Harold Bloom on Virginia Woolf’s novels:
“That genius first fully manifested itself in 1925, and continued in full strength for the sixteen remaining years of Woolf’s life. Her absolute works are Mrs. Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927), The Waves (1931), The Years (1937), and Between the Acts (posthumously published, 1941). Five extraordinary novels culminate with her masterpiece; once I preferred To the Lighthouse, but at seventy I reread Between the Acts more frequently . . . the best preparation for understanding Mrs. Dalloway was to read The Winter’s Tale. That would also be the proper prelude for reading Between the Acts.
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Leonard Woolf on Virginia Woolf’s novels:
“The Waves seems to me a great work of art, far and away the greatest of her books. To the Lighthouse and Between the Acts should also, I think, live in their own right, while the other books, though on a lower level of achievement are, as I said, “serious” and will always be worth reading and studying”
I’m of the opinion that “Between the Acts” is one of Woolf’s finest works, and perhaps not always given the credit it deserves. Certainly I thought so when I re-read it in 2016.
I thought I’d read it but when I took my copy from the shelf last night, I was mildly discomfited to find I haven’t; shall definitely read it soon.