Twenty-five years after the publication of Lewis Hyde's groundbreaking exploration of the significance of gift economies for literary study, The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property, this is the first full-length study to focus on the relevance of gift theory for literary analysis. With its unique focus on the interrelation of market, gift and libidinal economies it offers original readings of Woolf's work and paves the way for further explorations in the literary sphere and beyond."--BOOK JACKET.