Orlando (Annotated): A Biography

As this centuries-spanning tale begins, Orlando is a passionate sixteen-year-old nobleman whose days are spent in rowdy revelry, filled with the colorful delights of Queen Elizabeth I’s court. By the close, three centuries have passed, and he will have transformed into a thirty-six-year-old woman in the year 1928. Orlando’s journey is also an internal one—he is an impulsive poet who learns patience in matters of the heart, and a woman who knows what it is to be a man.

Virginia Woolf’s most unusual creation, this classic of feminist literature is a fantastical mock biography—a funny, exuberant romp through history that examines the true nature of love and gender identity.