Flush, A Biography

Flush, A Biography by Virginia Woolf

Flush: A Biography is a novel by Virginia Woolf, first published in 1933. It is a fictional biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's pet spaniel, Flush. The novel follows Flush's life from his puppyhood in the country to his time in London with the Brownings. It is told from Flush's point of view, and Woolf uses the novel to explore the relationship between humans and animals, as well as the nature of love and loyalty. The novel is divided into three parts. In the first part, Flush is taken from his home in the country and brought to London to live with the Brownings. He is initially confused and overwhelmed by the city, but gradually adjusts to his new life. In the second part, Flush accompanies the Brownings on their travels, and experiences a variety of adventures. He also meets a variety of people, including the poet Robert Browning, who becomes a close friend. In the third part, Flush returns to London and is reunited with the Brownings. He is now an old dog, and his health is failing. He reflects on his life and the love he has experienced. The novel ends with Flush's death, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning's grief. Woolf uses the novel to explore the themes of love, loyalty, and mortality.

By Virginia Woolf · First published 1933 · Genre: Biography, Modernist Literature, Fiction · 6 chapters · 30,540 words

First lines

It is universally admitted that the family from which the subject of this memoir claims descent is one of the greatest antiquity. Therefore it is not strange that the origin of the name itself is lost in obscurity. Many million years ago the country which is now called Spain seethed uneasily in the ferment of creation. Ages passed; vegetation appeared; where there is vegetation the law of Nature has decreed that there shall be rabbits; where there are rabbits, Providence has ordained there shall be dogs. There is nothing in this that calls for question, or comment. But when we ask why the dog that caught the rabbit was called a Spaniel, then doubts and difficulties begin. Some historians say that when the Carthaginians landed in Spain the common soldiers shouted with one accord "Span! Span!" --for rabbits darted from every scrub, from every bush. The land was alive with rabbits. And Span in the Carthaginian tongue signifies Rabbit. Thus the land was called Hispania, or Rabbit-land, and the dogs, which were almost instantly perceived in full pursuit of the rabbits, were called Spaniels or rabbit dogs.

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Fiction/Non-Fiction Cross-Over · barrett · barrett's · bedroom · browning · called · dark · day · days · dog · dogs · door

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