If you’ll be in England this month, you have the opportunity to travel to Charleston for a special event with Mark Hussey and his new book, Mrs. Dalloway: Biography of a Novel.
The details
What: Mrs Dalloway: Biography of a Novel When: Wednesday 12 November, 7 p.m.
Celebrate the centenary of the publication of Virginia Woolf’s landmark novel Mrs Dalloway, with leading author and academic Mark Hussey as he introduces his new book, Mrs Dalloway: Biography of a Novel.
Discover the story behind the story: follow the remarkable ‘life’ of Mrs Dalloway, from its first stirrings in Woolf’s diaries, through her struggles to shape its form, to the novel’s critical reception and lasting legacy. Discover the hidden history of the novel that redefined modern literature.
Harchards new edition of Mrs. Dalloway filled one of the shop’s windows.
Dalloway Day celebrations are taking place across the globe this month, as Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway marks its centenary. Today I have a report from Dalloway Day in London, held June 28 at one of my favorite London bookstores, Hatchards in Piccadilly.
The event, held in collaboration with the Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain, featured two panels. The first was led by Maggie Humm and featured Maggie Gee, author of Virginia Woolf in Manhattan and Michelle de Kretser, author of Theory and Practice.
The second included Vara Neverow, editor of the Virginia Woolf Miscellany, interviewing Mark Hussey about his new book, Mrs Dalloway: Biography of a Novel. Sarah Hall facilitated the question and answer period.
A book signing was then followed by champagne, sweets, and live music as Mrs. Dalloway’s Party got into full swing.
The three books by the authors on the first panel.
Michelle de Kretser reads a passage from her new novel while Maggie Humm looks on.
Standing to project Virginia’s voice, Maggie Gee reads from her novel.
Maggie Gee and Michelle de Kretzer sign their books.
Vara Neverow, Mark Hussey and Sarah Hall are ready for their panel at Hatchards.
It was a sell-out crowd for the Dalloway Day event at Hatchards.
Live music from the 1930s and ‘40s added to the ambience.
Guests at Mrs. Dalloway’s party came from near and far — London, Boston, Antwerp, Italy, Germany, and more.
Those of us who live in the USA and are anxious to get our hands on a copy of Mark Hussey’s new Mrs Dalloway: Biography of a Novel, can now order it at from Blackwell’s in London — at the discounted price of $22.54, which includes shipping.
Hussey’s book, published by Manchester University Press, is the first in a new series from the press called “Biography of a novel.” It offers a compelling account of Virginia Woolf’s masterpiece and marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Mrs. Dalloway.
Background on the novel
Woolf’s fourth novel, set on a single day in the middle of June in 1923, elicited a variety of responses after its publication.
As Hussey explains in Virginia Woolf A to Z (1995), the novel has not only held the attention of critics over the years, but “with To the Lighthouse, has probably generated more commentary than any other of Woolf’s fictions” (175).
Lauded for its use of interior monologue, as well as its poetic language, Mrs. Dalloway (1925) is a reader favorite. It is certainly one I have picked up and read at various stages of my life during the last 50 years, always finding some new insight into Clarissa, along with some new connections between Clarissa’s thoughts and life and my own.
“Mrs Dalloway: Biography of a novel provides readers with a wealth of information about the novel’s writing, publication and reception. It follows Woolf’s process from the first stirrings in her diary through her struggles to create what was quickly recognised as a major advance in prose fiction. It then traces the novel’s remarkable legacy to the present day,” according to Blackwell’s website.
Hussey will speak about his new book in person at 7 p.m. on July 17 at the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Conn., USA. Omar Acevedo, the museum’s literary programs coordinator, will moderate. Get more details and register on the museum’s website.
The Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus at Pace University in New York is also the founding editor of Woolf Studies Annual. As the general editor of the Harcourt Annotated Edition of the Works of Virginia Woolf, he edited To the Lighthouse. His recent publications include Clive Bell and the Making of Modernism (2022).
This is a screenshot from Mark Hussey’s video on Instagram that shows him happily unpacking the first copies of his new book.
Today, May 14, marks the centenary of Virginia Woolf’s celebrated 1925 novel Mrs. Dalloway, with 1,500 copies sold within a month of its publication.
A reader favorite
Woolf’s fourth novel, set on a single day in the middle of June in 1923, elicited a variety of responses after its publication.
As Mark Hussey explains in Virginia Woolf A to Z (1995), the novel has not only held the attention of critics over the years, but “with To the Lighthouse, has probably generated more commentary than any other of Wolf’s fictions” (175).
The novel, lauded for its use of interior monologue, as well as its poetic language, is a reader favorite. It is certainly one I have picked up and read at various stages of my life during the last 50 years, always finding some new insight into Clarissa, along with some new connections between Clarissa’s thoughts and life and my own.
Links to follow in celebration of the centenary
Here are some links to articles and events noting this milestone, thanks to Vara Neverow, professor of English at Connecticut State University and editor of the Virginia Woolf Miscellany.
Woolfians near Manhattan have an advantage tomorrow. They can attend a book launch celebrating the Paris Press 10th anniversary edition of Virginia Woolf’s On Being Ill that includes Notes from Sick Rooms by her mother, Julia Stephen.
It marks the first book publication of Woolf and her mother.
The event will feature readings by Rita Charon (physician and Director of the Program in Narrative Medicine), Mark Hussey (Pace University and acclaimed Virginia Woolf scholar), Judith Kelman (Director of Visible Ink Writing Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering), and Elizabeth Lorde-Rollins (physician and poet).
Held at Case Lounge, JG Hall, Columbia Law School, the event is free and open to the public.
