Virginia Woolf's exuberant 'biography' tells the story of the cross-dressing, sex-changing Orlando who begins life as a young noble in the sixteenth century and moves through numerous historical and geographical worlds to finish as a modern woman writer in the 1920s. The book is in part a happy tribute to the 'life' that her love for Vita Sackville-West had breathed into Virginia Woolf's own day-to-day existence; it is also Woolf's light-hearted and light-handed teasing out of the assumptions that lie behind the normal conventions for writing about a fictional or historical life. In this novel, Virginia Woolf plays loose and fast: Orlando uncovers a literary and sexual revolution overnight. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Orlando
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"Orlando is the wittiest little book, a pleasure: it makes me laugh every time I read it"
"Undoubtedly Virginia Woolf's most intense and one of the most singular [novels] of our era" --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
"Undoubtedly Virginia Woolf's most intense and one of the most singular [novels] of our era" --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Book Description
Virginia Woolf's most unusual and fantastic creation, a funny, exuberant tale that examines the very nature of sexuality. (20040624)
--This text refers to an alternate
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54 of 58 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Written as a gift to her close friend, Vita Sackville-West, this is a firm favourite amongst initiated Woolf fans. For those who know little about Woolf, it is also a good starting point. Whilst "Orlando" carries much of Woolf's trademark stream of conciousness style and dry feminist wit, it never seems over indulgent or inaccessible. The mock biographical format makes for an interesting and more structured read, but it is worth noting that there is little or no explanation for some of the more fantastic events. For instance (and if you don't want to know the spoilers, turn away now!) it is never made clear why Orlando lives for so long, nor are we enlightened as to the cause of his unexpected change in gender. Unbelievable though the plot is at times, it is quite good fun, and the freedom allowed to Woolf by the weird and wonderful nature of the protagonist is well tempered by the more sober and considered style. The prose is wonderful, as you would expect with Woolf, flowing easily and, at times, lyrically. As we follow the twists and turns of our hero's life, so we are compelled on not just by the absorbing plot, but also by the excellent narrative style. Woolf balances the factual, dry voice of a biographer with the omniscience of a third person viewpoint. This allows her to make many interesting points about historical figures and gender roles alike. Not just a novel about life and a lover, or a thinly concealed feminist tirade, Orlando is full of dry comments to raise a smile and is worth a read if only for the diversity of imagery and characters. It stands as one of the most enjoyable Woolf novels for old fans and new alike.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In her most playful and exuberant novel, Virginia Woolf writes the "historical biography" of Orlando, a young boy of nobility during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. A wild ride through four centuries, the novel shows Orlando aging, magically, only thirty-six years between 1588 and 1928. Even more magically, he also changes from a man to a woman. As she explores Orlando's life, Woolf also explores the differing roles of men and women in society during various periods, ultimately concluding that one's role as a man or woman is determined by society, rather than by birth.
From the Elizabethan period, during which Orlando works as a steward for the queen and also serves as her lover, he progresses to the reign of James I, experiencing a profound love for a Russian princess, Sasha, who is herself exploring the role of a man. When Sasha departs for Russia without him, he retreats, devastated, to his estate, with its 365 rooms and 52 staircases, which he redecorates over the next few years. An interlude in which he is wooed by the Archduchess Harriet, who is also the Archduke Harry, leads to his ambassadorship to Constantinople, a period spent with the gypsies, and his eventual return to England--as a woman. New experiences and observations await her.
Throughout the novel, Woolf matches her prose style to the literary style of the period in which Orlando lives, creating always-changing moods and sheer delight for the reader. Some constants continue throughout the four centuries of Orlando's life. Orlando is always a writer, always recording his thoughts, and always adding to a poem he has begun as a child entitled "The Oak Tree." He is always returning to his 365-room house whenever he needs to recuperate from his experiences, and some characters repeat through time. (Orlando is betrayed by Nick Greene during the reign of James I, but he is encouraged by Nicholas Greene in the Victorian period.)
Literary historians make much of the fact that Woolf modeled Orlando on Vita Sackville-West, Woolf's lover, and that this study of gender roles was an early exploration of lesbianism, cross-dressing, and transgender identities. The novel is pure fun to read, however, and though it raises serious and thoughtful questions about sexuality and the ways that it controls our lives, there is no sense that Woolf wrote the novel specifically to make a public statement or prove a point. Her themes of gender and its relation to social expectations, of creativity and its relation to reality, of the importance of history in our lives, and of the unlimited potential of all humans, regardless of their sex, transcend the specific circumstances under which Woolf may have written the book. This is one of the most playful and delightful novels of the twentieth century. n Mary Whipple
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
By "queenfilo"
Format:Paperback
A writer's holiday is what Virginia Woolf called this novel. It was more fun and less compulsive writing for her than her previous and later novels. Orlando is a fantastical novel which begins somewhere in 1500 and ends in 1928. The main character is Orlando who lives for this long period of time and also morphs from man into women. Woolf wrote this novel for her friend (lover) Vita Sackville-West and is one of the best love letters ever. it's written as a biography and the author often directs herself at the readers. There are also a lot of gender issues which are touched upon in the book and it's great to read the subtility with which she handels these things.
Although Orlando is one big fantasy I think it's the most accesible novel Woolf has written. It still has her distinct style. But the changes of scenery and times are very entertaining. It's such a nice idea to have a couple of centuries encapsulated in one book.
Although Orlando is one big fantasy I think it's the most accesible novel Woolf has written. It still has her distinct style. But the changes of scenery and times are very entertaining. It's such a nice idea to have a couple of centuries encapsulated in one book.
A must read (even if you think Woolf is to difficult.or boring!..she isn't!!)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent book
Everyone should read a bit of Virginia Woolf at some point; and this notoriously quickly written joke that got good is a great place to start!
Published 2 months ago by Mel
4.0 out of 5 stars
Looking back
I have not quite finished reading this book but it certainly is a very interesting read. It contains some great descriptions of the way of life in the not-so-distant past.
Published 3 months ago by S. Gray
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful book
The story though complex, is largely irrelevant, as is much of Virginia Woolf's writing. What counts is the delicate description of form, feeling and atmosphere. Read more
Published 3 months ago by ms n j selmes
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing story
Virginia Woolf was an amazing writer, the way she tell this story is really innovative, and really interesting. I definitely recommend it!
Published 4 months ago by Orlando Castro
4.0 out of 5 stars
Orland is a classic, but weird
Virginia Wolfs's novel is a not much coded love letter to Vita Sackville-West, and the story is as much a history of the Sackville home as it is a fantasy of how Virginia imagined... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Fishpix2010
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perplexing but fascinating
For me, this book improves as it goes on - somehow the fantasy element becomes more convincing as it progresses. Read more
Published 5 months ago by dorothy mary collins D M Collins
3.0 out of 5 stars
Thought I'd read this
I did not know what this book was about but had been recommended to read it.
Not quite what I had expected but a reasonable read
Not quite what I had expected but a reasonable read
Published 5 months ago by Shirley Foale
4.0 out of 5 stars
orlando
Like all virginia wolfs books excellent arrived on time ,but I do get fed up having to write blurbs on everything I buy
Published 5 months ago by antony webb
3.0 out of 5 stars
Strange but funny
Being a book I had to read for my Gender and Sexuality class this year at university, this was not a book I was looking forward to at all. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Fiction_Fan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sublime
Virginia Woolf does it again! I've not enjoyed a book so much in a long time. Being a Vita Sackville-West aficionado, it was easy for me to spot the inspiration for Woolf's... Read more
Published 10 months ago by lizzy
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