These letters of Virginia Woolf's—at times witty and irreverent, at times melancholy and introspective—are possibly most revealing for their insights into the complex personality of the novelist herself. "A true letter," she insisted, "should be like a film of wax pressed close to the graving of the mind." The book contains biographical notes on the main recipients of the letters, together with background information on Virginia Woolf's life and work. It is beautifully illustrated with contemporary photographs and paintings, many by members of the Bloomsbury Group, such as Woolf's sister Vanessa Bell, Roger Fry and Duncan Grant.