Mitz: The Marmoset of Bloomsbury - Softcover

Nuñez, Sigrid

Softcover

ISBN 10: 193336856X ISBN 13: 9781933368566

Publisher: Soft Skull Press, 2007

Synopsis

In 1934, a "sickly pathetic marmoset" named Mitz came into the care of Leonard Woolf. After nursing her back to health, he was rarely seen without the amusing monkey on his shoulder. A ubiquitous presence in Bloomsbury society, Mitz moved with the Woolfs between their homes in London and Sussex. She developed her own special relationships with the family's cocker spaniels and with the various members of the Woolfs' circle, among them T. S. Eliot and Vita Sackville-West. Mitz even played a vital role in helping the Woolfs escape a close call with Nazis in Germany just before World War II. Blending letters, diaries, and memoirs, acclaimed novelist Sigrid Nunez reconstructs Mitz's life, painting it against the fascinating backdrop of Bloomsbury in its twilight years. Tender, affectionate, and filled with humor, this novel offers a striking look at lives shadowed by war, death, and mental breakdown, as well as the happiness and productivity this plucky creature inspired.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

In the summer of 1934, "a sickly pathetic marmoset" called Mitz came into the care of Leonard Woolf. He nursed her back to health and from then on was rarely seen without her on his shoulder. A "ubiquitous" presence in Bloomsbury society. Mitz moved with the Woolfs between their London flat and their cottage in Sussex. She developed her own special relationships with the Woolfs' spaniels, Pinks and Sally, and with various members of the Woolfs' circle, such as T. S. Eliot and Vita Sackville-West. She accompanied the Woolfs on their holidays, including their travels through Europe, and played an important role in helping them to escape a close call with Nazis in Germany. Using letters, diaries, and memoirs, Nunez reconstructs Mitz's life against the background of Bloomsbury in its twilight years. Although a turbulent period marked by the threat of war, the deaths of beloved friends and relations, and Virginia's near breakdown under the strain of finishing her novel The Years, it was nevertheless a time of much happiness and productivity for the Woolfs. Tender, affectionate, and humorous, Mitz provides a glimpse of what Virginia Woolf once described as "the private side of life - the play side", which she believed one's pets represented. Through Nunez's skillful storytelling, an intimate portrait of a most uncommon household emerges - a celebration of the love that saw one monkey, two dogs, and modern literature's most famous husband and wife through some of the worst of times.

About the Author:

Sigrid Nunez's work has appeared in many leading literary journals. She lives in New York City.

About this edition

• Publisher: Soft Skull Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 193336856X
• ISBN 13: 9781933368566
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128