The Modern World: Ten Great Writers — Season 1, Episode 7: Virginia Woolf: Mrs. Dalloway

Episode synopsis

Virginia Woolf pushed the boundaries of the novel as a tool for psychological inquiry through her experimentation with subjective and relativistic perceptions of time and events. This program intercuts scenes from a compelling dramatization of Mrs. Dalloway with a portrayal of Virginia Woolf—played by actress Eileen Atkins—who, based on entries from her diary, explicates the story. Literary critic Hermione Lee addresses topics in the novel such as the significance of shared external events and the theme of emotional bankruptcy, both of which propel this drama of the mind.

About The Modern World: Ten Great Writers

This documentary series uses drama and commentary to shed light on the lives and works of Joseph Conrad, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, T. S. Eliot, Henrik Ibsen, James Joyce, Franz Kafka, Thomas Mann, Luigi Pirandello, Marcel Proust and Virginia Woolf.

More episodes from Season 1

• E1James Joyce: Ulysses
• E2Joseph Conrad: The Secret Agent
• E3Fyodor Dostoyevsky's 'Crime and Punishment'
• E4Marcel Proust: A la recherche du temps perdu
• E5Thomas Mann: The Magic Mountain
• E6Henrik Ibsen: The Master Playwright
• E8Luigi Pirandello: In Search of an Author
• E9T.S. Eliot: The Waste Land
• E10Franz Kafka: The Trial
• E11Ten Great Writers: The Seminar