[Vwoolf] Bloomsbury Pilgrimage

[Christine Froula]

Dear Yujia,

That's right, I'm in Massachusetts till late September, but do get in 
touch whenever you come to Chicago/Evanston. Are you living abroad now?

Here's a link to another exhibition that might interest you, alluding to 
A Room of One's Own:

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.clarkart.edu/microsites/a-room-of-her-own/about-the-exhibition/introduction__;!!KGKeukY!1wPJjXP_8xGgqzTpBSPvVZFdXHwwcj6lwSxzBbdA4dYtj8v16Ll9ziYpPftAePEUdr0i7iW4B03g7yTMWdeko0MFDas$ 

And there's also a Woolf listserv you can join if you like:

vwoolf at lists.osu.edu <vwoolf at lists.osu.edu

very best wishes,

Christine Froula


On 7/11/2025 4:56 AM, Yujia Huang wrote:
> Dear Professor Froula,
>
> Thank you so much for your reply! It’s wonderful to hear back from you.
>
> Yes, it’s indeed incredible to see everything in person - I think my 
> connection with Woolf and the Bloomsbury is ever more special now. And 
> like you said, I’m so grateful to have these Bloomsbury friends for 
> the rest of my life.
>
> The Switzerland trip sounds incredible! I had no idea that Mary 
> Shelley started writing Frankenstein there. The course you’re 
> designing sounds so fun!
>
> I will actually be visiting Evanston mid-August, but I assume you will 
> not be in town then. But hopefully we can meet in person sometime in 
> the future!
>
> Thank you again and enjoy the beautiful summer!
>
> Best,
> Yujia
>
>
> On Thu, Jul 10, 2025 at 19:09 Christine Froula 
> <cfroula at northwestern.edu> wrote:
>
>     Dear Yujia,
>
>     What a delight to hear from you about your enduring, deepening,
>     blossoming love of Woolf and Bloomsbury and your pilgrimages to
>     London,
>     rare bookstores, Monk's House, and Charleston!
>
>     Isn't it exciting to see things you know from pictures and books leap
>     into existence before your eyes--like Bell's cupboard and those two
>     historic houses and gardens--and then the way moving among Bloomsbury
>     worlds and creations makes everything "talk to" everything else,
>     so that
>     you learn more and more almost effortlessly!
>
>     I remember the wonder of my earliest Woolf and Bloomsbury
>     pilgrimages,
>     starting in 1973 to St Ives, the scene of Woolf's cherished childhood
>     summers, which also inspires the imaginary setting of To the
>     Lighthouse
>     (the Hebrides being the fictional setting). The last one was to
>     Charleston with curator Darren Clarke, he having very kindly
>     offered to
>     show me around after a Woolf conference in (I think) Reading. It's
>     lovely to be reminded of them by your lovely email.
>
>     I'm in Massachusetts for the summer, except for a short trip to
>     Montreux
>     next month for the wedding of a former student of mine--he and his
>     bride
>     (now both getting their PhDs in biochemistry at MIT) having asked
>     me and
>     my husband to officiate. We were bowled over and are looking
>     forward to
>     it tremendously. I'll be studying up on the Lake Geneva locales, for
>     Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein during a summer on the
>     Lake that
>     she spent with Percy Shelley and Lord Byron and her half-sister Clair
>     Clairmont--inspired by a ghost story contest suggested by Byron. I'm
>     planning a course, Frankenstein and Friends, for next year, with some
>     local color such as you're finding come to life all around you in
>     London
>     and Sussex.
>
>     I love the pictures you sent--thank you--especially the one of you in
>     front of the Duncan Grant fireplace at Charleston, with Vanessa's
>     dinner
>     plates in the cabinet beside. I wish we'd been able to meet in
>     person,
>     but your message is heartening testimony that all wasn't lost during
>     those days of Remote Learning.
>
>     Thank you so much for writing, and enjoy your lifelong Bloomsbury
>     friends,
>
>     Yours truly,
>
>     Christine Froula
>
>
>
>     On 7/10/2025 1:31 PM, Yujia Huang wrote:
>     > Dear Professor Froula,
>     >
>     > I hope you are doing well! I’m not sure if you remember me
>     because the
>     > course was online and I couldn’t fully participate, but this is
>     Yujia
>     > who took your Woolf & Bloomsbury course back in 2020.
>     >
>     > I just wanted to write and say that the class left such a lasting
>     > impression on me. I continued to read Woolf after the class, and
>     she
>     > remains one of my favorite authors. I am actually in London
>     right now
>     > and was lucky enough to travel down to Lewes to visit Charleston
>     and
>     > Monk’s house.
>     >
>     > I did my mid-term presentation on Making Charleston, so it was
>     > incredible for me to actually see the house and all the amazing
>     > artworks and objects that are in it. And of course the house
>     itself is
>     > the biggest piece of artwork. The one furniture that I remember the
>     > most is Venessa’s closet decorated with yellow circles against the
>     > purple background. I recognized it immediately because I remember
>     > using a photo of that for my PowerPoint.
>     >
>     > They actually also have an art exhibition on Vanessa Bell at the
>     > moment, and I was surprised to see the breath and depth of her
>     works,
>     > in so many forms, shapes, and textures - from textiles, paintings,
>     > interior, book cover design, posters, to furniture and more. The
>     dust
>     > jackets she designed for Woolf are of course just incredible.
>     >
>     > Then I went to Monk’s house and it was breathtaking to be in the
>     same
>     > space where Woolf breathed, ate, wrote, suffered, joyed, and lived.
>     > The garden was so beautiful. They even had a garden reading where
>     > volunteers read out Woolf’s diaries and an artist in residence
>     who was
>     > drawing on the lawn. All the volunteers were so knowledgeable and
>     > kind, and it was amazing to see how many people love the Bloomsbury.
>     >
>     > A few days ago I also went to Bloomsbury in London and saw all the
>     > blue plaques on the walls where the greats resided. The
>     atmosphere was
>     > electric and with UCL right in the area, the energy felt
>     different. I
>     > have been also going to rare bookstores to see the earlier
>     versions of
>     > her works. It was crazy to see the first edition of To The
>     Lighthouse
>     > priced at 35,000 pounds! But I was lucky enough to find a fifth
>     > edition of The Years and bought it for a relatively good price.
>     >
>     > I apologize for the lengthy email, but I have been having the
>     time of
>     > my life with this Bloomsbury pilgrimage. I am so grateful for your
>     > class because otherwise I would not have been introduced to the
>     > amazing world of Woolf and Bloomsbury. I always think back on it.
>     >
>     > Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and I hope
>     all is
>     > well in Evanston!
>     >
>     > Best regards,
>     > Yujia Huang
>     >
>     >
>     >
>
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