Classics Book Club of NY

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Virginia Woolf.  Mrs. Dalloway (1925)

"I came across a book called "Mrs. Dalloway's Party. A short-story sequence".  It is a slim volume available on Amazon and only costs about $7 new. Mrs. Dalloway's Party (Amazon link) It is composed of seven short stories by Virginia Woolf relating to Mrs. Dalloway and the characters in the novel.  The first story was the first draft of Chapter One of the novel, but was ultimately not used.  It is fascinating to compare the differences in approach and language with the actual beginning of the book.  Some of these stories appeared in magazines and collections following the publication of Mrs. Dalloway, and contrary to Virginia Woolf's usual habit, where she would completely finish with characters and story once a novel was finished (because she very often went into deep depressions after writing he novels), in this case, she continued to think about the characters. Here is one Amazon reader's blurb about the book:" 

While best known for her novels, Virginia Woolf also wrote essays and short stories. This is a short collection of seven stories from the period 1922 to 1927, around the publication of Mrs. Dalloway. Some of the stories had previously been published elsewhere, but this is the first publication for two of them. "Like the novel, these short stories surround the party; but unlike the novel, most of these stories focus on the guests at the party. The first of these relates an expedition of Clarissa Dalloway's to buy gloves, and is full of all the interior monologue one might expect. The rest are rather character sketches and encounters among Mrs. Dalloway's guests, and absolutely leave one satisfied with a picture of each character and encounter. If you enjoyed Mrs. Dalloway, and you can read short stories, you absolutely will enjoy this book.

"By the way, what exactly is English cuisine? Good luck in picking a restaurant.  Blood pudding anyone?"  -Andy

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Last updated: May 27, 2003.