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Product Description
Orlando has always been an outsider...
His longing for passion, adventure and fulfilment takes him out of his own time. Chasing a dream through the centuries, he bounds from Elizabethan England amd imperial Turkey to the modern world.
Will he find happiness with the exotic Russian Princess Sasha? Or is the dashing explorer Shelmerdine the ideal man? And what form will Orlando take on the journey - a nobleman, traveller, writer? Man or... woman?
About the Author
Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) is recognized as a major twentieth-century author, a great novelist and essayist and a key figure in literary history as a feminist and a modernist. Her first novel, The Voyage Out, appeared in 1915, and she then worked through the transitional Night and Day (1919) to the highly experimental and impressionistic Jacob's Room (1922). Her major novels include Mrs Dalloway (1925), the historical fantasy Orlando (1928), written for Vita Sackville-West, the extraordinarily poetic vision of The Waves (1931), the family saga of The Years (1937), and Between the Acts (1941).
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First Sentence
He - for there could be no doubt of his sex, though the fashion of the time did something to disguise it - was in the act of slicing at the head of a Moor1 which swung from the rafters. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
He - for there could be no doubt of his sex, though the fashion of the time did something to disguise it - was in the act of slicing at the head of a Moor1 which swung from the rafters. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
52 of 56 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.
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
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!!)
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This novel is a wonderful, clever piece of writing by virginia woolf. The titular characters' life spans a number of centuries, transforming from male into female at one point and so able to see the world from a different gender perspective. Its both a charming and disarming way of reflecting on how men and women behave towards each other. Orlando as a female realises it is for her 'to refuse and then to yield' in the romantic encounters - as opposed to the male 'pursue and conquer' approach that Orlando had known as a male. Its a unique take on a well known situation and all wrapped up in such a lyrical way with words, descriptions and stream of consciousness that it is like someone reading you a fable on a cold winters day in the comfort of a wood panelled room complete with a blazing fire crackling in a fireplace.
Among the many insightful passages in this story, one that lingers describes the problematic nature of being witty in a social gathering. Reflecting on the many parties Orlando goes to (through the centuries) she realises there is only an illusion of witty conversation from the urbane erudite people who are members of this social scene, an illusion which keeps the notion of having fun well oiled until the evening when someone really is profoundly witty - and this tremendous moment provokes only silence and the break up of the whole social scene! I think about this often now when I watch QI - its great to watch on TV at a distance - but would that amount of wit bouncing around your home at a party actually be the end of any fun - I have a hunch that virginia woolf is right and that it would.
This is the first Woolf book I have read and its a great introduction; looking forward now to reading her other works.
Among the many insightful passages in this story, one that lingers describes the problematic nature of being witty in a social gathering. Reflecting on the many parties Orlando goes to (through the centuries) she realises there is only an illusion of witty conversation from the urbane erudite people who are members of this social scene, an illusion which keeps the notion of having fun well oiled until the evening when someone really is profoundly witty - and this tremendous moment provokes only silence and the break up of the whole social scene! I think about this often now when I watch QI - its great to watch on TV at a distance - but would that amount of wit bouncing around your home at a party actually be the end of any fun - I have a hunch that virginia woolf is right and that it would.
This is the first Woolf book I have read and its a great introduction; looking forward now to reading her other works.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Loved my first Woolf novel!
Virginia Woolf is one of those authors who I've always felt slightly intimidated by but after finally reading one of her books I'm pleased to say I'm no longer afraid of her. Read more
Published 11 months ago by H. Skinner
I shall dream wild dreams
No lover in the world ever wrote a valentine more exquisite than Virginia Woolf's tribute to her lover Vita Sackville-West. Read more
Published 13 months ago by E. A Solinas
Orlando by Virginia Woolf
Quickly delivered in very good condition. It may be just me - but the old fashioned wording throughtout made this book (to me, I hasten to say) virtually unreadable. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Mr. N. B. Hodson
A hymn to being an author
A treatise on what it takes to be an author disguised as a tribute to a bi-sexual friend. Told as a fable covering 400 years of history this is beautifully written but without an... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Brownbear101
Brilliant of old, passé today
This novel has aged in many ways and remains the testimony of an author and a period. To imagine a character who could survive Elizabeth I up to modern times is at least bizarre. Read more
Published on 14 Mar 2010 by Jacques COULARDEAU
Gender bender
Orlando is a beautifully written work of art which is amazingly post-modern for a novel written in 1928. Read more
Published on 2 Mar 2010 by Oracle
A funny fictional biography
I had to study this book in the first year of my degree. I am very glad of this, as I might not have encountered this amusing and original work of Woolf's otherwise. Read more
Published on 23 Jun 2008 by Nat
Milord! Milady!
This `roman à clés' is very original. The hero continues to live in different historical periods and undergoes a sex change. Read more
Published on 2 Jan 2008 by Luc REYNAERT
Without doubt the very worst book I have ever had the displeasure of...
I MUST be missing something. I am widely read, am in the middle of a degree in literature, and all of a sudden as part of my studies I have to read this mindless drivel. Read more
Published on 5 Sep 2007 by Mr. A. Gale
Messy and sprawling
'Orlando' is a sprawling fantasy, in which the title character survives for 400 years, during which time he is transformed from a man to a woman. Read more
Published on 14 Oct 2005 by Depressaholic
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