I bought "Liberty" along with Julian Barnes' "Death" last July, hidden from the heat of London's abundant Summer in the organised, air conditioned shops of the Tate Britain. Being the simple-minded person that I am, I decided to purchase Woolf's "Liberty" because of its title with grand philosophical connotations as well as the reputation of the author's familiar name (I bought "Death" because I was, and still am, obsessed with the topic, though it held more of a superficial appeal to me at the time). Thus, imagine my utter disappointment upon realising that this so-called "Liberty" by Viriginia Woolf was actually a mere collection of her other well known works, one of which ("A Room of One's Own) I already have in my possession!

And so I secretly hid the tiny, 120-page collection away in the "non-fiction" section of my shelf, where it was overshadowed by giants such as "Essentials of Psychoanalysis". In a recent decision to revamp my room, I happened to stumble upon this little thing again, finally revealing itself in some strange coincidence. The title, once again, held my interest, and a little read of the blurb told me that this was exactly the book that I needed (see, I was going through a sort of crisis, and I'd decided that I'd start writing more seriously and with passion). I put the rest of the books away, leaving this, with its minimal design of a dove flying out of a bent cage, on my table to be opened the next day.

To my surprise, I enjoyed it a lot. It should be stated that I couldn't finish "A Room of One's Own" the last time I went through it, due to its stream-of-consciousness rambling that my imagination couldn't handle, as well as the overt feminism, which I had only a twinkle of interest for. Everything was much more concise this time, a bit removed from feminism even, and more about the topic of freedom. In this context, it was interesting to hear of the conditions women were placed under throughout history, and how far they have come as a sex from then. It was exciting to hypothesise with Woolf what would have happened if things had been different. Then, onto the short section from "The Waves", was a beautifully written, sensual prose that managed to describe the ineffable with lingering, graceful descriptions of the everyday. The following extract does something similar to that effect, but the closer, which is an essay on reading, was a gem that was worth the 3.5 pounds this cost. I haven't much to say about it except the invigorating power it bestows in literature, and the spark it inspired within me to continue my literary pursuit, bringing me a sense of clarity I couldn't have hoped to find elsewhere.

Virginia Woolf, I thank you for you passion and persuasive intellect. ( )