Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf

Step into the shimmering, genre-bending world of Virginia Woolf with a lively discussion of Orlando: A Biography, one of her most playful and boundary-pushing novels.

This book club meeting is perfect for both Woolf newcomers and devoted fans. Often called her most approachable work, Orlando still carries all the richness, wit, and depth that made Woolf a pillar of modernist literature and feminist thought.

Across roughly 300 pages and more than 300 years of fictional history, you’ll follow Orlando—a character who begins life as a young man in the court of Elizabeth I and later transforms into a woman—moving through centuries of shifting culture, fashion, and ideas about gender and identity. Woolf herself described the novel as the longest love letter ever written, and it brims with humor, romance, and sharp social commentary.

• Explore how Woolf uses stream of consciousness and non-linear narrative to play with time, memory, and selfhood.
• Discuss Orlando’s gender transformation and why the book is still central to conversations about gender, queerness, and feminism nearly a century after its publication.
• Dive into the lush, witty prose that rewards slow, attentive reading.
• Connect with other readers who enjoy big ideas, bold experiments in storytelling, and a good literary challenge.

While Orlando is considered one of Woolf’s more accessible works, it still asks you to read closely. This gathering is a chance to compare notes, untangle its time-bending structure, and share those “I finally got it!” moments with fellow book lovers.

Registration will keep you in the loop with email updates, but it isn’t required to attend—just bring your curiosity, your thoughts on the text, and your favorite questions about love, identity, and how one life can stretch across centuries.

If you’ve been meaning to try Virginia Woolf but weren’t sure where to start, this is a welcoming, guided way in. And if you already love her, here’s your excuse to revisit a classic that still feels daringly ahead of its time.