Beamis12

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 along with telegrams and other travel paraphernalia, gave such a personal look at these amazing people and the beginnings of their success. Would love to been at their intellectual evenings discussing paintings and literature. Though I think having people around all the time must have been wearying at times.

Loved reading about Vanessa and her life, looked up illustrations of some of her paintings, which I liked immensely. Vanessa was the true touchstone of the family, always watching over Virginia's moods, though Virginia's possessiveness would cause a permanent rift between her and her sister. Loved that the author included at the end of the novel, a look at the personal and professional happenings of all on this group. Also a note telling the reader what actually happened and what was her invention. That much of this book was based in fact shows the huge amount of research that went into this novel's writing. Would have happily kept reading had the novel been longer, I was absolutely fascinated.