Mrs. Dalloway

by Virginia Woolf
Mrs. Dalloway cover
Good Books rating 4.38
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Technical
  • ID: 42
  • Added: 2025-08-15
  • Updated: 2025-10-21
  • ISBN: 9780199536009
  • Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks
  • Published: 2008-04-17
  • Formats: 171
  • Reviews: 2

Clarissa Dalloway, elegant and vivacious, is preparing for party and remembering those she once loved. In another part of London, Septimus Warren Smith is shell-shocked and on the brink of madness. Smith's day interweaves with that of Clarissa and her friends, their lives converging as the party reaches it glittering climax.

Reviews
WSHU · 2021-04-02
profound 4.50

Mrs. Dalloway is a profound and darkly beautiful novel with swooningly gorgeous prose that explores deep psychological and social themes.

The review praises Woolf's novel for its profound scope and disquieting depth, describing it as both dark and beautiful. The prose is celebrated for its lyrical quality, and the novel’s exploration of mental health, societal roles, and human vulnerabilities is seen as deeply moving and intellectually stimulating, making it a lasting classic.

Quick quotes

    Woolf's “dark and disquieting” novel is “profound in scope and depth.”

    Swooningly gorgeous he says of Woolf's prose.

    Mrs. Dalloway explores complex psychological and social themes.

The New Yorker · 2020-12-29
expansive 4.25

Mrs. Dalloway is a remarkably expansive and strange book that defies simple plot summaries and offers readers a deep, immersive experience into its characters’ lives.

The review emphasizes how Mrs. Dalloway transcends typical narrative expectations with its complexity and expansiveness. It’s described as a book that demands attention to its nuanced character portrayals and thematic layers, making it a rewarding but challenging read that offers continual lessons about life and human nature.

Quick quotes

    Mrs. Dalloway is a remarkably expansive and an irreducibly strange book.

    Nothing you might read in a plot summary prepares you for the novel.

    It offers a deep and immersive experience into the characters’ lives.

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