Book Club: Let's Talk About 'Mrs. Dalloway" at 100 episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 27, 2025 · 42 MIN

Book Club: Let's Talk About 'Mrs. Dalloway" at 100

from The Book Review · host The New York Times

“Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself”: So reads one of the great opening lines in British literature, the first sentence of Virginia Woolf’s classic 1925 novel, “Mrs. Dalloway.”The book tracks one day in the life of an English woman, Clarissa Dalloway, living in post-World War I London, as she prepares for, and then hosts, a party. That’s pretty much it, as far as the plot goes. But within that single day, whole worlds unfold, as Woolf captures the expansiveness of human experience through Clarissa’s roving thoughts. On this week’s episode, Book Club host MJ Franklin discusses it with his colleagues Joumana Khatib and Laura Thompson.Other books mentioned in this episode:“The Passion According to G.H.,” by Clarice Lispector“A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing,” by Eimear McBride“The Lesser Bohemians,” by Eimear McBride“To the Lighthouse,” by Virginia Woolf“Orlando,” by Virginia Woolf“A Room of One’s Own,” by Virginia Woolf“The Hours,” by Michael Cunningham“Headshot,” by Rita Bullwinkel“Tilt,” by Emma Pattee Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jun 27, 2025

Embed this episode

“Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself”: So reads one of the great opening lines in British literature, the first sentence of Virginia Woolf’s classic 1925 novel, “Mrs. Dalloway.” The book tracks one day in the life of an English woman, Clarissa Dalloway, living in post-World War I London, as she prepares for, and then hosts, a party. That’s pretty much it, as far as the plot goes. But within that single day, whole worlds unfold, as Woolf captures the expansiveness of human experience through Clarissa’s roving thoughts. On this week’s episode, Book Club host MJ Franklin discusses it with his colleagues Joumana Khatib and Laura Thompson.

Distinct summary based on available episode metadata or transcript content.

NOW PLAYING

Book Club: Let's Talk About 'Mrs. Dalloway" at 100

0:00 42:38

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of The Book Review?

This episode is 42 minutes long.

When was this The Book Review episode published?

This episode was published on June 27, 2025.

Can I download this The Book Review episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!