Mrs. Dalloway

Mrs. Dalloway

• Genre: Fiction; Modernist novel
• Originally Published: 1925
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 950L; college/adult
• Structure/Length: Stream-of-consciousness narrative; approx. 224 pages; approx. 7 hours, 5 minutes on audiobook
• Protagonist/Central Conflict: The novel revolves around Clarissa Dalloway, an upper-class Englishwoman, as she prepares for a party she is hosting in London. The central conflict is not one of external events but rather the internal struggles and introspections of the characters as they grapple with the complexities of their lives, memories, and societal expectations. The story takes place over the course of a single day in post-World War I London and explores themes of identity, mental health, and the passage of time.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Discussions of mental health; references to societal norms and constraints; instances of PTSD and related wartime triggers; suicide

Virginia Woolf, Author

• Bio: Born 1882; died 1941; English writer and one of the foremost figures of the Modernist literary movement; known for her innovative narrative techniques, including the use of stream of consciousness; pioneered a new style of fiction that delved deeply into the inner lives of her characters; co-founded the Bloomsbury Group, an influential circle of intellectuals and artists; left a lasting impact on 20th-century literature.
• Other Works: To the Lighthouse (1927); Orlando (1928); A Room of One's Own (1929); The Waves (1931); The Years (1937); Between the Acts (1941)