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Orlando (Vintage Classics Woolf Series)
Orlando (Vintage Classics Woolf Series)
Jan 2, 2026 10:53 PM

Author:Virginia Woolf

Orlando (Vintage Classics Woolf Series)

Virginia Woolf's most unusual and fantastic creation, a funny, exuberant tale that examines the very nature of sexuality.

**One of the BBC's 100 Novels That Shaped Our World**

As his tale begins, Orlando is a passionate young nobleman whose days are spent in rowdy revelry, filled with the colourful delights of Queen Elizabeth's court. By the close, he will have transformed into a modern, thirty-six-year-old woman and three centuries will have passed. Orlando will not only witness the making of history from its edge, but will find that his unique position as a woman who knows what it is to be a man will give him insight into matters of the heart.

WITH INTRODUCTIONS BY PETER ACKROYD AND MARGARET REYNOLDS

Reviews

A literary colossus, whose ability to inspire, astonish and enrage his readers is undiminished'

—— Washington Post

There is a clarity, almost a ruthlessness, to his work, which makes the experience of reading any of his books a bracing, wild ride... He is the last of the giants

—— The Times

Roth...knows no limits, which is part of the fun of reading him

—— New Stateman

While the other big beasts of his literary generation lost it one by one, Roth has enjoyed a flowering of late form barely seen since Yeats.

—— Literary Review

Roth is no longer a novelist of comic exuberance, but of thoughtful meditation about life and increasingly death; he is our surviving laureate of lateness. His new work will not detain you long, but it will linger

—— Telegraph

The great man of American literature still flashes with brilliance

—— Sunday Express

His most savage and unrelenting work yet... (Roth) has lost neither his voice nor his power to shock

—— Sunday Herald

Roth's late prodigious burst of creativity continues

—— Metro

Slim, fast-moving, sometimes funny but mostly bleak read...original and unsettling

—— The Times

Adds to his reputation as one of American literature's greats

—— The Times

A wonderfully risky project...an ambitious, multi-layered creation...an energising and uplifting story

—— The Daily Telegraph

A moving exploration of the intricacies of the imagination, a sly teasing-out of a host of big ideas and small revelations, all hovering around a timeless quandary: how to observe, how to be

—— The New York Times

I wonder: How does she manage to so wonderfully weave in and out of time, to layer time, while creating something that feels like it was written this morning after she read today's newspaper?

—— PBS News Hour

Publisher's description. Autumn 2016: the UK is in pieces, divided by a historic once-in-a-generation summer. Love is won, love is lost. The seasons roll round as ever. From the imagination of the peerless Ali Smith comes a shape-shifting, light-footed, time-travelling novel. This is a story about right now, this minute; about ageing and time and love and stories themselves. Here comes Autumn.

—— Penguin

Transcendental writing about art, death, political lies, trees and all the dimensions of love

—— Deborah Levy

Unbearably moving, shrewd and dreamy, playful, strange [and] soulful...[An] assessment of what it means to be alive...Ali Smith has a beautiful mind and where her mind goes, you want to follow...I am struck by, and stuck on, Autumn.

—— New York Times

Fantastic writing, big ideas and generosity of spirit

—— Cressida Connolly

The first serious Brexit novel

—— Financial Times

She is, of course, Scotland's Nobel laureate-in-waiting

—— Observer

Autumn is a beautiful, poignant symphony of memories, dreams and transient realities

—— The Guardian

It's all great fun, full of wit and invention and incident… And Hag-Seed is very funny, very often. The scenes where Felix's hard-chaw prisoners insult each other strictly through Shakespearean language are especially enjoyable.

—— Darragh McManus , Irish Independent

Hag-Seed is funny and poignant, and offers much to amuse and delight.

—— Anne Sexton , Hot Press

Great fun, full of wit and invention and incident

—— Irish Independent

Inspired and witty

—— Woman & Home

Genuinely moving ... The tender way in which Atwood handles [Felix's] story really gives Hag-Seed its power

—— Samantha Ellis , Literary Review

Atwood on mischievous form

—— Red

Witty and clever

—— Good Housekeeping

Stella Loves: Taking on a re-write of Shakespeare's The Tempest is a tall order. But Margaret Atwood is well up to the task with her new novel Hag-Seed

—— Stella Magazine

Blows layers of dust off the play while asking clever questions about the relationship between power, delusion and creativity

—— Metro

A delight... not only an unputdownable tale of revenge, it is also a masterclass in how to teach Shakespeare to those who think they won't like it

—— Alice O'Keefe , Bookseller

Atwood’s canny remix offers multiple pleasures: seeing the inmates’ takes on their characters, watching Felix make use of the limited resources the prison affords (legal and less so), and marveling at the ways she changes, updates, and parallels the play’s magic, grief, vengeance, and showmanship

—— Publishers Weekly

So inventive, heartfelt, and swiftly rendered... Highly recommended.

—— Library Journal

Fellow fans, I am thrilled to report: Atwood is just as brilliant as ever. I would suggest scheduling some cozy armchair time with her book in the weeks to come

—— Yahoo, Top Reads this Autumn

The new novels promise an intriguing opportunity to revisit the tales we know so well and see them in a new light.

—— The Culture Trip

Atwood joins the roll call of literary stars retelling Shakespeare's plays... masterful... My favourite retelling so far

—— Bookseller

An ingenious construction.

—— Metro , Claire Allfree

She merely understands that fiction can be a powerful weapon of
persuasion… A woman with inexhaustible talents

—— Sara Keating , Irish Times

[A] triumphant reworking of The Tempest.

—— Sunday Times

Atwood’s take on The Tempest is intense and extravagant… Atwood beautifully reimagine Shakespeare’s The Tempest… She writes with gusto and brilliance.

—— UK Press Syndication

Hag-Seed enchants, endears and empowers. Seeing The Tempest through the cast of characters Atwood creates and the author's own overarching narrative gives the original play new life.

—— Morning Star

Atwood beautifully reimagines Shakespeare's The Tempest as Felix's personal and professional stories so aptly mirror the plot of the mystical and magical play. She writes with gusto and brilliance, making her the dream author to be part of the Shakespeare series.

—— Irish News

The most successful 'retelling' of Shakespeare yet in Hogarth's anniversary series [...] us a thrilling revenge drama ... [It] rattles along with Atwood nimbly reworking the classic

—— Donal O'Donoghue , RTE

[Atwood's] unique take on vengeance, enchantment and second chances is sure to delight old and new fans alike

—— Image Magazine

A novel of great humour and creativity

—— Socialist Review

A fitting tribute to a play built on magic and illusion. It’s a celebration of theatre, yes, but just as much a celebration of learning and teaching. Atwood’s spellbinding adaptation is a testament to Shakespeare’s lasting relevance.

—— Grace Beard , Culture Trip

Atwood’s novel reflects the play’s multifaceted nature… A fun and imaginative novel.

—— Brad Davies , i, Book of the Year

Atwood unrolls a dazzling remake of The Tempest… Ebullient comedy and keen perceptiveness combine in a bravura fictional tribute to Shakespeare.

—— Peter Kemp , Sunday Times, Book of the Year

A passionately original, heady, often musical modern remix.

—— A.M. Holmes , Observer, Book of the Year

I’d love to wake up on Christmas morning with Margaret Atwood’s Hag-Seed nestled in my stocking.

—— Rohan Silva , Observer, Book of the Year

[A] highlight.

—— Justine Jordan , Guardian, Book of the Year

[Hag-Seed is] particularly clever and witty, with layer upon layer of correspondences with the original text waiting to be teased out by readers.

—— Suzi Feay , Tablet

What’s impressive here is not just 77-year-old Atwood’s undimmed brilliance but the sheer effort she puts into the project… An absorbing read but also an erudite examination and explanation of the play’s themes. Not to be missed.

—— John Harding , Daily Mail, Book of the Year

[It] would make an amazing Christmas present.

—— Starburst, Book of the Year

Atwood brings forth a cast of characters that comfortably inhabit their own world but often burst out of the page in song and rhyme. It is a playful piece of writing, tempered by grief and revenge and the bitterness that can consume, but ultimately this is a book full of the joys of redemption and hope. Wonderful.

—— Carina Buckley , Times Higher Education

Cleverly done… Very complex, like a set of Russian dolls. But it works amazingly well.

—— William Leith , Evening Standard

Delightfully crazy.

—— Daily Telegraph

Rich and inventive… The play-within-a-play tripe is audaciously Shakespearean, and so is Atwood’s free-ranging imagination and witty way with language.

—— Simon Shaw , Mail on Sunday

Masterful… Clever, funny and tender

—— Woman & Home

She casts The Tempest adrift in a prison and makes a magisterial case for the timeless, classless relevance of Shakespeare’s plays.

—— Jim Crace , New Statesman

I am in awe of Atwood

—— AM Homes , Guardian

A real must read

—— Elizabeth Mansfield , Yorkshire Post
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