg purchased from H&B The Years; ca. 120 letters to Leonard Woolf; and 5 letters to Virginia Woolf. In 1980, we purchased two autograph and five typed undated letters [1928-1932] to Nancy Pearn, and in 1993, a typed letter to Quentin Bell.
This summarizes the acquisition history of the great bulk of our Virginia Woolf papers, but it is a story that should probably be told someday in greater detail. If I ever find the time, I will attempt to do so. For now, I hope that the information I’ve provided will suit your needs. It has been a delight working with you and I hope that we will soon have the opportunity to renew our acquaintance.
With best wishes,
Isaac Gewirtz
I owe Isaac Gewirtz my deepest gratitude. His detective work had answered the question of how Virginia Woolf’s diaries and letters crossed the Atlantic and were now safely guarded and cherished in the oak-paneled walls of the Berg Collection.
There are numerous other people to whom I owe thanks in writing this book. Foremost is my editor, Philip Turner, whose enthusiasm and advice have been equaled only by his constant but well-meaning pressure urging me to meet my deadline. My agent, Michael Carlisle, was equally enthusiastic and helpful. Much gratitude goes to my assistants, especially Liesl Yamaguchi, who was a joy to work with, efficient and disciplined, a straight-A sophomore at Columbia University, who divided her time between classes and taking dictation from me, typing as fast as I talked; Maressa Gershowitz, my research assistant and archivist, who found the VW letters and who raced through my filing cabinets, each time finding exactly what I was looking for; and Leah Krauss, a Barnard College freshman who, like Liesl, could type as fast as I talked, and who was willing to run back and forth between Barnard and my apartment to work on the Introduction often five hours at a time.
I am grateful to my niece Dava Sobel, the gifted author of Longitude and Galileo’s Daughter; to my good friend Heidi Stella, junior dean at Oxford University; to my good friend Barbara Ribakove-Gordon, a professional editor and writer with whom I made two trips to Ethiopia to help in the rescue of Ethiopian Jews; to Dan Levin, novelist, biographer, poet, and teacher at CW Post, whom I first met during World War II when he was a marine correspondent; to his son Forrest Levin, a teacher of math at the college level and a wiz at helping me with my computer; to my step-daughter Barbara Seaman, the feminist health expert, who spent forty years in the wilderness decrying the indiscriminate use of hormones; to the members of the Writers Workshop, especially Gerald Jonas, who writes the science fiction column for the New York Times Book Review and whose critiques are always on target; to my good friends Dr. David Peretz and Dr. Robert Naiman, who helped me understand some of the symptoms of bipolar disorder, and that one of its symptoms is to end the pain by committing suicide; Dr. Alice Ginott Cohn, a psychologist and loyal friend.
Of course, I cannot fail to mention Virginia Woolf herself, nor her graciousness in the three letters to me and the magical twilight I spent with her and her husband Leonard as she lay in front of the fireplace at 52 Tavistock Square.
INDEX
A | B | C | D | E
F | G | H | I | J
K | L | M | N | O
P | R | S | T
U | V | W | Y
A
activity vs. passivity, 107-108
Aids to Reflection (Coleridge), 146, 147
androgyny, 146-148, 148-149
anti-Semitism, see also Nazi Germany
of Virginia Woolf, 35
Aristotelian unities, 111-113
art, significance of, 122-123
Austen, Jane, 63, 64, 66, 138-139
Pride and Prejudice, 155-156
authors, male, influence of, 88-89
B
Balderston, John Lloyd, Berkeley Square, 114
Barnes & Noble, 40
Bell, Julian, 30
Berg, Albert, 165
Berg Collection, New York Public Library, 25, 29-30, 164-167
origins of, 164-166
acquisition of Woolf papers, 165-167
Berg, Moritz, 165
Bergson, Henri, 109-111
Berkeley Square (Balderston), 114
“Biographical Sketch of Dr. Ruth Gruber” (promotional pamphlet), 48-51
bipolar disorder, 9, 10, 34-35, 35-36, 168
Bolsher, Peggy, 14-15, 39
Bronte, Charlotte, Jane Eyre, 67
Bronte, Emily, 64
Brothers: The Origins of the Henry W and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, The New York Public Library (Szladits), 164-165
Browne, Sir Thomas, Pseudoxia
Epidemica, 146
Urn Burial, 90-91
Burke, Edmund, Speech on the Nabob of Arcot’s Debts, 86-87
C
Carroll and Graf Publishers, 163
citation of works, in Woolf, 84-87, 91-92
incorporation of, 87-88
classicism
flaws of, 128
vs. romanticism, 125-129
clothing, symbolism of, 140-141
Cohn, Alice Ginott, 168
Coleridge, Samuel, Aids to Reflection, 146, 147
Common Reader, The, 85, 92, 155
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (Twain), 114
consciousness, stream of, 107-108, 111
Cornish, George, 8, 22
correspondence
Barnes and Noble, letter of reference, 40
Isaac Gewirtz to Ruth Gruber, 165-167
Margaret West to Ruth Gruber, 23-24
reproduction of document, 42
Nigel Nicolson to Ruth Gruber, 31-32
reproduction of documents, 52, 54
P. Bolsher to Ruth Gruber, 14-15
reproduction of document, 39
Ruth Gruber to Margaret West, 24
reproducti
on of document, 43
Ruth Gruber to Virginia Woolf, 23, 32-33
reproduction of documents, 41, 45, 46
Virginia Woolf to Ethel Smyth, 35
Virginia Woolf to Julian Bell, 30
Virginia Woolf to Leonard Woolf, 35-36
Virginia Woolf to Ruth Gruber, 26-27, 29, 33-34
reproduction of documents, 44, 45, 47
creativity, of women, 154-155, 156
critics
denouncing, 62-63, 92
power of, 61-62, 64
satire of, 78-79
D
day, single, symbolism of, 130-131
De Quincey, Thomas, Dream-Fugue, 91, 93, 95
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Gibbon), 85
diaries, of Virginia Woolf, 25-26, 31, 32, 34
Dostoevsky, Fyodor, Stavrogin’s Confession, 86
Downhill All the Way (L. Woolf), 34
Dream-Fugue (De Quincey), 91, 93, 95
dreams and illusions, 105
dress, symbolism of, 140-141
duality, 124-139
E
egotism vs. integrity, 65
Einfuhrung in die Psychoanalyse (Freud), 147
Einstein, Albert, 9
Relativitätstheorie, 114-115
Eliot, T. S., 2-3
The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock, 88
emotionalism vs. realism, 106
Ethiopian refugees, 168
Euphues and his England (Lyly), 90
F
femininity, 67-68
expression in literature, 138
feminism, 155-158. see also sexism
Woolf’s influence on, 9
Feuchtwanger, Lion, The Oppermanns, 9
Fielding, Henry, 62
food, descriptions of, 141-142
formalism, 141-142
Freud, Sigmund, Einfuhrung in die Psychoanalyse, 147
Fry, Roger, 2
G
Gabriel, Hugo, 13, 22
Galileo’s Daughter (Sobel), 167
gender changes, in Orlando, 93, 94
genius, 115-116
genius, quality of, 115-116
Georgian writers, 97
Gershowitz, Marissa, 1, 167
Gewirtz, Isaac, 164, 165-167
Gibbon, Edward, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 84-85
Goering, Hermann, 4
Gordan, John, 166
Greene, Robert, The History of Orlando Furioso, 78
Gruber, Ruth
academic career, 10-15, 10-16
in Europe, 12-18
obtains Ph.D, 17-19, 20-22
“Biographical Sketch” (promotional pamphlet), 48-51
dissertation published by Tauchnitz Press, 22-25
early career, 22-23
I Went to the Soviet Arctic, 8
media coverage, 20-22
meets Virginia Woolf, 1-3
writes dissertation on Woolf, 13-15
defends thesis, 16-17
H
Hall, Radclyffe, The Well of Loneliness, 153
Halls, Catherine, 31
Hamburg-Amerika cruise line, 20
Hamill and Barker (manuscript dealers), 166
Herz family, 28-29
History of Orlando Furioso (Greene), 78
Hitler, Adolf, 3-5, 7, 8, 16
Hogarth Press, 14, 35
homosexuality, 146, 148, 149-152
hope, and nihilism, 117-120
The Hours (film), 2
I
I Went to the Soviet Arctic (Gruber), 8
identity, struggle for, 125
illusions and dreams, 105
Institute of International Education (IIE), 11
integrity, concept of, 63, 64-65
compromise of, 76
vs. egotism, 65
intuition vs. rationalism, 109-111
Israel, 8
J
Jacob’s Room (Woolf), 88, 97-103, 120, 141, 144-145
Jane Eyre (Bronte), 67
Jewish refugees, 8-9, 20, 22, 28, 163, 168
Jonas, Gerald, 168
Joyce, James, 89, 93
Ulysses, 91, 95-96
K
Kenner, Patti, 164
Keynes, John Maynard, 2
Kidman, Nicole, 2
King Richard III (Shakespeare), 146
Krauss, Leah, 167
L
Lady Chatterley’s Lover (Lawrence), 94, 151
Le Clerc, Paul, 164
lesbianism, 148, 149-152
letters, see correspondence
Letters of Virginia Woolf Volume Five 1932-1935, 29-30
Levin, Dan and Forrest, 168
lists, use of, 106
Longitude (Sobel), 167
Lovell, Aula, 31
Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock (Eliot), 88
Lyly, Euphues and his England, 90
M
male authors, influence of, 88-89
male characters, 153-154
manic depression, 9, 10, 34-35, 35-36, 168
Mann, Thomas, 9
Mansfield, Katherine, 63-64
mathematics, 130
meaning, search for, 134-137
menial illness, 9, 10, 34-35, 35-36, 168
Milton, John. 87
mortality, 112-113, 114-115, 116-117, 121-122, 137
Mother, Great, representations of, 122, 154-155, 156
mother, spiritual, search for, 63-64, 66-67, 156
Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown, 82, 92, 143
Mrs. Dalloway, 87, 103-113, 139, 150-154
music, influence of, 97-98, 103-105, 120-121
and mathematics, 130
My Most Favorite Dessert restaurant (Schechter), 164
N
Naiman, Robert, 168
names, of characters, 85
nature, in literary imagery, 71
and struggle for order, 134-137
Nazi Germany, 3-5, 7, 8, 15-16, 19, 22
New Jersey Federation of Women’sClubs, 22
New York Evening Post, 21-22
New York Herald Tribune, 8, 22-23
New York Public Library, 25, 29-30, 164
New York Times, 20, 22
New York Times Book Review, 168
Nicolson, Harold, To the New Spirit of Literature, 117
Nicolson, Nigel, 31-32, 51-52
Night and Day, 78, 86, 96, 127, 143
comparison with The Voyage Out, 68-76
nihilism, and hope, 117-120
O
Oppermanns, The (Feuchtwanger), 9
order, imposing over nature, 134-137
originality vs. tradition, 67, 96-98
Orlando (Woolf), 14-15, 62, 77-83, 87, 89, 90, 90-91, 94-95, 96, 145, 146-147
gender in, 93, 94, 145-146, 147-148
time in, 113-114
P
painting, significance of, 122-123
passivity vs. activity, 107-108
Pearl Harbor, 9
Peretz, David, 168
place, in the novel, 111-112, 142-144
Plato, 146
Poe, Edgar Alan, Ulalume, 85
Poland, World War II, 6-7, 8
polarity, law of, 124-139
political activism, of women, 155-156, 157-158
Pope, Alexander, 91-92
Pride and Prejudice (Austen), 155-156 Prokosch, Ernst, 10-11
Pseudoxia Epidemica (Browne), 146
“pure have yer”, 30-32
R
ratiocination, 72, 109, 127
realism vs. emotionalism, 106
reconciliation with romanticism, 82-83
refugees
Ethiopian, 168
World War II, 8-9, 20, 22, 28, 163
Reid, Ogden and Helen Rogers, 8
Relatitätstheorie (Einstein), 114-115
Ribakove-Gordon, Barbara, 167-168
romanticism, 67-68, 70
vs. classicism, 12
5-129
flaws of, 128-129
reconciliation with realism, 82—83
satire of, 80-81
room, as setting, 142-144
A Room of One’s Own, 14, 63, 66-67, 87, 89, 94, 139-140, 142-143, 145, 157
S
Schechter, Doris, 163
My Most Favorite Dessert, 164
Schöffler, Herbert, 13, 22, 39
Schuster, Max, 8
Seaman, Barbara, 168
setting, indoor, 142-144
sexual activity, depiction of, 144-145 sexism, 61, 64. see also feminism
room, as refuge from, 142-143
and social values, 140
sexuality, 144-152
as fluid concept, 93, 94, 145-146
Shakespeare, William, 66, 86
King Richard III, 146
Shelley, Percy Bysshe, Stanzas Written in Dejection Near Naples, 88
Simon and Schuster Publishers, 8
Smyth, Ethel, 31, 35
Sobel, Dava
Galileo’s Daughter, 167
Longitude, 167
Soviet Arctic, Gruber writes about, 8
St. Louis (ship), 20
Stalla, Heidi, 28, 167
Stanley, Deborah F., 9
Stanzas Written in Dejection Near Naples (Shelley), 88
State University of New York at Syracuse (SUNY), 9
Stavrogin’s Confession (Dostoevsky), 86
Stefansson, Vilhjalmur, 22
Stephen, Leslie, 92
Stevenson, Robert Louis, 87-88
Strachey, Lytton, 2, 92, 93
stream-of-consciousness, 107-108, 111
subjectivity, and creativity, 66
suicide, of Woolf, 9-10, 35-36
Szladits, Lola L., 30
Brothers: The Origins of the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, The New York Public Library, 164-165