The Hogarth Press

For anyone interested in a detailed history of the Bloomsbury Group (Virginia  Woolf, Leonard Woolf, et al) but from a different perspective than Stanford Rosenbaum's study, I heartily recommend Leonard and Virginia Woolf as Publishers: The Hogarth Press, 1917 - 1941, by J. H. Willis, Jr., c. 1992.

Before reading this book, however, I would read a biography or two of Virginia Woolf, as well as at least one of her unexpurgated diaries, and maybe one or two of her novels, to get a feeling for Leonard and Virginia Woolf.

I picked this book up on a whim, expecting it be a rather boring listing of their publications. In fact, Willis provides an outstanding look at the personalities of all involved, including the tension between authors, printers, and publishers.

There are so many take-aways from this book. The first take-away is a reminder that success in life is predicated on passion for one's avocation. Leonard and Virginia really had no idea what they were getting into when they decided to buy a printing press but it soon became so much part of their lives, they could not give it up. Some have said (maybe it was Willis himself; I forget where I read it) that the press was the child they never had.

The second take-away is the huge effect that one or two individuals can  have on history. E. M. Forster said in 1929 that the Bloomsbury Group was the only genuine movement in English civilization. It is absolutely incredible the number and names of the poets and novelists that were part of the small Bloomsbury group or encouraged by that group. I don't think the group was ever more than a dozen at any one time and yet the influence of the Bloomsbury group was phenomenal. Sure, the modernist period would have happened without the Bloomsbury group but I think one could argue that the group was the catalyst that moved it along much more quickly.

The third take-away was the degree to which optimism plays a part despite the adversity. Look at the years the Hogarth Press covered by the Willis book: 1917 to 1941. Both years were associated with horrendous wars, and worse, at a time when the wars looked their most bleak. In addition, personal tragedies affected both Woolfs during the period they operated their press, but they pressed on (no pun intended).