The Most Famous Books
Mrs Dalloway (1925)
Mrs.
Dalloway is one of the best books to start with for those who are only just
encountering Virginia Woolf’s writing. Clarissa Dalloway is a high-society
English woman and Woolf tells the story of her life in post-World War I London.
Woolf explores the society at the time and creates an image of the
protagonist’s life through her thoughts, as Clarissa prepares for a party that
she is going to host that evening. This book is an example of a stream of
consciousness narrative, as the reader gets thrown into Clarissa’s mind and her
world, creating a sense of intimacy with this character. It was made into a
film in 1997.
Orlando: A
Biography (1928)
Described
by Jorge Luis Borges as Woolf’s ‘most intense novel, and one of the most
singular of our era’, Orlando is an enthralling yet accessible read. It starts
with a male protagonist, an aristocratic poet who frequents Queen Elizabeth’s
court. The novel explores key questions of gender and identity, all against the
backdrop of the characters travelling through time and meeting various
important literary figures across the ages. Unique and unexpected, Orlando: A
Biography is a must-read for any literary fan.
A Room of
One’s Own (1929)
In this
essay, Woolf delves into the implications of gender, and claims that without
money and a room of their own, women are not able to let their creativity and
genius run free. To exemplify this theory, Woolf creates an imaginary
character: Shakespeare’s sister. She gives this character a talent as great as
Shakespeare’s, but her story is not one of success; instead she commits
suicide, infinitely frustrated by her inability to express her genius in the
male-dominated world in which she lives. A Room of One’s Own is a seminal
feminist text, and is essential reading for everyone.
This book
is composed of six monologues, one by each of the book’s main characters, which
Woolf uses to delve into the notions of identity, individuality and society.
There is a seventh character, Percival, who is also important but does not
speak directly to the reader. The Waves is often considered Woolf’s masterpiece
because of the unique style in which it is written, overstepping traditional
genre boundaries and intertwining poetry and prose.
Mrs. Dalloway is one of the best books to start with for those who are only just encountering Virginia Woolf’s writing. Clarissa Dalloway is a high-society English woman and Woolf tells the story of her life in post-World War I London. Woolf explores the society at the time and creates an image of the protagonist’s life through her thoughts, as Clarissa prepares for a party that she is going to host that evening. This book is an example of a stream of consciousness narrative, as the reader gets thrown into Clarissa’s mind and her world, creating a sense of intimacy with this character. It was made into a film in 1997.
Described by Jorge Luis Borges as Woolf’s ‘most intense novel, and one of the most singular of our era’, Orlando is an enthralling yet accessible read. It starts with a male protagonist, an aristocratic poet who frequents Queen Elizabeth’s court. The novel explores key questions of gender and identity, all against the backdrop of the characters travelling through time and meeting various important literary figures across the ages. Unique and unexpected, Orlando: A Biography is a must-read for any literary fan.
In this essay, Woolf delves into the implications of gender, and claims that without money and a room of their own, women are not able to let their creativity and genius run free. To exemplify this theory, Woolf creates an imaginary character: Shakespeare’s sister. She gives this character a talent as great as Shakespeare’s, but her story is not one of success; instead she commits suicide, infinitely frustrated by her inability to express her genius in the male-dominated world in which she lives. A Room of One’s Own is a seminal feminist text, and is essential reading for everyone.
This book is composed of six monologues, one by each of the book’s main characters, which Woolf uses to delve into the notions of identity, individuality and society. There is a seventh character, Percival, who is also important but does not speak directly to the reader. The Waves is often considered Woolf’s masterpiece because of the unique style in which it is written, overstepping traditional genre boundaries and intertwining poetry and prose.
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