Mrs. Woolf and the Servants

An Intimate History of Domestic Life in Bloomsbury

By: Alison Light

Narrated by: Gale Van Cott

When Virginia Woolf wrote A Room of One’s Own in 1929, she established her reputation as a feminist, and an advocate for unheard voices. But like thousands of other upper-class British women, Woolf relied on live-in domestic servants for the most intimate of daily tasks. That room of Woolf’s own was kept clean by a series of cooks and maids throughout her life. In the much-praised Mrs. Woolf and the Servants, Alison Light probes the unspoken inequality of Bloomsbury homes with insight and grace, and provides an entirely new perspective on an essential modern artist.

©2008 Alison Light (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Superbly researched, often passionately eloquent, and enthralling throughout." (Washington Post Book World)

Disappointing

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The book is primarily suitable for the general reader, but the narration is terrible, so listening is a painful experience. The narrator mispronounces so many words and names that it's obvious she hasn't the vaguest understanding of the material. In addition, her voice is bland, and her inflections are annoyingly repetitive. A robotic performance.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Mrs. Woolf and the Servants?

Sorry--I listened for four hours and then couldn't take it any longer.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Gale Van Cott?

Siri would have done a better job.

Did Mrs. Woolf and the Servants inspire you to do anything?

Avoid anything with this narrator in the future.