The Memoir Club Contributions, Part 1 Summary and Analysis

The Memoir Club is a group of individuals, friends and colleagues in equal measure, to which Virginia belonged in the 1920s. The members of the Club set themselves and each other the goal of writing about their pasts with "absolute frankness," but the editor points out that both terms were, in Virginia's case, relative.

This memoir was written between the deaths of Stella Duckworth and Leslie Stephen. It begins with a colorful description of luncheon parties at Hyde Park Gate, wherein Virginia and Vanessa served as hostesses. Victorian traditions prevailed, and Leslie Stephen had a constant need to be the center of attention. George Duckworth saw these lunches as a way of advancing himself in society. George Duckworth is the focus of this memoir, with his attractive appearance, limited intellect, irrepressible spirit, deep...