On Reading, Writing and Living with Books

About Various Authors

Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) was the daughter of Leslie Stephen who was President of The London Library from 1892 until his death in 1904. She was one of the greatest novelists and essayists of the twentieth century.George Eliot (1819-1880) and George Henry Lewes the man with whom she lived from 1854 until his death in 1878 were both devoted members of The London Library. She was one of the greatest Victorian writers whose novel Middlemarch was described by Virginia Woolf as one of the few English novels written for grown-up people.James Henry Leigh Hunt (1784-1859) was the 877th person to join The London Library. He was a poet critic and journalist. Despite being a household name in his day and remembered as one of the great reformers his poetry has not been widely read.Edward Morgan Forster (1879-1970) joined The London Library in 1904 as a life member. He was Vice-President from 1961 until his death.