Jacob's Room

Virginia Woolf's third novel, published in 1922, follows the elusive title character Jacob Flanders from a sunlit childhood on the Cornwall coast to adventures in Cambridge, London, and Athens. Women fall in love with him, while young men desire his company and conversation. Woolf keeps her scornful, charming protagonist at a distance, enveloping him in mystery as he enters adulthood and the Great War thunders across Europe. Jacob's Room is a daring work that reimagines every element of the traditional novel, telling a new story for a new century. Lytton Strachey pronounced it a most wonderful achievement, prophesying immortal.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 09 June 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Virginia Woolf s third novel, published in 1922 alongside James Joyce s Ulysses and T.S. Eliot s The Waste Land, follows this elusive title character from a sunlit childhood on the Cornwall coast to adventures in Cambridge, London, and Athens. Women fall in love with Jacob; young men desire his company and conversation. But Woolf keeps her scornful, charming protagonist at a distance, enveloping Jacob in mystery as he enters adulthood and the Great War thunders across Europe. A daring work that reimagines every element of the traditional novel, Jacob s Room tells a new story for a new century.

In 1922, Lytton Strachey pronounced Jacob s Room a most wonderful achievement—more like poetry, it seems to me, than anything else, and as such, I prophesy immortal.

One hundred years after its publication, Woolf s first full-length work of experimental fiction pulls us into the inexhaustible mysteries of intimacy and mortality.

Jacob Flanders, the protagonist of Virginia Woolf s third novel, published in 1922 alongside James Joyce s Ulysses and T.S. Eliot s The Waste Land, is an elusive figure who traverses a sunlit childhood on the Cornwall coast to adventures in Cambridge, London, and Athens. Women fall in love with Jacob; young men desire his company and conversation. However, Woolf maintains a scornful and charming distance from her protagonist, enveloping Jacob in mystery as he enters adulthood and the Great War thunders across Europe.

Jacob s Room is a daring work that reimagines every element of the traditional novel, telling a new story for a new century. Lytton Strachey, in his review of the book, hailed it as a most wonderful achievement, comparing it to poetry and prophesying its immortal status.

One hundred years after its publication, Jacob s Room continues to captivate readers with its exploration of intimacy and mortality. Woolf s experimental fiction pulls us into the inexhaustible mysteries of human relationships, challenging our perceptions of love, desire, and the complexities of the human condition.

Through the character of Jacob Flanders, Woolf delves into the themes of identity, memory, and the passage of time. Jacob s childhood experiences on the Cornwall coast shape his character and influence his relationships with others, while his adventures in Cambridge, London, and Athens introduce him to new experiences and perspectives.

Woolf s writing style is characterized by her use of stream of consciousness and fragmented narrative, which allows us to glimpse into Jacob s thoughts and emotions as he navigates his way through life. This technique creates a sense of intimacy and immediacy, drawing us deeper into Jacob s world and allowing us to share in his joys, sorrows, and uncertainties.

Jacob s Room is also notable for its exploration of gender roles and sexuality. Woolf challenges traditional notions of masculinity and femininity, depicting Jacob as a complex and multifaceted character who defies easy categorization. Women are portrayed as both objects of desire and independent agents, and young men are shown to be both attracted to Jacob s charm and intimidated by his intelligence and wit.

Woolf s use of symbolism and imagery is also noteworthy, with the room itself serving as a metaphor for Jacob s inner world and the boundaries he struggles to navigate. The room is both a source of comfort and confinement, a place where Jacob can retreat from the outside world but also where he is trapped by his own thoughts and emotions.

In conclusion, Jacob s Room is a masterpiece of experimental fiction that continues to resonate with readers today. Through its exploration of intimacy, mortality, identity, and the complexities of human relationships, Woolf s novel offers a fresh perspective on the traditional novel and challenges our perceptions of love, desire, and the human condition. Jacob s Room is a testament to the enduring power of literature to inspire, challenge, and transform us.

Dimension: 196 x 129 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780192857392
Edition number: 2 Revised edition