Orlando

Author: (English) Virginia Woolf
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2003-04-01
Features: Orlando's story begins in the sixteenth-century Elizabethan era and ends in the "present" of 1928, when Woolf put down her pen, spanning four hundred years. Orlando starts as an innocent nobleman and enters the court due to the favor of Queen Elizabeth. After James I ascends the throne, a great frost hits, and Orlando meets a Russian princess, falling in love. The result is both a broken heart and a loss of favor, leading him to retreat to a large country estate. From a young age, Orlando is fascinated by literature and poetry, with the figure of Shakespeare leaving an indelible mark on him. He manages to meet a somewhat famous poet, Greene, but is tricked again. Adding to his woes, he cannot tolerate the harassment of the Romanian princess and volunteers to be sent to Turkey.