Orlando, Virginia Woolf's sixth major novel, is a fantastic historical biography, which spans almost 400 years in the lifetime of its protagonist. The novel was conceived as a "writer's holiday" from more structured and demanding novels. Woolf allowed neither time nor gender to constrain her writing. The protagonist, Orlando, ages only thirty-six years and changes gender from man to woman. This pseudo-biography satirizes more traditional Victorian biographies that emphasize facts and truth in their subjects' lives. Although Orlando may have been intended to be a satire or a holiday, it touches on important issues of gender, self-knowledge, and truth with Virginia Woolf's signature poetic style.
On January 25, 1882, Virginia Stephen was born to Leslie and Julia Duckworth Stephen. Her father, Leslie, a parson turned agnostic, was a man of letters who served as editor of Cornhill Magazine and later began compiling the Dictionary of National Biography, for which he is best known. Virginia's parents reinforced traditional stereotypes of men and women. Her father was stern and detached; her mother was more emotional and fond of poetry. Virginia had many brothers and sisters, only a few of whom she was close to. In 1895, after the death of Virginia's mother, the family moved to a home in Bloomsbury, London. Here, Virginia became the family writer. Virginia coped with mental breakdowns throughout her life, attempting suicide twice before 1904. Once in Bloomsbury, Virginia's writing career began to take off. With some of her brother's university friends, Virginia formed the Bloomsbury group, a group of young people who worked in different fields, but shared similar interests and had the same goal of rejecting conventional behavior. This group, which so highly valued independent thought, appreciated Virginia's talents.
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