Orlando - Penguin Clothbound Classics (Hardback)
Virginia Woolf (author), Sandra Gilbert (author of introduction)Published: 27/10/2016
Woolf’s fantastical, magnetic tale of love and androgyny is a masterpiece of boundless imagination. Charting the path of Orlando, a youth in the Elizabethan court who transmigrates into different – female and male – bodies while retaining the same personality and flair, Woolf’s narrative spans centuries and permeates all echelons of society as well as all corners of the human heart.
A gorgeous clothbound edition of Woolf's fantastical and enchanting novel, designed by the acclaimed Coralie-Bickford Smith.
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 and 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?
A wry commentary on gender and history, Orlando is also, in Woolf's own words, a light-hearted 'writer's holiday' which delights in ambiguity and capriciousness. This clothbound Penguin edition is edited by Brenda Lyons with an introduction and notes by Sandra M. Gilbert.
'I read this book and believed it was a hallucinogenic, interactive biography of my own life and future'
Tilda Swinton
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 9780241284643
Number of pages: 336
Weight: 452 g
Dimensions: 204 x 138 x 32 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
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“A hilarious faux-biography of gender swapping”
Orlando was my 5th read Virginia Woolf book, but I personally think it would be a great option for a first-Woolf given its relatively straight forward narrative structure and wonderful humour.
Orlando is a very...
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“If you've not read Virginia Woolf then start here!”
Queen Elizabeth I tells Orlando never to grow old. After such a magical experience of meeting this powerful woman, Orlando decides to stay young. He then sails through the ages as a man in love, a lord, a poet and... More
“Contorted Prose”
Orlando was written in 1928 but the contorted style of prose makes it feel 18th century. Actually Dracula is better from a prose style point of view. Anyway, I loved the fairytale quality of the story but think... More
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