Mrs. Dalloway

By: Virginia Woolf

Narrated by: Lucy Rayner

Considered to be one of Virginia Woolf's most popular novels, Mrs. Dalloway follows one high-society woman as she goes about her day planning a splendid party for her acquaintances. As she goes about her day, she ponders on the life she could be living had she not married the reliable Richard Dalloway and instead sought the enigmatic Peter Walsh. At one point, she muses on the fact that she had not the option to be with a close female friend of hers. The novel then takes a turn to follow Septimus Smith, First World War veteran plagued with deferred traumatic stress, through his day in the park. As each journey is laid out, the two individuals lead very different paths.

Included in Time's 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since the debut of Time, Mrs. Dalloway, even today, offers timely commentary on issues pertaining to feminism, queerness, mental illness, and existential issues.

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Magnificent.

This was my first exposure to Virginia Woolf and it strikes me as a landmark achievement in modern literature, on the same level as T.S. Eliot and James Joyce. My ability to savor Woolf’s prose was greatly enhanced by Lucy Raynor’s superb reading; it was perfect.