TESTIMONIALS

Comments on the Woolf’s Women summer course in Cambridge, 2023

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to you and your wonderful team of lecturers for making my first visit to Cambridge so special. I really enjoyed the lectures and supervisions each day and I have returned home with a greater understanding of Virginia. I feel now I am on my way to being a real Woolfian!
- Maria O’Hanrahan, Ireland

Comments on the Keats and Browning close reading courses with Mariah Whelan, 2023

• 'Thank you so much for this course. Working on Browning and Keats with Mariah has been wonderful and I feel so enthused after every class. Really looking forward to the next one!'
- Saffron, London

Comments on the Sylvia Plath course with Mariah Whelan, live online 2023

• ‘Thank you both for presenting a brilliant course on Sylvia Plath. It was very well organised. The lecture sessions were extremely interesting, clear and thought provoking. I particularly valued the bringing together of alternative analyses of Plath and her work. This was one of the first courses where I have focused on one poet and it was great to have a focus and encounter more depth. The seminar and discussion sessions were good quality and I appreciated listening to the course participants and hearing their interpretations.’
- Alison, Manchester UK

Comments on the live online summer courses 2022 and 2023

• ‘Just to say many thanks indeed to you, and EVERYONE involved in providing such an interesting, stimulating and enjoyable week on Virginia Woolf. I have had many insights and have happy memories too.’
- Sue Dingle, Scotland, 2023

• ‘It was an absolute joy. Really. Day after day. I have learned a lot these past days and I will continue reading Woolf again and again and again … although now with a much more critical eye. The organization was impeccable, the lecturers were all super interesting and Ellie Mitchell was a very patient and most generous and inspiring supervisor!’
- Yasmine Geukens, Belgium, 2023

• ‘I was extremely satisfied with the summer course! I have been wanting to do a Literature Cambridge Summer School for a long time. So when it came online I was really thrilled to be able to join and I was not disappointed. All the lectures were excellent … truly inspirational and memorable. I enjoyed the supervision sessions and the opportunity to discuss in a smaller group. I loved immersing myself in Woolf for a whole week and I felt I learnt so many new things even though I have been studying Woolf for twenty years. But I guess that is what Virginia Woolf does to you … you can’t stop learning about her!’
- Irene, England, 2022

• ‘I especially liked the supervision portion of the course. It was a great opportunity to share thoughts on the reading. Often, others in my group made points that I hadn't considered. Alison Hennegan is a wonderful supervisor; I feel fortunate to have been included in her supervision group. Her breadth of knowledge is astonishing. I also loved the talks on the houses in which Woolf lived. They were all superb. Online courses are wonderful for those of us who live very far away and may not be able to make the journey to the UK. Overall, it was an absolutely wonderful week that I will always treasure!’ 
- Mitchell Alcrim, United States, 2022

• ‘Trudi, I would like to thank you and your team for the most wonderful experience. I feel so privileged to have been able to attend. The organization of the course and the access to additional material were exceptional. I have been given access to exceptional learning through these Zoom lectures.’
- Jude Alford, Australia, 2022

Comments on the Victorian Women course with Clare Walker Gore, autumn 2022

• ‘Thank you so much for this course! It was my first course with you and I enjoyed the pace of it! I absolutely loved the format: first lecture, then the discussion and the selection of the texts (the mixture of the classics and not mainstream works; Hester was a great book to finish the course). The handouts were great, they gave an outline of what is going to be covered during the lecture, so it was easier to follow.’
- Dorota, Poland

• ‘I am completely captivated each week and LOVE the recordings – I make notes at the time of the lecture but always hear extra information when I listen back – an absolute boon, so valuable - please continue. My first course with Literature Cambridge and I have utterly enjoyed every minute - the carefully crafted and inspirational tuition augmented by the mental stimulation in the company of like-minded people is truly joyful – I am so elated after each session and singing your praises to everyone.’
- Julie, England

‘Thanks to you both for a splendid Victorian Women course. The books were an excellent balance of well-known titles and some (for me) completely new ones (Ruth, Hester). Taking this course made it a pleasure to read and re-read all the texts. Class sessions provided a deep and insightful journey through not only Victorian Women, but more broadly, offered a provocative context for Victorian literature. An unexpected benefit for me is that taking the class has enhanced my study of Woolf by providing a much richer foundation for reading her work.
The lectures were always engaging and compelling. The atmosphere in live sessions was stimulating and supportive. While I am still adjusting to vocal participation on Zoom, the climate of our meetings made that task much more comfortable. Thanks to Clare and Trudi for encouraging such an inclusive and welcoming environment.
The class handouts were excellent. They provided not only a pre-class introduction and review but included valuable new information and text suggestions for further study. Thanks to Clare for such thoughtful preparation.
- Ellie Brady, United States

Comments on the Iris Murdoch and London course with Miles Leeson, spring 2022.

• ‘Dr. Leeson is a wonderful speaker on Murdoch, and has an amazingly expansive knowledge of her oeuvre. His lectures opened up a new world of resources to dive into. It was really a treat to attend these fortnightly lectures, and to spend time with other people who wanted to explore Murdoch's novels. I can't wait to pick up where we left off with the Gothic series.’ - Beth, Brighton, UK

Comments on the History of the Sonnet Course with Mariah Whelan, autumn 2021

• ‘Mariah Whelan is an outstanding lecturer, who shows knowledge, wit and understanding. To join her online Sonnet course is to become part of a community of scholars, and to take part in a collaborative learning process with neither fear nor favour. I am very glad that I signed up for this course, and was sufficiently enthused as to buy her own book of sonnets.’
- Peter Villiers, North Devon

• ‘I loved Mariah's sonnet course. I'd definitely take more courses with her and others in the program. She is enthusiastic and knowledgeable and a joy to listen to.’
- Susan Schneider, New York City

Participants’ blogs about our 2019 summer courses

• Jane Hills from the UK and US on Fictions of Home, July 2019
• Mary and Melanie Cummings from Canada on Fictions of Home
• Francine Danniau from Belgium on Fictions of Home
• Suellen Cox from the US on a visit to Charleston Farmhouse, July 2019
• Steven Van Der Heyden from Belgium on Woolf’s Gardens, July 2019
• Juliane Röhmhild on Woolf’s Gardens, July 2019

And Steve Tavare writes about our in-person Study Days, which we hope to resume in 2023.

Comments on our summer courses 2018

• But what will stay with me, more than any other aspect of this wonderful week, was the joy of meeting so many like-minded people willing to share their expertise, interests and ideas whether from behind a lectern or over a glass of wine.

• The week I spent in your Women Writers course at Cambridge was the ultimate reward to myself for years of self-study on Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group. The immersion with like-minded literature-lovers was bliss. The mix of lectures and trips was the perfect blend.

• I loved sitting outside under the trees and reading aloud from the works.

• I loved the wonderful mix of academics, graduate students and common readers, like myself, who made up our group.

• … the amazing sensation of being with a group of people who needed absolutely no explanation of why I love Woolf and would want to spend my holidays with her (and them!). I think this really hit me when we were all huddled in a white room in the basement of the Fitzwilliam Museum, poring over the original manuscript of A Room of One’s Own with magnifying glasses and feeling SO happy!

• The generosity and enthusiasm of the lecturers and supervisors made it a special week.

• The lecturers and supervisors were very accessible and responsive.

• Everyone was welcoming.

• The closing dinner at Darwin College was delicious and very well organised.

• The lectures were engrossing.

• The excursion to Girton College was for me a highlight. I LOVED to see the room where Woolf lectured.

See also blog posts by participants who attended in 2018:

• Beatrice de Pauw from Belgium
• Jennifer Ristau from the US
• Lizzie Hammond from England
• Julia Salmeron from Spain

Comments on Woolf's Rooms summer course 2017

• What a wonderful experience. Great to share with so many vibrant people from around the world.

• I could not be happier with my Literature Cambridge week. Getting to experience the ‘Cambridge way’ of attending supervisions, in such an engaging and stimulating course and group of people, is a gift I’ll not soon forget.

• Fantastic lectures.

• I would like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to attend such a well run, informative course.

• The excursions gave us entry into areas that as individuals we would not have access to.

• To attend this course was the accomplishment of a dream.

• I think I can say we all felt privileged to see Woolf’s manuscript.

• Tea time at Fitzbillies was great.

• The group reading aloud of The Waves was wonderful.

• Incredibly inspiring.

• Thank you very much for organising such an interesting summer school.

• Gillian Beer is amazing.

• Studying in Cambridge was like a dream come true: each morning we had an inspiring lecture followed by another hour in which we could discuss the topic of the lecture with one of the tutors. It was a lovely experience to study with students from all over the world and of all ages with the same interest in literature and to have ample opportunities to discuss with them the novels of Virginia Woolf. In the afternoon an arranged trip was offered or we studied the text for the next class together. Thanks to Trudi and Ericka who perfectly arranged all lectures, the dinners and several trips, even one to Bloomsbury in London, and made me feel at home in Cambridge.

Click here for gallery of images from Woolf's Rooms summer course in 2017.

See Blog posts by participants: Adam Chugg, Hans Grietens, and Selin Kalostyan. 

Comments on Reading Bloomsbury Summer Course 2017

• My two weeks in Cambridge with Woolf and Bloomsbury have been brain exercise and I have walked not less than 12-14 km per day.

• Jeremy Thurlow’s talk on music was an unexpected surprise. Excellent.

• The speakers were excellent, well prepared and engaging.

• Thank you so much for offering this course and providing the opportunity to meet other people interested in Woolf and Bloomsbury.

• Inspiring.

• I really enjoyed the whole course. The lectures and events were all inspiring, and I loved the intimate atmosphere of the participants and staff.

• Thank you very much for five wonderful days.

• Claire Nicholson is so knowledgeable and an excellent speaker ... She is a treasure.

• Nadine Tschacksch's further explanations of the themes were just inspiring, and I especially enjoyed our discussions of literary works.

Comments on Virginia Woolf in Cambridge summer course 2016:

• This summer course is one of my top experiences.

• The course is still resonating – I think it was the immersion. The course was a real inspiration.

• Terrific program. I am going to do my best to come back next year ... You did an exceptional job providing something for everyone, no matter their background. A big thank you.

• Thank you so much for this course. It was excellently run and has reinvigorated both my enthusiasm for the Cambridge way and, most importantly, for Woolf’s works.

• Clear speakers whose enthusiasm is engaging and stimulating.

• Very well organized, enthusiastic staff, diverse range of activities, wonderful location! Thanks for everything!

• I have really enjoyed my week here. Being a 'common reader' I was nervous I would be outnumbered by university academics, but there has been a great mix of people attending. Clearly a lot of thought has gone into the planning of events.

• Inspirational experience of academic supervision.

• An inspirational and well-delivered course that has more than fulfilled my expectations. It has been a real privilege to have had stimulating lectures and supervision by such esteemed academics. And having a small supervision group was an absolute treat.

• I would like to thank the whole team of their considerable efforts, expertise and thoughtfulness.

• Terrific mix of intensity and rest. I appreciated the variety of readers, range of speakers, choice of texts.

• It has been a fab week, and I look forward to joining you next year. Thank you!

• I think the course was fantastic, and organised very well. The lecturers were extremely interesting.