The Revd Jane de Gay, a Professor of English Literature at Leeds Trinity University as well an associate Priest at Potternewton with Little London, has revealed the importance of religion to author, and self-proclaimed atheist, Virginia Woolf, in her controversial new book; Virginia Woolf and Christian Culture. Professor Revd Jane de Gay, an established Virginia Woolf scholar and Anglican priest, has written the book to shed light on an aspect of Woolf's life and work that has been largely overlooked.
"Most people assume that Woolf had very little connection with religion or Christianity," said Jane. "However, this book reveals that she was profoundly interested in, and knowledgeable about, Christianity as a faith and a socio-political movement. She was fascinated with the clergy, the Virgin Mary, churches and cathedrals; she was interested in the Bible as artefact and literary text; and she wrestled with questions about salvation and the nature of God."
An ardent feminist, Woolf spoke out on many topics that were considered controversial – including her support of women's ministry, at a time when the Church of England was opposed to the ordination of women. This is a discussion still relevant to the role of women in churches today, and relevant to Jane, who was ordained an Anglican deacon in June 2008, and Anglican priest in 2009.
Revd Jane added: "Understanding Woolf's relationship with Christianity offers fresh perspectives on her novels such as Three Guineas, Mrs Dalloway, To The Lighthouse and The Waves. I am really looking forward to hearing readers' reactions as some people will find my research controversial, but I'm looking forward to the debate!"
Today Revd Jane's new book has been launched at an event at the Leeds Centre for Victorian Studies at Leeds Trinity University. In previewing the new book, Professor Alexandra Harris from the Department of English Literature at the University of Birmingham, said: "With wisdom and conviction, de Gay shows how seriously Woolf engaged with Christianity and, especially, with what it means to renounce faith. For readers of Woolf, and for all who care about the literature of agnosticism, this will be a book that matters."
Professor de Gay was inspired to write the book almost 25 years ago when a friend at a church discussion group asked what Woolf believed in. In 1999, after seeing Woolf's family photos at an archive at Smith College, Massachusetts, USA, de Gay wrote an article about Woolf and religious art. In 2006, she published her first book, Virginia Woolf's Novels and the Literary Past and then, 10 years ago, de Gay began work on this book.
Dr Nathan Uglow, Director of the Leeds Centre for Victorian Studies, said: "Virginia Woolf is known as a Modernist writer, but Jane's study explores the Victorian aspects of Woolf's childhood and development as a writer (Queen Victoria died just a few days before Virginia's 19th birthday). This book presents Victorianism as a complex and open-ended web of cultural, religious, artistic, literary debates that had extended long into the twentieth century. Woolf's intellectual curiosity and bravery turned her tangled Victorian heritage into an approach to life that was vibrant, challenging, and original. Jane de Gay is the best possible guide to this fascinating human story."
For more information about The Revd Jane de Gay's research, visit her Leeds Trinity research profile. Virginia Woolf and Christian Culture is available now.