Virginia Woolf friends, they formed the artistic and literary Bloomsbury Group. In 1912, Woolf married Leonard Woolf and in 1917 they founded the Hogarth Press, which published much of her work. The couple rented second homes in Sussex and moved there permanently in 1940. Throughout her life, Woolf was troubled by bouts of mental illness, which included being institutionalised and attempting suicide. Her illness is considered to have been bipolar disorder, for which there was no effective intervention at the time. Eventually in 1941 she committed suicide by putting rocks in her pockets and drowning herself in a river, at the age
Virginia Woolf of the South Downs. Leonard Woolf describes this view (and the amenities) as being unchanged since the days of Chaucer. From 1940 it became their permanent home after their London home was bombed, and Virginia continued to live there until her death. Meanwhile, Vanessa had also made Charleston her permanent home in 1936. It was at Monk's House that she completed "Between the Acts" in early 1941, followed by a further breakdown, resulting in her death on March 28, 1941, the novel being published posthumously later that year. During her time in Firle, Virginia became better acquainted with Rupert Brooke