Vanessa and Her Sister

(Paperback)

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'Prepare to be dazzled' Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife 'One of the essential reads of the year' The Times London, 1905. The city is alight with change and the Stephen siblings are at the forefront. Vanessa, Virginia, Thoby and Adrian are leaving behind their childhood home and taking a house in the leafy heart of avant-garde Bloomsbury. There they bring together a glittering circle of brilliant, artistic friends who will come to be known as the legendary Bloomsbury Group. And at the centre of the charmed circle are the devoted, gifted sisters: Vanessa, the painter and Virginia, the writer. Each member of the group will go on to earn fame and success, but so far Vanessa Bell has never sold a painting. Virginia Woolfs book review has just been turned down by The Times. Lytton Strachey has not published anything. E. M. Forster has finished his first novel but does not like the title. Leonard Woolf is still a civil servant in Ceylon, and John Maynard Keynes is looking for a job. Together, this sparkling coterie of artists and intellectuals throw away convention and embrace the wild freedom of being young, single bohemians in London. But the landscape shifts when Vanessa unexpectedly falls in love and her sister feels dangerously abandoned. Eerily possessive, charismatic, manipulative and brilliant, Virginia has always lived in the shelter of Vanessas constant attention and encouragement. Without it, she careens toward self-destruction and madness. As tragedy and betrayal threaten to destroy the family, Vanessa must choose whether to protect Virginias happiness or her own.

Reviews

Radiantly original. Irrepressible, with charm and brio to spare. Prepare to be dazzled * Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife *
Priya Parmar is a powerful new voice in historical fiction. This novel explores the anguished relationship between the Stephen sisters and provides a new view of the artistic, sensual Bloomsbury world, placing Vanessa Bell at the heart of the story * Philippa Gregory *
Parmar gives truth and definition to the character of a woman whose nature was as elusive as her influence was profound. She has caught the phantom * New York Times Book Review *
A richly compelling and extraordinarily sympathetic portrait Works astonishingly well, each voice is real and fully realised, but Vanessas is resplendent A fresh perspective on a story thats already become legend * Independent *
A remarkable achievement She has had the blessing of Vanessa Bells granddaughter and daughter-in-law, and her research has been meticulous. But its the central portrait of Vanessas emotional life and her journey to a more disillusioned, if pragmatic, self-knowledge, that makes this novel, with its familiar setting, so fresh and compelling * Observer *
Given the pages and pages that Bloomsbury Group members wrote about their lives and loves, it seems almost de trop to add to them, yet Parmar has done so skilfully * Sunday Times *
Her imagined diaries of Vanessa Bell, from 1905 to 1911, are a triumph from first to last. She gets the authorial voice spot-on and skewers Virginia Woolf, Vanessas sister, in all her ridiculous hauteur * Mail on Sunday *
Its not often that you wish a book wouldnt end, but Priya Parmars second novel about the relationship between the artist Vanessa Bell and her sister, Virginia Woolf, is so deliciously gossipy (while occasionally wonderfully prurient), and almost too beautifully written, to stop at 339 pages Parmar brings the players to life in a way that appeals to both the heart and the head * Independent on Sunday *
Immerse yourself in this joyously imagined novel Superbly controlled and structured, the novel contains a central irony: Vanessa writes like an angel. Bravo * Daily Mail *
You dont need a deep knowledge of the Bloomsbury group to appreciate this novel but, if youre a hardcore Bloomsbury addict (like me), its one of the essential reads of the year Its biography as fiction, imagined with almost supernatural brilliance. Bliss * The Times *
The Bloomsbury appeal continues Captivating from beginning to end * Vogue *
Vanessa and Her Sister is an account of my grandmothers early life, told with faith, elegance and an almost uncanny insight into the subject. But this is also an absorbing work of fiction - and Priya Parmar has made Vanessas story her own * Virginia Nicholson, granddaughter of Vanessa Bell and author of Among the Bohemians *
A perfect balance of granite and rainbow * Frances Wilson, Times Literary Supplement, Books of the Year 2015 *
Anyone who finds Virginia Woolfs life story just as fascinating as her novels will relish Priya Parmars Vanessa and Her Sister ... Beautifully and sympathetically done, without being sentimental * Sunday Herald, Book of the Year 2015 *

Author Bio

Priya Parmar is the author of one previous novel, Exit the Actress. She lives in London and Hawaii. priyaparmar.com