Mrs Dalloway

Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (1925)

"Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself." One day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway as she prepares for a party in post-war London, her consciousness flowing between past and present, joy and despair.

Historical Significance:
Published in 1925, Mrs Dalloway was Virginia Woolf's fourth novel and her first masterpiece. Using a stream-of-consciousness technique influenced by James Joyce, Woolf mapped the interior lives of her characters with unprecedented delicacy. The novel takes place on a single day in June 1923, paralleling the society hostess Clarissa with the shell-shocked war veteran Septimus Warren Smith — connected only by the striking of Big Ben. Michael Cunningham's The Hours (1998) reimagined Mrs Dalloway across three time periods, winning the Pulitzer Prize. Nicole Kidman won an Oscar playing Woolf in the 2002 film adaptation.

This public domain classic was originally published in 1925. Free to read and share.