The Charmer...

On this day...The charismatic author and poet Vita Sackville-West died in 1962 at the age of 70. Born into an aristocratic family, Vita seemingly fulfilled parental expectations through her marriage to career politician Harld George Nicholson. Yet this perfectly ordinary facade was somewhat thrust away by an altogether more exotic lifestyle. Although she and her husband enjoyed a stated closeness, it was understood to be an open marraige, and one which Vita strayed from through numerous partners, including, most famously, the novelist and pillar of modernism Virginia Woolf. Indeed, it was as a result of this affair that Woolf wrote Orlando, described by Sackville-West's son as 'the longest and most charming love-letter in literature'.

However, it should not be assumed that Sackville-West's only contributionto literature was a liason with one of its most profound assets. The author of The Edwardians, (a critique of aristocratic society) and All Passions Spent, Sackville-West also became the only writer to ever win the Hawthornden Prize twice for her poetry and wrote biographies of both Joan of Arc and Aphra Behn. These achievements were crowned in 1947 as she was made a Companion of Honour for her services to literature.

On this day...

Virgina Woolf's 'Jacob's Room' was published in 1922. Her third novel, the work was the first full-length book published by the Woolfs' Hogarth Press, complete with cover designed by her sister. Thought to be a fictional biography of her late brother, Thoby Stephen, 'Jacob's Room' appears to be a turning point in Woolf's literary career, she herself writing in her diary of the achievement 'that I have found out how to begin (at 40) to say something in my own voice'.

Indeed the novel can be seen as a departure from her two previous books, 'The Voyage Out' and 'Night and Day', and instead adopts the more modernist and experiemental style that appears in her later works, such as 'To the Lighthouse' and 'The Waves'. Perhaps the most striking feature of Woolf's third novel, is the absence of the 'protagonist', as the readers' perception of Jacob is primarily formed through other characters' impressions.

On this day...

Virginia Woolf's 'The Waves' was published in 1931. Considered the last of her major works, it is Woolf's most experimental novel, asserted by her nephew to be 'the culminating point in her career as an artist'. As with Woolf's other writings, 'The Waves' pursues a detailed examination of character, as the six voices weave a narrative through soliloquies, interrupted by occasional third-person interludes. As the novel follows the characters from childhood through to adulthood, many have seen glimpses of Woolf's friends and family, including her brother, Lytton Strachey, E.M. Forster, and T.S. Eliot.

Such was the brilliance of the work, that French novelist Marguerite Yourcenar, said, 'I do not believe I am committing an error, however, when I put Virginia Woolf among the four or five great virtuosos of the English language and among the rare contemporary novelists whose work stands some chance of lasting more than ten years'.

On this day...

English novelist Virginia Woolf died in 1941, at the age of 59. Born to the model of Pre-Raphaelite painters, and an eminent critic, Woolf was immersed in a literary environment from a young age. Yet despite a promising classical education, Woolf's early life was blighted by a spate of nervous breakdowns, following the death of her mother, sister and later, her father. Many have speculated that she was also abused by her half brothers, and such depressive mood swings and subsequent institutionalisation led eventually to her suicide.

Yet during her lifetime, Woolf was held in high regard. A member of the Bloomsbury group, which included husband Leonard, Woolf is especially noted for feminist themes and is considered one of the foremost modernist writers. Her best known works include 'Mrs Dalloway', 'To the Lighthouse', 'Orlando' and 'A Room of One's Own'.

On this day...

Virginia and Leonard Woolf purchased a small handpress in 1917. Delivered a month later to their house in Richmond, the item was to become known as the Hogarth Press, which. over the next three decades would go on to publish 525 titles. 1917 saw Virginia Woolf emerging from a third bout of depression, and Leonard, with the belief that book publishing might prove a theraputic hobby, purchased for her the printing press.

Yet he equally had a restless mind that he needed to satisfy, and many of the press's early titles were published at his urging, including numerous political commentaries. Perhaps interestingly, considering his wife's own mental position, Leonard was one of the first Englishmen to publish translations of Sigmund Freud's work, so bringing the world of pscyhoanalytic theory to British readers. Yet the bulk of publication was the works of the Bloomsbury Group, of which both Woolfs were members. This included names such as Katherine Mansfield, E.M. Forster, and, undoubtedly the press's most famous work, 'The Waste Land' by T.S. Eliot.

On this day...

Russian author Anton Chekhov was born in 1860. The son of an abusive father, who is said to have formed many of his ideas on hypocrisy, Chekhov used simply the word 'suffering' to describe his childhood. When the family was declared bankrupt, they fled to Moscow, leaving the young Anton behind to sell their possessions. During this time, Chekhov began to write and upon moving to Moscow to attend the medical university, he utilised this talent to provide for his family. Writing under various pseudonyms, including 'man without a spleen', he contributed copious numbers of articles to prestigious city-based newspapers and periodicals; a period that culminated in him winning the Pushkin Prize, under the tutelage of Dmitry Grigorovich. Despite now suffering from tuberculosis, Chekhov encountered prolific literary form and went on to produce works now recognised in Russia's golden age of literature. 'Uncle Vanya', 'The Seagull' and 'The Cherry Orchard' are just three of Chekhov's best known works; works that acquired him the adulation of writers such as Joyce, Woolf, Hemingway, and most notably, George Bernard Shaw.

On this day...

Irish writer James Joyce, died in 1941 at the age of 58. Offered a place at a Jesuit college, Joyce was meant to join the Order, but rejected Catholicism at the age of 16; a decision reflected in several of his novels. Instead he enrolled at University College Dublin, becoming heavily involved in the literary scene and producing his first piece of published work; a review of Ibsen's drama for which he received a note of thanks from the man himself. Yet his experiences over the subsequent years were far from savoury. The death of Joyce's mother induced a serious bout of drinking which never truly abated until his death, and by 1904, he was living in self-imposed exile with former chambermaid Nora Barnacle. Upon moving back to Dublin eight years later, Joyce attempted to supplement his income through several schemes, thought to include the trading of Irish tweeds, and plans to become a cinema tycoon. Yet ultimately Joyce found that his only solace, and real monetary reward, lay in the writing for which he had a remarkable talent. Considered alongside Virginia Woolf as one of the foremost modernist writers, Joyce's most famous works include 'Dubliners' and 'Ulysses'; the latter enduring a censorship for obscenity, to become one of the best known books of the 20th century.

On this day...

English novelist Thomas Hardy died in 1928, at the age of 87. Born in Dorchester, or what he might term Casterbridge,  Hardy showed great academic potential at a young age, yet was denied higher education due to a lack of familial wealth. Instead he gained an apprenticeship as an architect, winning prizes from institutions such as the Royal Institute of British Architects.Yet five years later, with his health in decline, he decided to concentrate solely on his writings, beginning one of the most successful literary careers in British history. The works that followed have become almost synonymous with tradegy; striking a curious mix of Hardy's agnosticism and consequential beliefs in fate, with his beloved countryside and fictional county of 'Wessex'. After the popularity of 'Far From the Madding Crowd' and 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' came the scandal that surrounded 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' and 'Jude the Obscure'; the latter's reception resulting in his withdrawal from prose writing. His subsequent poetry, was much influenced by his first wife Emma Gifford, whose rocky relationship was apparently negated and forgotten with her death. Portraying social concepts beyond his era, he influenced later writers D.H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf.

On this day...

The Fabian society, a British socialist movement, was founded in 1884. A pre-cursor of the Labour party, the Fabians promoted the rise of social democracy, yet by reformist, as opposed to revolutionary means. Although interesting in itself as a political movement, the Fabian Society is perhaps more  worthy of note for a number of its past members, many with literary connections. One of the co-founders was children's author E. Nesbit, who was closely followed by Irish playwright George Bernanrd Shaw, and later science fiction writer H.G. Wells, a second Irish playwright in Oscar Wilde, and modernist Virginia Woolf. Shaw in particular was an ardent member, giving lectures on other contemporary socialist writers, of which there were many, notably Swedish playwright Henrik Ibsen. Along with three fellows Fabians, Shaw founded the London School of Economics in 1895; a library in LSE is named in his honour.

On this day...

English short story writer and novelist E.M. Forster was born today in 1970. Unlike most writers, who usually require a profession before they can support themselves in their literary career, Forster already had an £8,000 inheritance and so was immediately able to establish himself as a writer. His passion for literature and intellect, though mocked in his younger days, found companionship in Cambridge, where he joined the 'Bloomsbury Set' alongside fellow writer Virginia Woolf. During the following years, Forster traveled widely, visiting Greece, Italy and India, later serving in Egypt with the Red Cross. Such travels were the inspiration for many of his more famous works, such as 'A Passage to India' and 'Where Angels Fear to Tread'. He also explored themes of class and gender division in novels such as 'A Room with a View' and 'Howard's End'. Forster is noted for his contribution to modernism.