Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown
Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown is the essay in which Virginia Woolf set out her case for a new kind of fiction, first delivered as a talk in Cambridge in 1924 and published that year by the Hogarth Press. Taking as her starting point Arnold Bennett's complaint that young novelists could not create real characters, she imagines an elderly woman, Mrs. Brown, seen in a railway carriage, and asks how Bennett, Wells and Galsworthy would have described her: by her house, her income and her surroundings, never by her self. Woolf argues that the Edwardian conventions had failed and that writers such as Joyce, Eliot and Forster were struggling to catch life as it is. It remains a key statement of modernism. It is available to read online in your browser on Vinteuil, with the opening pages free.
Start reading right away, without signing up. The complete text is included in Vinteuil Reading, or yours forever with a one-time purchase.
Frequently asked questions about Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown
Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown by Virginia Woolf can be read online on Vinteuil, directly in your browser. The first chapter is free for everyone; the complete book is included in Vinteuil Reading ($4.99/month or $39.99/year) or yours forever for $2.99.
Can I read Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown online?
Yes. Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown opens right on this page, in a reader designed for long reading: adjustable text size, light, sepia and dark themes, a clickable table of contents and your place saved when you are signed in. No download or app is needed.
Is Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown free to read on Vinteuil?
The first chapter of Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown is free, without an account. To read the whole book, either buy its online reading for $2.99 (£2.99 in the UK) and keep it forever, or subscribe to Vinteuil Reading for $4.99/month (£4.99/month in the UK) or $39.99/year, with 1 month free for new subscribers. The subscription opens every book in the library and can be cancelled at any time.
Is Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown in the public domain?
Yes. Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown by Virginia Woolf is a public-domain work. Vinteuil offers a carefully prepared digital edition made for comfortable reading on screen.
How long does it take to read Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown?
About 32 min of reading, at an average reading pace. Your place is saved automatically when you are signed in, so you can read in several sittings and on several devices.
What kind of book is Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown?
Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown by Virginia Woolf is filed under "Fiction" in the Vinteuil library.
