"Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself." So begins Virginia Woolf's beloved
fourth novel. First published in 1925 Mrs. Dalloway has long been considered Woolf's
masterpiece. A pivotal work of literary modernism its simple plot-centred on an upper-class
Londoner preparing to give a party-is complicated by Woolf's satire of the English social
system. For decades Woolf's rapturous style and vision of individual consciousness have
challenged and inspired readers novelists and scholars alike. In this annotated volume based
on the original British edition acclaimed essayist and Oxford don Merve Emre mines Woolf's
diaries and notes on writing to take us into the making of Mrs. Dalloway revealing the
novel's artistry and astonishing originality. Alongside her generous commentary Emre offers
hundreds of illustrations and little-seen photographs from Woolf's life. The result is not only
an essential volume for students and Woolf devotees but an incomparable gift to all lovers of
literature.
