Virginia Woolf's novel To the Lighthouse is given a trigger warning

2023-07-02

Virginia Woolf’s 1927 novel To the Lighthouse is given a trigger warning by publishers because of concerns over past attitudes and language

Virginia Woolf’s 1927 novel To the Lighthouse will be published with a disclaimer
The publisher will warn readers the book’s views reflect the ‘attitudes of the time’

A novel by Virginia Woolf will now be published with a ‘trigger warning’ over concerns about the ‘attitudes’ portrayed in the 1927 book.

The British author’s novel ‘To the Lighthouse’ will include a disclaimer for American readers warning them about the contents of the book.

Woolf’s semi-autobiographical novel tells the stories of trips made by the Ramsay family to their summer home on the Isle of Skye in Scotland.

A new edition, published by Vintage, will, however, be prefaced with a statement explaining that the decision to print the novel in its original form is not an ‘endorsement’ of the ‘cultural representations or language’ used in Woolf’s book.

Instead, the publisher explains the views expressed in the novel – which is widely considered to be a classic of modernist literature – reflect the ‘attitudes of the time’.

Virginia Woolf’s (pictured) 1927 novel To the Lighthouse will now be published with a disclaimer about the contents of the book

‘This book was published in 1927 and reflects the attitudes of its time,’ the new disclaimer says.

‘The publisher’s decision to present it as it was originally published is not intended as an endorsement of cultural representations or language contained herein,’ it adds.

It remains unclear as to which ‘attitudes’ expressed in Woolf’s novel prompted the publisher’s decision to include a disclaimer.

Professor Mark Husey, from Rice University, told The Telegraph that the ‘notion of a warning to readers of potential offence in this novel [is] quite ludicrous’.

The novel is widely known for using modernist literary techniques in its portrayal of the Ramsay family and their visits to the Inner Hebrides in the period leading up to and immediately following the First World War.

The book is based on Woolf’s own childhood experiences visiting St Ives in Cornwall and seeing the nearby Godrevy Lighthouse around which the events of her 1927 novel are based.

Vintage Books is a New York headquartered paperback publisher owned by British-American publishing giant Penguin Random House.

Virgina Woolf’s 1927 novel To the Lighthouse is based on her experiences visiting St Ives in Cornwall and seeing the nearby Godrevy Lighthouse around which the events of her book are based

Recently published British editions of Virgina Woolf’s (pictured) books have not contained disclaimers or content warnings

The launch of Vintage’s new edition comes after the book entered the public domain in 2023.

No warnings or disclaimers were included in the last edition of ‘To the Lighthouse’ to be published in the UK, in 2019.

Similarly, a recently reissued edition of Woolf’s 1931 novel The Waves was published in Britain without any warnings about its contents.

The warning in Woolf’s book comes after Vintage last year published a new edition of Ernst Hemingway’s masterpiece ‘The Sun Also Rises’ with a similar warning to readers about the contents of the Nobel-prize winning author’s 1926 book.

Born in London in 1882, Woolf wrote nine novels between 1915 and 1941, prior to her death aged 59.

Vintage Books was contacted by MailOnline for comment.

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