Mrs. Dalloway: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

Sydney M. WilliamsMrs. Dalloway, Virginia WoolfFebruary 12, 2022“She felt very young; at the same time unspeakably aged.She sliced like a knife through everything; at the same time was outside, looking on.”Mrs. Dalloway, 1925Virginia Woolf (1882-1941)In this short novel – 166 pages in my edition – Virginia Woolf provided vignettes and flashbacks, in kaleidoscopic fashion, to tell the story of one day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway: “She was not old yet. She had just broken into her fifty-second year.” We learn that she is preparing for a party that evening. The novel’s opening sentence – “Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself” – is almost as well-known as that of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice – “It is a truth universally acknowledged…”The story takes place on a June day in London, in 1923. The Great War has been over for five years, except for those who suffered. A reminder of its devastation is Septimus Warren Smith and his Italian wife Rezia: “he had gone to France to save England.” Now home, his mood – a consequence of “shell shock” – swings from mourning his friend Evans, who was killed in Italy a few days before the Armistice, to febrile joy. His suicide serves as contrast to the gala of Mrs. Dalloway’s party.Mrs. Dalloway’s home was near Westminster Bridge where she lived with her MP husband Richard and seventeen-year-old daughter. Richard: “…he liked continuity, and the sense of handing on the traditions of the past.” Elizabeth: “…charming to look at,” but “she never seemed excited.” We hear Clarissa reminisce, as she crosses Green Park to Piccadilly, walks past Hatchards to Mulberry’s florist on Bond Street. It is the passage of time – punctuated by Big Ben’s chimes – that dominate the story. Earlier, Clarissa received Peter Walsh, a beau from her youth who had spent the intervening years in India. She invites him to her party. Separately, an old friend Sally Seaton, now Lady Rosseter comes by and is also invited to the party. These visits and the memories they evoke provide flashbacks to the turn of the Century when as young people they gathered at Clarissa’s family’s country home, Bourton, for parties and games.The party includes old friends and Parliamentary acquaintances of Richard, including the Prime Minister: “He looked so ordinary. You might have stood behind him and bought biscuits…” Peter Walsh observes that no one looked at him, yet they “felt to the marrow…this symbol of what they all stood for, English society.” Others at the party are described, in Virginia Woolf’s inimical voice: Sir Harry, “…who had produced more bad pictures than any other two Academicians in the whole of St. John’s Wood.” Professor Brierly, “…his innocence blent with snobbery.” Lord Gayton, “Ponies mouths quivered at the end of his reins.” Clarissa, according to Richard, was criticized unfairly for her parties, though he thought they were foolish, as excitement was bad for her heart. Her childhood friends thought she enjoyed having famous people about. But they were wrong; her parties were celebrations of life: “What she liked was simply life. ‘That’s what I do it for,’ she said, speaking aloud, to life.”This is a short novel, providing the reader vivid images and witty commentary on an age and time gone by.

Virginia Wolf takes you on a voyage through the consciousness of several people as they walk about London, and Clarissa prepares for her party. It took me a moment to catch the rhythm because I was distracted by the beauty of the language and imagery.

I love this glimpse of old life in London after WWII through the eyes of a woman whose dreams, fears, joy, vulnerability, insecurity, and confidence are ageless things.The longing for a past life, the acceptance that life goes on, is universal.Woolf's stream-of-consciousness writing style keeps me coming back to this novel. Both she and Wharton greatly influenced my writing style. I've always believed magic happens in the streams of thought when you must write them down quickly before they vanish forever. Woolf's novel captures a woman with countless thoughts that spill onto the page, revealing poetry and truth in every word page.I give this one five stars because of the unique writing style and the fact that it stays with you long after you finish it.

An amazing tour-de-force, a day in the life of upper-class, post-WWI English woman, with other characters seamlessly woven in. I confess, I had never read Woolf, but this book is not only engaging but also one to study for craft.

A good, quick read, at least for me it was. A story of love lost, of growing old, memories and much more.

For mass market paperbacks these quality Deluxe Editions are worth every penny. Deckle fore edge papers for easy thumbing and reference. Deckle edge is the reference to the uneven fore edge created by the paper mold. This usually indicates a higher quality of paper. This edition is a Quality Trade Paperback and I encourage people to read and collect all the Penguin Classic Deluxe Editions.

Hice devolución del libro por ser muy mala la presentación, era para un regalo . Y era una presentación de lujo 👎🏻