 Cover of the 1928 edition | |
| Author | Virginia Woolf |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Hogarth Press |
Publication date | 11 October 1928 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Hardback |
| Pages | 299 |
| OCLC | 297407 |
| Text | Orlando: A Biography online |
Orlando: A Biography is a novel by Virginia Woolf, first published on 11 October 1928, inspired by the tumultuous family history of the aristocratic poet and novelist Vita Sackville-West, Woolf's lover and close friend. It is arguably one of her most popular novels, a history of English literature in satiric form. The book describes the adventures of a poet who changes sex from man to woman and lives for centuries, meeting the key figures of English literary history. Considered a feminist classic, the book has been written about extensively by scholars of women's writing and gender and transgender studies.
The novel has been adapted a number of times. In 1981, Ulrike Ottinger adapted it for her film Freak Orlando, with Magdalena Montezuma in the title role. In 1989, director Robert Wilson and writer Darryl Pinckney[1] collaborated on a single-actor theatrical production.[2] This had its British premiere at the Edinburgh Festival in 1996, with Miranda Richardson playing the title role;[3][4] Isabelle Huppert performed in the version in French, which opened at the Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne in Lausanne (Switzerland) in 1993.[5] A film adaptation by Sally Potter, simply titled Orlando, was released in 1992, starring Tilda Swinton in the title role. A stage adaption by Sarah Ruhl premiered in New York City in 2010, with another version premiering at the Garrick Theatre, London in 2022 starring Emma Corrin and directed by Michael Grandage. The novel has also been adapted into operatic works.
The novel entered the public domain in the United States in 2024.[6]
- ^ "Darryl Pinckney | United Agents". www.unitedagents.co.uk. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^ "Maria Nadotti on Robert Wilson's Orlando". Artforum. 8 February 1990. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^ "He's not afraid of Virginia Woolf". The Telegraph. 16 August 1996. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 26 February 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^ Riding, Alan (19 August 1996). "Theater Seizes Days or Nights At Edinburgh". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^ Greetham, David C. (1997). The Margins of the Text. University of Michigan Press. p. 79. ISBN 0-472-10667-8.
- ^ "Celebrating the Public Domain: Publications from 1928, Newly Opened in HathiTrust". UC HathiTrust Support.