Play Audiobook Sample
Mitz: The Marmoset of Bloomsbury Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.00) - 68 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
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 Leonard and Virginia Woolf and their circle, developing special relationships with such associates as T. S. Eliot and Vita Sackville-West. She accompanied the Woolfs on their travels and even 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. Tender, affectionate, and humorous, Mitz provides an intimate portrait of a most uncommon household, a glimpse of what Virginia Woolf once described as “the private side of life—the play side,” represented by one’s pets.
Download and start listening now!
"The writing here is so clean and lucid that it feels almost like a children's book. I read some of it aloud to my 14 year old son, and he got very interested. Nunez does a winning job of integrating Leonard and Virginia Woolf's life with an imaginative biography of their pet marmoset, Mitz."
— Elizabeth (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
“A limpidly written story…In short, glistening sentences that refract the larger world, Ms. Nunez describes the appealingly eccentric, fiercely intelligent Woolfs during a darkening time when Mitz was a tiny focus of their lives.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“Offers a slice of pure whimsy.”
— Entertainment Weekly -
“A fanciful account of the everyday lives of Leonard and Virginia Woolf.”
— Booklist -
“Reader [McCaddon] is remarkably clear. She cleverly conveys some of the individual characters with changes in tone and accent.”
— Kliatt
Mitz Listener Reviews
-
" A charming novel based on the fact that Leonard and Virginia Woolf kept a marmoset (small monkey). It's a lovely imagining of their life together. "
— Mary, 11/21/2013 -
" A pleasant read, especially for people fascinated by Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury group. The author has done her research and the writing is fluid. Its charm, but almost its downfall, is that is about as light as the tiny monkey at its centre. "
— Pascale, 10/3/2013 -
" Occasionally delightful one-day read, although it is more or less written in the style of children's literature and does not offer much new to those already interested in the Woolfs, Bloomsbury, or marmosets generally. And why else would one pick it up? "
— Lauren, 9/24/2013 -
" One benefit of browing in a used bookstore is an introduction to Mitz the marmoset who loved with Virginia and Leonard Wolff for four and a half years. Delightful. "
— Marian, 8/4/2013 -
" satisfying book - a great look at the home life of Leonard and Virginia Woolf through the biography of their rescued pet marmoset, Mitz. "
— Marianna, 7/28/2013 -
" Little novella about Leonard and Virginia Woolf right before WWII, through the eyes of their marmoset, kind of. "
— Jenny, 1/8/2013 -
" the cast of characters I love but they are very lightly cast. Still, I enjoyed it. Very different from her other writings. "
— Cassandra, 11/19/2012
About Sigrid Nunez
Sigrid Nunez is the author of A Feather on the Breath of God and Naked Sleeper. She has been the recipient of several literary awards, including a Whiting Writer’s Award. She has taught at Amherst College, Smith College, Columbia University and the New School, and has been a visiting writer or writer in residence at Washington University, Baruch College, Vassar College, Boston University, and the University of California, Irvine, among others.
About Wanda McCaddon
Wanda McCaddon (d. 2023) narrated well over six hundred titles for major audiobook publishers, sometimes with the pseudonym Nadia May or Donada Peters. She earned the prestigious Audio Award for best narration and numerous Earphones Awards. She was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine.