Vanessa and Her Sister

by Priya Parmar

"In 1905, Virginia and Vanessa Stephens and their brothers Thoby and Adrian moved to unfashionable, bohemian Bloomsbury. All in their twenties, orphaned and unmarried, they began holding Thursday night gatherings in their unchaperoned, unconventional drawing room. Most of the young guests in that room would become famous, breaking the old rules and blazing their own new paths. It is from Vanessa's point of view at the center of this eccentric, charmed circle of artists and intellectuals that this novel is told, with unsparing honesty about their friendships, their love affairs, and in particular her own troubled relationship with her complicated, brilliant sister Virginia"--

• ISBN10: 1322567794
• ISBN13: 9781322567792
• Publish Date: 1 January 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 17 June 2015
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Turtleback Books
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

Fond of:

Like Exit The Actress, Priya Parmar incorporates telegrams, letters, tickets and all sorts of tidbits to enhance the story creating a smorgasbord of wealthy information for the imagination's desire.
The novel is told through Vanessa's journal which I thought was a brilliant idea as it made sure to feature the lesser known sister without too much of an influence on Virginia.
Not only did I enjoy the journal format but the date headers where wonderfully descriptive too, really setting the tone for the upcoming plot.
An example of such a header is:

Friday 24 February 1905 -- 46 Gordon Square (early -- perfect light)

The writing in said entries was just as startling.

Duncan’s hands are long and soft, with a small, neat callus on his thumb from holding a brush—the painter’s hallmark. I felt it when he shook my hand.


I have babbled on about the Priya Parmar's writing long enough as the story was just as engrossing with well developed characters (particularly the dynamic between Vanessa and Virginia) sucking me in. The Bloomsbury Group were clearly presented feeling the liveliness of their artist/creative friends and the concern their brothers (Julian (Thoby) and Adrian) felt towards their sisters both through Virginia's health and their married status, but I felt that they were still open-minded enough not to hide their sisters away when there was only male company and would have seemed improper. I felt they were treated as equals which was nice to see.
After Vanessa's marriage it turned into a soap opera of sorts, but more along the lines of a Downton Abbey rather than an As The World Turns. There was betrayal, jealousies and romance with a bittersweet ending, all done classy.

Not Fond of:


While this was eventually established, it was a little difficult at first telling some characters apart particularly in the Bloomsbury group as they all seemed to have nick names of some sort; fortunately there was a "cast of characters" page which was very helpful.
This is more of neutral rather than a negative but I thought Virginia was portrayed a bit harshly, not to a point that was detesting and Virginia certainly did not always shine positively as a person but, it did feel a bit severe.


Final Thoughts:
Before I started Vanessa and Her Sister I knew very little about the Woolfs/Stephens/Bloombury Group but Priya Parmar's novel opened my eyes to express a need to learn more about the real cast of characters in the novel which I feel signifies the making of a great historical novel. As a whole, Vanessa and Her Sister was splendid and a pleasure to read.