The Recorded Voice Of Virginia Woolf

This is the only surviving recording of Virginia Woolf's voice. It is part of a BBC radio broadcast from April 29th, 1937. The talk was called "Craftsmanship" and was part of a series entitled "Words Fail Me".
The audio is accompanied by a slideshow of photographs of Virginia Woolf.
The text was published as an essay in "The Death of the Moth and Other Essays" (1942), and I've transcribed the recorded portion here:
atthisnow.blogs...

[@GreyMerchant]

....to think that we could hear her voice at this time after all those years, we are lucky indeed.

[@scotnick59]

YES

[@wxoxozy]

This is exactly what I thought she'd sound like.

[@paquetehabana7457]

'Words, English words, are full of echoes, of memories, of associations - naturally. They have been out and about, on people’s lips, in their houses, in the streets, in the fields, for so many centuries. And that is one of the chief difficulties in writing them today - that they are so stored with meanings, with memories, that they have contracted so many famous marriages. The splendid word “incarnadine,” for example - who can use it without remembering also “multitudinous seas”? In the old days, of course, when English was a new language, writers could invent new words and use them. Nowadays it is easy enough to invent new words - they spring to the lips whenever we see a new sight or feel a new sensation - but we cannot use them because the language is old. You cannot use a brand new word in an old language because of the very obvious yet mysterious fact that a word is not a single and separate entity, but part of other words. It is not a word indeed until it is part of a sentence. Words belong to each other, although, of course, only a great writer knows that the word “incarnadine” belongs to “multitudinous seas.” To combine new words with old words is fatal to the constitution of the sentence. In order to use new words properly you would have to invent a new language; and that, though no doubt we shall come to it, is not at the moment our business. Our business is to see what we can do with the English language as it is. How can we combine the old words in new orders so that they survive, so that they create beauty, so that they tell the truth? That is the question.' I love her, لا إله إلاَّ الله محمد رسول الله ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/w/woolf/virginia/w91d/chapter24.html

[@ShoeGazer]

I know right!

[@jonno52]

I've no idea why, but that just cracks me up.

[@halloweenville1]

That deep contralto tone to her voice, makes her sound intelligent and thoughtful, just as she really was.

[@marciasloan534]

Yes

[@TotzkeMike]

Beautiful, just beautiful. A gift, to have this record of how she spoke.

[@laurastevens1855]

Michael Totzke Yes!

[@joshuatrees797]

Isn't it? A blessing to be able to hear her voice.

[@raisa_cherry35]

❤😍

[@juliadomna2400]

Simp

[@TotzkeMike]

Jeremy Saunders Fuck. YOU.

[@mitchelllunsford1930]

Isn't this exactly how we imagined she would sound?

[@dualblake]

Woolf’s nephew, Quentin Bell, felt the broadcast misrepresented his aunt’s voice: ‘the record is a very poor one,’ he wrote later: ‘her voice is deprived of depth and resonance; it seems altogether too fast and too flat; it is barely recognisable. Her speaking voice was in fact beautiful…and it is sad that it should not have been immortalised in a more satisfactory manner.’ If Bell is right, this may have been the result of Woolf’s discomfort with the medium of radio itself: ‘it could have been a good article,’ she later wrote about ‘Craftsmanship’, ‘[but] it’s the talk element that upsets it’. She promised herself in her diary that she would ‘refrain from the folly’ of broadcasting ever again.

[@dtj49er]

It is wonderful to hear "the voice" that inspired so many of us, as writers and feminists. To read her diaries and letters over these many years was always such a delight. As this is the only surviving recording of Virginia Woolf's voice, and she is commenting on language and words, hearing her voice has made my day!!

[@cgfyffygugugug3552]

She wasn't feminist, She defended the rights of everybody in a world in which women didn' t have rights

[@wohellcat]

@@cgfyffygugugug3552 well, she advocated for women's rights as well then. which makes her a feminist.

[@cgfyffygugugug3552]

@@wohellcat feminists fight for the rights of women, against men or something. The others fight for the rights of everyone

[@cgfyffygugugug3552]

@@wohellcat She was for "gender equality", not for the populist movements which lead to forms of sovereignism : that suffix "ist" Is never good

[@ashharijaywardena]

@@cgfyffygugugug3552 Just an addition, although belated, that I think pertinent to your point (which I wholly agree with): Woolf disliked the word 'feminist'. She felt it restrictive and biased, as you point out. She symbolically burns it in Three Guineas. Her goal, as Woolf explains by quoting the legendary Josephine Butler, was 'to assert the rights of all - all women and men - to the respect in their persons of the great principles of Justice and Equality and Liberty'. Many of the most compelling women advocating for women's rights in the Georgian era disliked being called 'feminists', and exactly that seems to have ensured that they were called so in order to water down their true goal.

[@USSGJDocumentaries]

I've always considered Virginia Woolf's style of writing the same as a method actor. She becomes what she is writing or it becomes her.

[@laurastevens1855]

Gary Jones precisely.

[@fionaautumn]

Beautifully said

[@sherylgoolsbee9562]

One doesn't simply read Woolf; you consume her thoughts, her words, and you hunger for more.

[@ashantiehyacinthjovillano6390]

very true

[@ringodingo]

Yes. Just like Asian take out food.

[@ringodingo]

@n\a humour is always funnier when it is carefully explained. So . . . With Woolf's writing, "you consume her words, . . . and you hunger for more." One consumes mass quantities of yummy Asian food, but 30 minutes later one is once again hungry.

[@omp199]

@@ringodingo Asia stretches half-way round the world. "Asian" food could be pitta bread and hummus, or tarka dhal, or Mongolian khorkhog, or sushi.

[@ringodingo]

@@omp199 omp199, awesome point about Asian food. I was trying to avoid simply saying Chinese food, which is what I was thinking of. I love the North American restaurant version of Chinese food.

[@xpythagoras4044]

microphone is better than mine.

[@esejsnake1503]

Ha

[@inthenameoflove8781]

As a French woman, i'm very glad to be able to hear Her voice.The english language has always been my enjoyment but I don't know why. i come from the lowest class of France and learned English at school. Her voice is just familiar to me, her words also. God bless the english female writers of that time.

[@velocitygirl8551]

💓💓💓

[@billymusicwb]

This is amazing! What a privilege to hear Virginia Woolf's voice! I listened to the unabridged "Mrs. Dalloway" last week, and "To The Lighthouse" this week. I rank her among the best ever. She should be read alongside Beckett, Proust and Joyce.

[@billymusicwb]

From the KZbin description: This is the only surviving recording of Virginia Woolf's voice. It is part of a BBC radio broadcast from April 29th, 1937. The talk was called "Craftsmanship" and was part of a series entitled "Words Fail Me". The audio is accompanied by a slideshow of photographs of Virginia Woolf. The text was published as an essay in "The Death of the Moth and Other Essays"

[@Liara_I_Sorry]

I was Virginia's lover!

[@HogsHeadStudios]

Two things: Virginia Woolf is definitely among the best modernist novelists, and that's recognized. Also, hot damn, listening to a Virginia Woolf novel is a feat--it's complicated enough to understand in text.

[@billymusicwb]

HogsHeadStudios You might find listening to Woolf is better, if you have a good reader. I listened to Mrs. Dalloway, To The Lighthouse, and The Waves in recorded books. The flow of the language with a reader who has the appropriate accent is fantastic. Same with Joyce's Ulysses. But hearing Woolf's voice in this only existing recording is both daunting and inspiring to me. There is one recording of Flannery O'Connor which you can probably find easily on KZbin. That recording of O'Connor will change the way you read her work forever. She's sharper and funnier than anyone. Wow!

[@alexf02071999]

I agree that she's definitely one of the best writers ever, and my personal favourite. The Waves blew me away way more than any other book I've ever read, plus Mrs Dalloway and To The Lighthouse were pretty damn incredible as well.

[@ShamanMick]

I love everyone who has commented on this; it's so good to see people who admire real literature :)

[@BarnebyWilde]

No wonder both men and women fell in love with her.

[@kyawkyawwin1]

Speak for yourself, missie.

[@francisprada6526]

Agree!

[@swirlandtwirl5417]

Yep, Vita is one of the proof

[@deborahdp7744]

Completely agree

[@Cami-dc9iu]

True

[@glamourofyesterday]

Lovely photos and what a marvellous thing to hear her voice, even if there are decades between us. Thank you for sharing this! :)

[@laurastevens1855]

glamourofyesterday Right? Joy!!

[@DantinaDB]

My God ... This is the Virginia's Voice! Thanks for post it ... I love Virginia Woolf. She's wonderful ... I'm speechless ... I'm in tears ...

[@SaramyJ94]

OMG finally a recording of my favourite writer!

[@Liara_I_Sorry]

Finally?! It was broadcast in 1937, where yah been.

[@SaramyJ94]

In 1937? I wasn't born, were you??

[@waynej2608]

Too bad there isn't one on Oscar Wilde. That would be something, I would think.

[@katiem4935]

@@waynej2608 That would have been so cool😩

[@TheAnn2shoes]

About 15 years ago I visited Virginia Woolf's home in Sussex with a friend who was using her writing as part of her dissertation. We arrived late and I told her to run up the track to the house; I would lock the car and follow. There was one other car in the car park and I parked a few feet away. As I got out, I felt that somebody was watching me and I turned around to look into the car. There, staring out at me, eating an apple, was Virginia Woolf (or her absolute double!). I have no explanation for it. Has anybody else had a similar experience?

[@Marius-eu8dh]

It was a Sending! Lucky you!

[@TheAnn2shoes]

Marius Cipolla It was strange, but interesting, for sure.

[@krneel128]

+Ann TwoShoes I believe you. The sun sets everyday. The apple is a real thing.

[@TheAnn2shoes]

It most definitely happened and I've never encountered anything similar since.

[@krneel128]

Ann TwoShoes No, I'm serious. I most definitely believe you, and I'll never encounter anything similar again.

[@genevievel5309]

What a beautiful musical voice.

[@dualblake]

Woolf’s nephew, Quentin Bell, felt the broadcast misrepresented his aunt’s voice: ‘the record is a very poor one,’ he wrote later: ‘her voice is deprived of depth and resonance; it seems altogether too fast and too flat; it is barely recognisable. Her speaking voice was in fact beautiful…and it is sad that it should not have been immortalised in a more satisfactory manner.’ If Bell is right, this may have been the result of Woolf’s discomfort with the medium of radio itself: ‘it could have been a good article,’ she later wrote about ‘Craftsmanship’, ‘[but] it’s the talk element that upsets it’. She promised herself in her diary that she would ‘refrain from the folly’ of broadcasting ever again.

[@genevievel5309]

@@dualblake Thank you for an interesting comment.

[@qamarm1831]

Yes , ofcourse it's beautiful ❤️

[@amritashetty4090]

Her voice is so soothing. Any one can wonder behind this calm voice she was sufferring....

[@dualblake]

Apparently her voice was so much more than what we hear here. Woolf’s nephew, Quentin Bell, felt the broadcast misrepresented his aunt’s voice: ‘the record is a very poor one,’ he wrote later: ‘her voice is deprived of depth and resonance; it seems altogether too fast and too flat; it is barely recognisable. Her speaking voice was in fact beautiful…and it is sad that it should not have been immortalised in a more satisfactory manner.’ If Bell is right, this may have been the result of Woolf’s discomfort with the medium of radio itself: ‘it could have been a good article,’ she later wrote about ‘Craftsmanship’, ‘[but] it’s the talk element that upsets it’. She promised herself in her diary that she would ‘refrain from the folly’ of broadcasting ever again.

[@boatsagainst]

this is so strange and amazing. i'm a huge fan of Virginia Woolf and her work, but to be able to hear her voice and to realise that someone can have a huge impact on you and your life without you ever hearing their voice or know how they speak.

[@driftymind]

I love how absolutely, fiercely irreverent she was. And every time I read (in this case listen to) her stuff I'm left astonished. Reading her work is a spiritual experience, or a dip in a clear pool.

[@rosacerro2775]

Debdutta Ray

[@waynej2608]

Provided, it's not the final 'dip'.

[@klausmaccus4397]

@@waynej2608 LOL NICE 😆

[@sharonbotts7057]

“There is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.” Wonderful to hear her voice, imagine meeting her and what would she think of the world 100 years later.

[@BRIDGETTWC]

Right?

[@strahinjapantic8475]

She'd probably kill herself again.

[@ZnenTitan]

Thanks ever so much for posting this. Now when I read her works I'll just imagine them her voice and enjoy them all the more.

[@deborahdp7744]

Me too amazing

[@dualblake]

Woolf’s nephew, Quentin Bell, felt the broadcast misrepresented his aunt’s voice: ‘the record is a very poor one,’ he wrote later: ‘her voice is deprived of depth and resonance; it seems altogether too fast and too flat; it is barely recognisable. Her speaking voice was in fact beautiful…and it is sad that it should not have been immortalised in a more satisfactory manner.’ If Bell is right, this may have been the result of Woolf’s discomfort with the medium of radio itself: ‘it could have been a good article,’ she later wrote about ‘Craftsmanship’, ‘[but] it’s the talk element that upsets it’. She promised herself in her diary that she would ‘refrain from the folly’ of broadcasting ever again.

[@AAwildeone]

Hope this is on here forever! I listen to it at least once a month...

[@firehacker179]

She's a genius! A Master of Literature!

[@joshscomputer]

Anyone think Maggie Smith sounds a bit like her?

[@tomdrowry]

MS is Scottish.

[@thekingofmoney2000]

Thomas Drowry Maggie Smith is not Scottish! She was born in Ilford, Essex, England. She just faked a Scottish accent in the Harry Potter films. You must have never seen any of her other films. Anyway, I don't think they sound that much alike...maybe just a little.

[@camiblutube7116]

Ryan Gillis Yep!

[@waynej2608]

Yes, a bit.

[@kenziii5973]

Fascinating , you can sense her eccentric intellect in her voice ♥️♥️ I'm glad this recording exist

[@McLeanAmy]

So very beautiful. Thank you for uploading.

[@sinistar99]

How much of a misogynist do you have to be to find the time to troll Virginia Woolf recordings? Jesus, get a hobby.

[@Danae1079]

+sinistar99 What do you mean? Atthis83 hasn't trascribed the right words?

[@laurastevens1855]

sinistar99 Silly. I've been reading Virginia's writing for years. This recording is brilliant. You have Nothing else better to do obviously. You're being rude. Shhhh..✌🏻

[@markganus1085]

it's the current year. you're living on the wrong side of history. i can't even.

[@TheRealValus]

Too bad she was so racist. You'd think a female artist would understand discrimination. This piece is quite good for the first 40 seconds.

[@Neuroneos]

You did not understand a single word she spoke, did you? How is her text racist in any way?

[@djangolorentzson2676]

Besides her beautiful voice, her intonation and how she phrases the words (a feeling of: It’s Virginia Woolf!), what she has to say is invaluable.

[@boleyn123]

What a wonderful, gentle voice! What a wonderful writer. Thank you so much. This woman suffered so much and gave so much. 'The Waves' alone is a masterpiece and I would love to see it filmed, if it could be done. Thank you for this post and thank you Mrs. Woolf for making such a lasting contribution to the English language and English literature.

[@boompsr5022]

she is talking about words and writing and language.This is called "Craftsmanship". I made a special trip to the British Library to listen to this same recording.

[@annchristensen7104]

We can hear what she is speaking of. By listening to her speak.

[@nixiberry]

I wish this accent still existed in England.

[@tamerebel]

I think the point that she mentions towards the end is that words have to change and evolve because it is not their nature to stay the same. But I agree that the accent is charming and I think older generations still speak similarly (Maggie Smith is an example)

[@Mike8981]

Oh, it does, I can assure you! lol

[@nixiberry]

I'm from an extremely 'posh' part of England and I've never heard this accent except on old footage and tapes. Queens English is completely dying out. Obviously accents evolve!

[@livjackson8734]

+nixiberry I've met older English women from an upper class background who sound like this

[@vaccavo]

+nixiberry I loved it when she spoke "yars ago".

[@jre1189]

Virginia Woolf has this incredible effect on me. Any time I discover something new about her I'm mesmerized by her genius. I can't believe that there are so many people that don't worship at her altar.

[@KenKen3593]

No one said or ever will say "multitudinous seas" as expertly beautifully as she did.

[@Cygnus75]

I'm crying with this wonder

[@FriedEggsWithChips]

Thank you for uploading this video, it has single-handedly (is this the right term? I am suddenly self-conscious about my words!) raised my estimation of her and her great mind... in a modern Britain filled with people (critics, scholars and the like) who seem against new terms, to hear an old Georgian voice speaking out for the liberty of words is a breath of fresh air... even though it is a very old recording she still sounds completely relevant.

[@barbarablue2571]

Her voice own to someone serious, sure of herself, who looks for her own ideal universe. A place different, told with complicated words, almost with only sense for her own.

[@blastfromthepast7005]

Exactly the same voice as my great-aunt, who died about 10 years ago in her mid 90s.

[@Zenocrat]

Absolutely incredible! If words live in the mind, as Virginia Woolf eloquently argued, then the words living in her mind must have been among the happiest words to take up a most luxurious and comfortable abode. Our U.S. Supreme Court Justices -- and anyone else who cares about the art of interpretation -- would be well served by carefully considering her words.

[@agnesdeque]

Très émouvant et impressionnant d'entendre CETTE voix . Merci !

[@joannawill2597]

Thank you for this. I feel so moved to have experienced this voice, her fierce words and luminous photographs together.

[@DeepScreenAnalysis]

@megahungry100 - I am so sorry if I came off as pretentious. I don't want to alienate, I just want to challenge.

[@jckfmsincty]

Did Nicole Kidman listen to this before she so anemically played Woolf in her Oscar winning performance (WHAT!!!!) in "The Hours"?

[@annchristensen7104]

Obviously, uh, no.

[@diddleysquat4543]

You are listening to the voice of a Victorian lady.

[@janestub]

not really..not her at all.

[@BelleroseQC]

While a product of Victorian family, she would very much object to that title, I think.

[@Neuroneos]

What is a victorian lady? Would a victorian lady have written Orlando? I think not...

[@annchristensen7104]

@@Neuroneos So True! She defied that characterization.

[@d.ariess]

i love her, i really hope that teens and adults this age would appreciate women like her more, she's lived great and left her own legacy

[@JevaisaNY]

Why do you say she was a snob? I think she was the opposite. She just enjoyed language.

[@flanplan5903]

After listening to this, I must say that Nicole Kidman did a great job bringing her to life in "The Hours".

[@AliceP.]

Do you reckon? I didn't like it :/ I think Nicole has a very distinct expression to her characters, rather misterious and stern. As much as I like it in general, I feel that Virginia has a touch of simplicity... I imagine her as someone who spends a lot of time in her head and looks contemplative. That wouldn't be much interesting to see on film, perhaps, so I think that they went for what a Hollywood version of her would be like.

[@connorwilliamson3]

Mrs Woolf uses the example of the word “incarnidine”, referring to multitudinous seas (something to do with Hades, I think). What is it with Woolf and sea-related metaphors in her writing? I am reading Mrs Dalloway, she uses a lot of nautical references in her writing. Doesn’t always seem like an obvious choice. Anybody know?

[@connorwilliamson3]

Must say too, that this is a brilliant discussion- she is indeed brilliant 🤩

[@connorwilliamson3]

Imagine having such a profound love of words, treating them like an entity in themselves.

[@ryugin511]

This is wonderful, thanks to whoever found this and shared it with all of us..what a treat to hear her talk about writing and words.

[@BurnSheDevil]

I think I'm going to write down what she says so that I can study it more closely. Very nice selection of photographs. I had necer seen so many of her! She had a fascinating presence, elegance and intelligence from head to toe.

[@dorubey0966]

Seni çok iyi anlayabilmenin, milyonda birindeyim Virginia! Buna rağmen içim çok acıyor; senin acılarının, milyonda birini yaşarken dayanamıyorum. Bu yazılmış hislerinin, düşüncelerinin, şanssızca yazıya dökülmeyenlerini de istiyorum. Daha çok anlamak, özümsemek istiyorum seni. Yüreğini diriltmek, sarıp sarmalamak istiyorum, her burkulduğu anında. Kendimi istiyorum senden Virginia; ben doğmadan bir asır önce nasıl doğarsın, nasıl ölebilirsin, ben doğmadan yarım asır önce? Bizim suçumuz neydi, doğup yaşayıp, ölümü bekleyemeyecek kadar? Hangi yarım kalmış hayatın, ikinci yarım kalan çilesiydik, seninle? :(

[@zthetha]

Woolf makes some interesting observations on the theme of language - 'linguistics' as it is now called by some. She had, allegedly, some Indian blood flowing through her veins which might go some way to explain this interest - first muted in Panini's Ashtadhyayi. 1,500 years ago. Anyone wanting a real mind-stretcher - or perhaps mind opener - on this topic might want to read Wolinsky's 'Nirvana Sutras and Advaita-Vedanta' who studied with the remarkable Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj.

[@albertinacamus]

Amazing , legendary

[@cinnamoncake68]

Beautiful Virginia!

[@alohaanderson53]

Oh Virginia, you would be horrified by the “ Urban Dictionary “.....I know I am.

[@CoveyWill]

"There are no ranks, when it comes to words" -- it helps to listen to the whole 7 1/2 minutes to avoid imposing one's own attitudes on Woolf.

[@Mira-kp6wj]

Urban dictionary is very helpful for foreigners!

[@elepinkgold3792]

I swear i imagined her voice just like that same with vita

[@amberspecter]

Man, she really was formidable. Who else could think up something so brilliant as 'the famous marriages' contracted by words before

[@Mssavagette]

I agree with you; however, I want to actually fault Michael Cunningham for writing "The Hours" and portraying Woolf in such a way. Sometimes, despite Cunningham's witty adaptation "The Hours" prolonged from "Mrs. Dalloway" - I do believe you can see more of Woolf in Mrs. D. Especially in the character of Septimus Smith. She was a true genius. Such a multi-dimensional woman with shapes and shadows beyond our understanding. I'm glad she was a writer because she left something wroth reading about.

[@RiccardoMoschetti]

I heard about this recording in the BBC4 program "British Novelists - in their own words". The narrator said this was the only remaining recording of Virginia's. The narrator also complained that thousands of minutes of other authors' voices were thrown away by BBC. I would add: how is it possible that a Corporation which takes pride in being the "voice of the British people" throw away their best voices? Shame on those reckless and ignorant burocrats :(

[@goback3spaces]

I slugged through MRS. DALLOWAY. Couldn't get into it.

[@PninianPnin]

This recording is a treasure! Woolf was one of Britain's greatest innovators, as well as the worlds!

[@amiablesnowman]

Almost finished To the Lighthouse, the first book by her that I've read. All I can say is... what a revelation. I knew it would be my favourite book by the time I was 30 pages in.

[@ritadeicas7656]

GREAT....THANKS I LOVE GOATS

[@ladystardust2008]

Worth remembering that Virginia Woolf was bonkers 😒

[@momcatwoo]

The thing is: hee niece and nephew said she sounded nothing like this. So - it’s frustrating.

[@jintsfan]

Could never imagine how her voice would sound like.

[@smurfygoovy]

If Anyone can go to wikipedia now, read the 'last note to her husband' and not shed a tear, they are inhuman

[@whatadollslife]

I was born in the wrong century ,I would have loved to have been born in the turn of the century 1900 this speaking is musical

[@tomdrowry]

Haven't you heard about 21st century Rotherham ?

[@CaptainPhilosophical]

Sasha Stone why do you exhibit disrespect so easily?

[@lslsls-mu5rb]

I don’t think experiencing two world wars and living in a world where women’s suffrage doesn’t exist would be fun but oh well...

[@annchristensen7104]

Is it possible that this manner of speech was not universal then? Weren't there laborers and such like? Better to wish for birth into a specific class/location than merely a time. That could be a dicey wish....

[@paradiddle1]

An amazing recording to be cherished! Thanks for this post Atthis

[@ThyFacelessOne]

Indeed, words live in the mind, and come from the soul! As an amateur poet, I think the most important to achieve is to touch the soul of others, not with alliterations, not with complex structures, but with beautiful or powerful words. I think when used correctly, even a swear word can create a wonderful atmosphere - just have to use a carefully crafted combination of words, word structure, like mindf@ck, f@cked up rebel yell. And there are other beautiful and powerful words that can be combined, like squeeze of doom, asylum of the Elysium etc. ''Let' s dance a deadly tango over the frozen carcasses of our souls while i create stardust over the feeble minds of errant mortals.'' One of my sentences.

[@diego4493115]

Such a remarkable woman, a pioneer during her own lifetime period. Inquiring about her a couple of years ago, I came across this terminology regarding her mental illness and her bipolar depression, something that she was referring to, about that through her madness she was enable to compose one of the greatests variety of articles and essays whilst her ailment was taken over her. ''A genius during agony might give creation to a master piece, after achieve it, the mortality it's welcome''.

[@buzzwaffle]

She' endured quite a bit of tragedy & abuse. When the second WW hit, it send her over the edge, it seems.

[@placidwaters2415]

A beautiful mind - wonderful to actually hear her voice. A real treat.

[@dualblake]

Woolf’s nephew, Quentin Bell, felt the broadcast misrepresented his aunt’s voice: ‘the record is a very poor one,’ he wrote later: ‘her voice is deprived of depth and resonance; it seems altogether too fast and too flat; it is barely recognisable. Her speaking voice was in fact beautiful…and it is sad that it should not have been immortalised in a more satisfactory manner.’ If Bell is right, this may have been the result of Woolf’s discomfort with the medium of radio itself: ‘it could have been a good article,’ she later wrote about ‘Craftsmanship’, ‘[but] it’s the talk element that upsets it’. She promised herself in her diary that she would ‘refrain from the folly’ of broadcasting ever again.

[@erinoriordan9808]

Awesome. She sounds exactly like Maggie Smith.

[@annchristensen7104]

Or possibly Maggie sounds like her?

[@blessOTMA]

What she has to say is wise and often funny!

[@traciebecker6669]

The truth according to Virginia Woolf.

[@zer0ine8]

"And how (words) live in the mind! Variously and strangely, much as human beings live: ranging hither and thither, falling in love, mating together, much less bound by convention than we are. Royal words mate with commoners. English words marry French words, German words, Indian words, Negro words if they have a fancy. Indeed, the less we inquire into the past about our dear mother English, the better it will be for that lady's reputation, for she has gone a' roving, a' roving fair maid." LOVE!

[@feewebb]

About 20 years ago I went to a day of lectures on Virginia Woolf at the University of Kent at Canterbury. Nigel Nicholson came and did a fairly brief talk and brought along with him his own recording of Virginia Woolf. I know 20 years is a long time but I remember being very taken aback by her very low voice. I just don't recall her sounding like this at all.What's taken me aback here is that this sounds nothing like what I remember hearing all those years back.This is very BBC

[@annchristensen7104]

Thanks for sharing that! It confirms my idea of her possibly formal discussion, vs a more informal tone. Nicholson would be personally a good source. I envy you getting to hear him speak of her!

[@nevanovna]

wonderful to listen to the English spoken by VW,the English I heard spoken as a small child,she has a true Edwardian voice.

[@Q4869-t4o]

It's more than interesting to see how "posh" British accent has evolved since her time

[@Oscar301]

very fine voice

[@MissAnna211991]

Omg , her voice is so gentle...great, she wa the biggest from big writers.

[@vinbones]

wonder how she woulda said bottle of water

[@dylanbonnar]

This woman was quite literally, A genius.

[@superclaydude]

"Perhaps then one reason why we have no great poet, novelist or critic writing today is that we refuse to allow words their liberty. We pin them down to one meaning, their useful meaning, the meaning which makes us catch the train, the meaning which makes us pass the examination…" I haven't read any of Woolf's books, but that is a really good quote.

[@lechonmanok9164]

She is indeed a great woman, the way I learned alot because of her is simply amazing. Not just me but almost everybody here. She's amazing and inspired me alot of things 😌

[@bbcisrubbish]

Anthoneh and Cleopahtrah.

[@annchristensen7104]

Indeed.

[@geoffreybeene]

You know there are other women than tween pop worshippers, right?

[@SandrineAnterrion]

Love it. Thanks for upload

[@sigmundgrizli2896]

She actually sounds a little bit like Emma Thompson.

[@McLeanAmy]

I adore this comparison!

[@annchristensen7104]

Emma sounds like her don't you mean? Chronological...

[@dianebaugher3919]

She sounds much older than she was

[@chinabusuk]

What dreadful subtitles! Take it down and do it again.

[@cuitlamcuautencos8306]

I cannot picture this voice reading her letter to Leonard, Her voice is rather comedic. But the content of her suicide letter to her husband is not at all humerus, it’s both tragic and heartbreaking as well beautiful and loving. Poor lost soul, hopefully her soul is at peace, her writing has been a great contribution to literature.

[@Chiara2076]

She was amazing...

[@doutorsimba]

GREAT!!!! Linda voz, belas ideias...uma vida grandiosa....muitas histórias construídas a partir da história dessa mulher....

[@asmileforpeace]

i have no idea what she is talking about :P .

[@suzylux]

Hello?? Is anybody home? Think, Tarik, think!

[@shaunethompson2652]

A troubled mind, cut short in time. If only you had lived a fuller life

[@annchristensen7104]

She lived her life, to her best possible, and left much for us in spite of her miseries.

[@loydayo883]

the troubles in a way made her brilliant. without them she wouldnt have been who she was, but someone more ordinary and likely far less visionary

[@rolom3]

I would love to hear her younger

[@ElectricLabel]

Of course she has the voice of a Victorian aristocrat, because that's what she was. What really matters is what she says... and what she says is conceptual, difficult, beautiful, witty, daring, original, and ferociously articulate. We are hearing the thoughts of a true genius, and it is wonderful.

[@annchristensen7104]

Edwardian.

[@2msvalkyrie529]

The cosy , priveledged lifestyles enjoyed by the Bloomsbury Set were made possible by the toil and Labour of others .! Can you imagine anyone more pointless than Lytton Strachey for example.

[@drishyaphuel]

Strong voice. Such a commanding yet humble voice.

[@melissachallinor4410]

I only just found out a recording existed, it's great to hear Virginia's voice.

[@mariapatini4608]

🎉😂❤