Orlando

Virginia Woolf's "Orlando" is celebrated as one of the most enchanting love letters in literature, humorously bringing to life the character of Orlando, who embodies Woolf’s intimate friend and lover, Vita Sackville-West. Over a span of three centuries, the narrative begins with Orlando, a youthful nobleman during the Elizabethan era, as he eagerly anticipates a visit from the Queen. The story captures Orlando's initial experiences with love amidst the icy grip of the Great Frost during the reign of James I. A transformative moment occurs halfway through the novel when Orlando, while serving as an ambassador in Constantinople, awakens to discover that he is now a woman. This shift allows Woolf to satirically explore the societal roles of women throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. As the tale concludes in 1928—a significant year marking the full suffrage for women—Orlando, now a wife and mother, stands on the cusp of a future rich with potential and opportunity for women. This Wordsworth Classics edition reintroduces Woolf’s original photographs and index, complemented by an introduction and annotations from Merry M. Pawlowski, a distinguished US scholar in Modernist and Woolf studies, whom Woolf's peer Rebecca West hailed as ‘a poetic masterpiece of the first rank.’