麻豆社

Made to mark the centenary of Virginia Woolf鈥檚 first published novel in 1915, her biographer Alexandra Harris takes another of four walks which help to tell her story.

Alexandra wonders at the link between her writing and her passion for walking - exploring where it all began, in London's Kensington Gardens.

Accompanied by Woolf biographer Dame Hermione Lee - the pair set out on a walk which Virginia and would have done probably 20,000 times - from 22 Hyde Park Gate, across the busy traffic and into the park.

Re-enacting the scene, Hermione and Alex recall how - 鈥榗alling for his dog and his daughter鈥� - Leslie Stephen, father to Virginia Woolf, set off twice daily for a constitutional walk around the park.

Passing the woman selling her 鈥渂alloon of quivering airballs鈥�, the young girl entered a public world and set her imagination to work on all she encountered: people talking and shouting, skaters, statues, ranks of uniformed nannies.

All her life she would remember in vivid detail the early routines of sailing boats on the Round Pond, touching the bark of the 鈥楥rocodile Tree鈥�, reading in the grass and starting to match words to experience.

Mike Fitt, the Royal Parks honorary historian joins them, to add his particular knowledge of Kensington Gardens to the mix.

Producer: Sara Jane Hall

First broadcast on 麻豆社 Radio 4 in August 2015.

Show less