Nathalie Quintane and Olivia Rosenthal are both leading lights of the French literary and artistic scenes. Both were asked to interpret or comment on a phrase by Virginia Woolf that establishes a relationship between the female condition and access to the writing ‘profession’ in tangible terms. The resulting essays affirm Woolf’s relevance in the world we live in today.

* A paper delivered by Virginia Woolf to the Women's Service League, 1932