It seems to me that Leslie Stephen was a man who treated the women he lived with very differently from those with whom he had professional relationships. Especially after Julia died, he 
<i>was</i> histrionic, stingy, and "difficult" at home, and we hear about this most, I suspect, because it is so much more interesting than the eulogies she wrote about him. <div><br></div><div>VW's "A Sketch of the Past" in <i>Moments of Being</i> is particularly painful in its revelations about her father. We also get glimpses of her father (in the character of Mr. Ramsay) in <i>To the Lighthouse</i>, which for me gets more complex every time I read it.</div>
<div><br><div>Thanks to all who contribute to this fascinating list. </div><div>Love y'all,</div><div><div>Bev Rilett<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Sep 10, 2012 at 1:36 PM, Jean Mallinson <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:annaj@telus.net" target="_blank">annaj@telus.net</a>></span> wrote:<br>
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    Interesting about fathers. I gather -- though I have not yet read it
    -- that Patrick Bronte is revealed in a recent biography as a person
    rather different from the one Elizabeth Gaskell depicted in her
    biography of Charlotte.. I am astonished that To the Lighthouse is
    considered "difficult". I wonder what that can mean! I found it
    lucid from my first reading when i was in my twenties.<br>
    Jean Mallinson<br>
    <div>On 9/10/2012 9:46 AM, jeannette smyth
      wrote:<br>
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      <blockquote style="BORDER-LEFT:#0000ff 2px solid;PADDING-LEFT:5px;MARGIN-LEFT:0px">-----Forwarded Message----- <br>
        From: jeannette smyth <u></u><br>
          Sent: Sep 10, 2012 9:34 AM <br>
          To: <a href="mailto:owner-VWOOLF@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu" target="_blank">"owner-VWOOLF@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu"</a> <u></u><br>
            Subject: Leslie Stephen; TTL As Most Difficult Book <br>
            <br>
            <u></u>
              
              <u></u><u></u><u></u><u></u>
              <p><font color="#000000"><font><font face="arial,sans-serif">Dear Friends: <br>
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              <p><font color="#000000"><font><font face="arial,sans-serif">A cabbages 'n' kings post:
                      <br>
                      <br>
                      1.) King <br>
                      All my life I've read of Leslie Stephen as the
                      histrionic, stingy and tyrannical father of
                      Virginia Woolf. It is a Rashomon-like reality
                      check (and also confirmation of his sexism) to
                      read of him as the humane, sardonic and
                      perspicaceous editor who discovered Robert Louis
                      Stevenson. <br>
                      <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Myself-Other-Fellow-Robert-Stevenson/dp/0066209846" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Myself-Other-Fellow-Robert-Stevenson/dp/0066209846</a></font></font></font></p>

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                      <br>
                      2. Cabbage <br>
                      <em>To the Lighthouse</em> named one of the top 10
                      most difficult books of all time.</font></font></font></p>
              <p><a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/book-news/tip-sheet/article/53409-the-top-10-most-difficult-books.html" target="_blank">http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/book-news/tip-sheet/article/53409-the-top-10-most-difficult-books.html</a></p>

              <p> </p>
              <p>Take care,</p>
              <p>Jeannette Smyth</p>
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