Orlando: A Graphic Novel Adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s Queer Classic

by Susanne Kuhlendahl (Adapter), Virginia Woolf, Anna Snaith (Foreword)

The graphic novel adaptation of Virginia Woolf's feminist classic, which tells the story of a passionate young nobleman traveling through time in the body of a woman.

Long considered Woolf's most accessible novel, Orlando lives through three extraordinary centuries as a woman, bounding from imperial Turkey to Tsarist Russia to Elizabethan England. It is an examination of gender, the passage of time and about love in an age of ambiguity and capriciousness.

Since its 1928 publication, Orlando has seen dozens of adaptation on the stage and screen. Susanne Kuhlendahl's graphic novel uses the original text as she tells Orlando's story in a fluid style as energetic and playful as the original.

With a foreword by Virginia Woolf scholar Anna Snaith, King's College London

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fiction, Classics

224 pages, Hardcover

Published March 3, 2026

Reviews

[Alwynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this far more than I actually did. Susanne Kuhlendahl's illustrations are fresh and vivid, and I loved her ability to create a sense of movement on the page. She's also clearly a Woolf fan. But I felt that Woolf's rather formal text, her intricate narrative, and Kuhlendahl's more immediate images were working against each other. I'm also not sure that the inset scenes of Woolf writing or reflecting on her novel enhanced Kuhlendahl's retelling. However, it did make me think it was time to reread Woolf's novel, a marvellous celebration of gender fluidity and a tender homage to her lover Vita Sackville-West.

Thanks to Edelweiss and publisher Helvetiq for an ARC

Rating: 2.5

[J Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Orlando is a graphic adaptation by Susanne Kuhlendahl of Virginia Woolf's classic and, to the extent any adaptation can work this one succeeds.

I hate to qualify my positive view but I feel like I need to, and I think I should explain what I mean. Any novel, but especially one that has so many themes all entwined, is difficult to adapt. A graphic adaptation, like a film adaptation, has to choose not only what nuanced details to leave out but which theme(s) to emphasize. Even short novels require hard decisions to be made, and they will rarely please everybody. Even a novel as short as Being There by Jerzy Kosinski required omissions that bothered some viewers. So to be overly critical because every nuance of a novel isn't included in a medium in which it would create an unwieldy result is unfair. What is fair, however, is pointing out which themes might have been given short shrift and which are emphasized. So while I qualified my praise it is a blanket qualification for any adaptation.

From the full title, Orlando: A Graphic Novel Adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Queer Classic, the reader can safely assume which of the main themes will definitely be emphasized. I thought Kuhlendahl did a fine job with that thread through the book, with both the style of the drawing and the use of color. What I also liked was that the ideas surrounding time, memory, and temporality were not erased. A reader who has studied or taught the Woolf novel would find where these ideas pop up, not to mention they really can't be completely overlooked in a "biography" that covers several centuries and a change from male to female.

I will touch on one theme that I think worked very well, that of authorship and writing. In Elizabethan times there simply were no avenues for women to write and be recognized for it, especially in the area of drama. Orlando, being a man, could share his writing. Having the sex change occur and having her be able to share her writing as a woman, which she wouldn't have been able to do if she had been a woman during the early periods, illustrates that obstacle that has always been in place. But to highlight this we see Virginia Woolf periodically telling us the story, which during those early periods illustrates the absence of woman writers of the period.

I would recommend this to readers who have enjoyed Woolf's novel or even Potter's film, just remember that there may be some scenes you particularly loved that may not be here. If you've never read the original but expect to at some point, I would suggest reading it first. Having the novel in mind while reading this adaptation will make everything a little more complete. That said, if you really don't foresee reading Woolf, then go ahead and read this, it is an enjoyable work.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Edelweiss.

[Kritikal Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a fan of retellings and homages to classic texts; I love it when a recent piece of literature is in conversation with an earlier, classic text. It is no surprise, then, that I was immediately drawn to this book.

First of all, it is a graphic adaptation, so let’s address the visual part: the illustrations are beautiful, sharp and complementary to the prose. An adaptation like this is a valiant effort, as there's always a risk of diluting the essence of the original text. But Kühnelandl’s remarkable illustrations manage to capture the layered nature of Woolf's original text. The use of colours in the palette was clever — particularly when we saw the plot reach an inflexion point.

As for the text, it felt very non-uniform in its tonal quality: it was very loyal to the source at some points, but simplified to bare bones at others. Perhaps not the smoothest transitions (it oscillates widely between loaded phrases and breezy ones), but overall a decent read and made me want to go back to the original Orlando.

I received an ARC from Edelweiss and publisher Helvetiq. Full review will be out on the release date.

[August Driussi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woolf's centennial queer classic is now in vivid watercolor! Orlando's passion for love and writing carries him from the 1500s over three centuries and across gender lines. On the other side, Orlando is fundamentally unchanged, furious about sexism, and unflinching in her pursuit of adventure. This nonbinary time-traveling Elizabethan noble can't be tamed! Woolf's vivid imagery is well-suited to a graphic novel adaptation. Watercolor personifications of truth, candor, and honesty brawling against modesty, purity, and chastity while the author writes really stuck in the mind.

I especially love the way Woolf writes about writing. Favorite quote: "Once the disease of reading has lain upon the system, it weakens it so that it falls an easy prey to the other scourge which dwells in the inkpot and festers in the quill. The wretch took to writing."

[Cheryl Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never read the original, but I've heard it's a little dense. Kuhlendahl's light-handed water color and pencil illustrations add movement, context, wit, and bodies. When Orlando—an Elizabethan nobleman and frustrated writer—awakens one day as a woman, s/he takes it in stride and observes the different ways she is received by the world. Woolf seems interested in commenting on gender roles, but despite Orlando's very literal transition, this ultimately lands as a bisexual, genderfluid/nonbinary novel for me, as opposed to a "trans" novel, as Orlando seems less interested in their body parts as in hopping from costume to costume and seducing multiple genders.

[ColleenSC (colleenallbooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Helvetiq and Edelweiss for an eARC. This graphic novel is an entrancing read and an excellent introduction to Woolf's writing and themes. The whimsical, expressive artwork celebrates Woolf's language and Orlando's experiences.

[Eva B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the illustration style and its watercolor-y vibes, but the text felt a little bit disjointed. I'm excited to actually read Orlando though sometime! The design for masc Orlando was PEAK gender envy for me.