Virginia Nicholson: 'Neither marriage nor the very love are everything'

"In the end, all alone and we need to build our own identity." That is the moral that Virginia Nicholson, niece, granddaughter of Virginia Woolf, drawn from his book 'They alone' (Turner), who arrives this week to bookstores Spanish. A story about the mutilated British society of the early twentieth century, a story about the courage and the willingness of some women who had to look into the eyes of loneliness. World War I claimed the lives of about eight hundred thousand young people leaving a 'surplus women' who has won one of the Inalienable Rights of the society of the time: getting married. There were no men in all.

QUESTION

.- What did you push to embark on this project?

RESPONSE .- I would say it was an inspiration, who suddenly felt the need to write about it ... But it was not. I wore years interested in the topic of women and especially that of loneliness. It also was sure that this story had a lot to teach, especially women. Through this book you can learn to cope with the difficulties and succeed by yourself.

Q. - Have you felt identified with them on occasion?

R.

- The truth is that yes, this issue touches me in a very personal way. 20 years since I was expecting it to appear 'perfect man' ... And I marry the relatively late-to-31 years. During that time I could understand their aspirations and their search. However, "neither marriage nor the very love are everything. In the end, all alone, we all need to build our identity," this may be the moral of the book.

Q. - Was it very difficult to gather the different stories?

R.

- The background information was easier because there are lots of different files in the United Kingdom. With regard to particular stories, got most of them after touring nursing homes in search of the 'old maid' consequence of war. I did it with their letters, their diaries, their consultations with psychologists ... And something that helped me a lot of the ads were like: 'Wanted man', in newspapers and other advertising media.

Q. - What is your favorite story?

R. - The first to appear in the book and for me, the most emblematic: Margaret Jones. I found her diary in a file, it is a woman who loses her future husband in the front where only 20 years and who spent his life thinking he had lost his soul mate.

Q. - Was there something you surprised by these women?

R.

- More than surprise, I was impressed by his attitude to life. Refused to see or portray itself as a victim. Will reinvent themselves and get their own identity without having to depend on one man. Are women to whom we owe a lot nowadays.

Q. - What was the relationship of these women with sex?

R.

- I drew much attention the way it moved your questions to the experts. Many questioned by masturbation or the possibility of a lesbian as a solution to their situation ... But the council did not live up to: take a hot bath, to engage in sewing or go to the ballet ... was the most common prescription.

Q. - What do you think your great-aunt Virginia Woolf, if read the book?

R. - Well, I hope to be educated, and I think so my account of her father-who had encouraged me to write. Although, maybe in private does not seem quite so good.

Q. - Are you thinking of those that loneliness is one of the great evils of society in the twenty-first century?

R.-I do not feel qualified to secure it, I am no sociologist, but for me it is a big problem. The theme of loneliness in a very personal touch to people of all countries.