Booklist Review
This is the first critical book devoted to Woolf's short stories, however astonishing it may seem that scholarship has left even a single gap in its analysis of the first great woman writer of this century. Baldwin's choice of a chronological, biographical approach makes this study a good choice for the nonspecialist reader. The inclusion of several of Woolf's own essayistic statements on the craft of fiction, as well as a selection of comments by other critics (including Katherine Mansfield) increases both the book's scholarly value and its interest for the novice. Readers will want to refer to the fiction discussed, so be sure you have Susan Dick's The Complete Shorter Fiction of Virginia Woolf [BKL Ja 15 86] or a similar volume at hand. --Pat Monaghan
Choice Review
Notwithstanding Baldwin's claim that Woolf's short fiction "will stand favorable comparison with stories of the best of her contemporaries," this first book-length study of that fiction makes clear that she was not a great writer of short stories. In the five chapters constituting Part 1, Baldwin first sets forth his method--an "overview" of the short fiction basically in chronological order, with special attention to biographical elements where relevant and to "experimentalism" or lack thereof--and then summarizes/describes the contents of all 45 "stories" (many no more than sketches) written during four major periods. Notably lacking are coherent critical stance and sustained criteria for judgment. Part 2, presenting the complete texts of "Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown" and "Modern Fiction," seems unnecessary; these famous Woolf essays not only focus largely on the novel, but are accessible elsewhere. Part 3 consists of reprints of one review and five articles from journals, selected in part because "they are relatively brief but complete studies not available elsewhere in book form." Given the small number of such articles (Baldwin lists only 19, not all of them on the short fiction), one questions whether Baldwin selected the best criticism available on Woolf's short fiction. Not recommended. -J. E. Steiner, Drew University
