Cover of Mrs. Dalloway
Gay FictionLesbian & Sapphic Fiction

Mrs. Dalloway

by

  • 1925 first published
  • 224 pages
  • ★ 3.7 (52 ratings)
  • 477 editions
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Mrs. Dalloway is a 1925 gay fiction and sapphic fiction novel by Virginia Woolf. The story is set in London, England and England, in June. Readers will find themes of married women, Regret, middle-aged women and first loves.

Open Library readers give it an average of 3.7 out of 5 from 52 ratings, and 543 more have it on their want-to-read list. It has been published in 477 editions across 19 languages.

It runs to roughly 224 pages — 4–5 hours of reading at an average pace.

About Mrs. Dalloway

Virginia Woolf’s novel chronicles a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a politician’s wife in 1920s London, as she prepares to host a party that evening. The narrative follows Clarissa’s thoughts (and sometimes those of people she meets) as she goes about her errands, and events in the day remind her of her youth and friendships from the past. As the book progresses characters from the past emerge, igniting old feelings and making Clarissa question the life she has created for herself. *Mrs. Dalloway* became the inspiration for Michael Cunningham’s 1998 novel *The Hours*.
Description from Open Library

Opening line

“MRS DALLOWAY said she would buy the flowers herself.”

Themes, setting & tropes

Genres

Setting

Era

Subjects

  • Married women
  • Married women in fiction
  • Regret
  • Suicide victims in fiction
  • Middle-aged women
  • First loves
  • Parties in fiction
  • Suicide victims
  • First loves in fiction
  • Triangles, Interpersonal relations
  • Parties
  • Regret in fiction
  • Middle-aged women in fiction
  • Classic Literature
  • Suicide
  • Psychological fiction

Quick answers

Who wrote Mrs. Dalloway?

Mrs. Dalloway was written by Virginia Woolf and first published in 1925.

What genre is Mrs. Dalloway?

It is usually shelved as Gay Fiction and Lesbian & Sapphic Fiction.

How long is Mrs. Dalloway?

The median edition has 224 pages, about 4–5 hours of reading at 250 words per minute.

What books are similar to Mrs. Dalloway?

Readers who like it often enjoy The Beetle. A Mystery, Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith.

More by Virginia Woolf

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