Skip to product information
Mrs Dalloway is a novel by Virginia Woolf published on May 14, 1925. It details a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a fictional upper-class woman in post-First World War England.
The working title of Mrs Dalloway was The Hours. The novel originated from two short stories, Mrs Dalloway in Bond Street and the unfinished The Prime Minister. In autumn 1922, Woolf began to think of the Mrs Dalloway short story as the first chapter of her new novel, and she completed the manuscript in late autumn 1924.
The novel was first published by Hogarth Press. Virginia had taken up book-binding as a pastime in October 1901, at the age of 19. The Woolfs had been discussing setting up a publishing house for some time – Leonard intended for it to give Virginia a rest from the strain of writing, and therefore help her fragile mental health. Additionally, publishing her works under their own outfit would save her from the stress of submitting her work to an external company, which contributed to her breakdown during the process of publishing her first novel The Voyage Out. The Woolfs obtained their own hand-printing press in April 1917 and set it up on their dining room table at Hogarth House, thus beginning the Hogarth Press.
The book describes Clarissa's preparations for a party she will host in the evening and the ensuing party. With an interior perspective, the story travels forwards and backwards in time to construct an image of Clarissa's life and the inter-war social structure. The novel addresses the nature of time in personal experience through multiple interwoven stories.
In October 2005, Mrs Dalloway was included on TIME Magazine's list of the 100 best English-language novels written since its first issue in 1923.
MRS DALLOWAY
$10.50