The art of fiction

‘That fiction is a lady, and a lady who has somehow got herself in to trouble, is a thought that must often have struck her admirers.’ Penned in 1927 but first published posthumously in ‘The Moment and Other Essays’ in 1947, ‘The Art of Fiction’ sets out perhaps more clearly than anywhere else Woolf’s advice to writers of fiction, instructing authors to focus on language choices rather than dwelling on concerns around accuracy. On one level an amusing collection in Woolf’s trademark style, skewering male writers of yore, taken together these essays form an invaluable writing guide from one of the finest craftspeople of the English language.