Mrs. Dalloway is a novel by Virginia Woolf published on 14 May 1925.[1][2] It details a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a fictional upper-class woman in post-First World War England. It is one of Woolf's best-known novels.
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,[2] and she completed the manuscript in late autumn 1924.[3]
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.[4]
On January 1, 2021, Mrs. Dalloway entered the public domain in the United States.[5]
