Review: "Vanessa and her Sister" by Priya Parmar

This was a fascinating fictional look into the adult Stephen children who were members of the legendary Bloomsbury Group. It mainly focuses on the relationship between Vanessa and her sister, Virginia during the time period of 1905 through 1912. Both went on to be famous in their own right, Vanessa Bell was an accomplished painter and Virginia Woolf was a renowned writer.

When I started to read this book, I didn’t know what it was about. I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting it was and after reading, it inspired me to research the group and the sisters. The Bloomsbury Group was an eccentric group of mostly Cambridge educated men who would meet at the Stephen house on Thursdays to discuss books and art. The story tells of these meetings and discussions which also included their personal lives.

I totally enjoyed this book. Although it was fiction, the scenes and stories were derived from letters that survived from this time period. Although on the outside when looking back in history, people and events always appear prim and proper, when you dig into their lives, they are very human and complex. If you enjoy historical fiction that fleshes out the characters and fills in the blanks, you will love this story!!