Edwardian vs. Georgian Literature

One of Woolf's primary objectives in "Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown" is distinguishing between the Edwardian and Georgian writers while defending the Georgians against the criticisms of Arnold Bennett. It is important to note that Woolf invents these two camps for her own purposes, arguing that at the same time King George V succeeded King Edward VII, "human character changed" (1). She therefore holds the expectation that literature should reflect the social moment in which it is produced.

For this reason, Woolf takes issue with Bennett's claim that young novelists (overwhelmingly "Georgian") cannot write realistic or memorable characters. It is Woolf's belief that, while the masterpieces of the earlier centuries are no longer written with the same frequency, the Georgian writers face an entirely different world than the Edwardians did. Woolf sets out to distinguish between the two groups of writers as a way of showing...