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Daughter Dalloway
A retelling of Virginia Woolf's classic Mrs. Dalloway, from the point of view of the famous socialite's only child, Elizabeth
It is 1952 and forty-six-year-old Elizabeth Dalloway--arguably the most inept socialite in all of London--is fresh off yet another of her awkward parties. She feels she has failed at most everything in life, especially living up to her perfect mother--the elegant Mrs. Dalloway, the woman who never made a misstep, the woman who never arrived for her very own party at the end of the 1923 Season. And hasn't been heard from since.
Elizabeth has given up ever finding out what really happened that summer until she comes across a WWI medal inscribed with a mysterious message from her mother to a soldier, Septimus Warren Smith. Elizabeth sets out to find a member of his family in the hopes she will finally learn her mother's fate. Her journey takes her across London as she pieces together that last summer of 1923 when Elizabeth was a seventeen-year-old girl who escaped her mother's watchful eye and rebelled against the staid social rules of prewar England. A girl who caroused with the Prince of Wales and sons of American iron barons, a girl determined to do it all differently than her mother. A girl who didn't yet feel like a failure.
Faithful to the original yet fully standing alone, Daughter, Dalloway follows Elizabeth as she discovers the truth: though decades have passed and opportunities for women have changed, expectations haven't: to be it all, whatever the costs. And that she shares much more with her mother than she ever knew.
It is 1952 and forty-six-year-old Elizabeth Dalloway--arguably the most inept socialite in all of London--is fresh off yet another of her awkward parties. She feels she has failed at most everything in life, especially living up to her perfect mother--the elegant Mrs. Dalloway, the woman who never made a misstep, the woman who never arrived for her very own party at the end of the 1923 Season. And hasn't been heard from since.
Elizabeth has given up ever finding out what really happened that summer until she comes across a WWI medal inscribed with a mysterious message from her mother to a soldier, Septimus Warren Smith. Elizabeth sets out to find a member of his family in the hopes she will finally learn her mother's fate. Her journey takes her across London as she pieces together that last summer of 1923 when Elizabeth was a seventeen-year-old girl who escaped her mother's watchful eye and rebelled against the staid social rules of prewar England. A girl who caroused with the Prince of Wales and sons of American iron barons, a girl determined to do it all differently than her mother. A girl who didn't yet feel like a failure.
Faithful to the original yet fully standing alone, Daughter, Dalloway follows Elizabeth as she discovers the truth: though decades have passed and opportunities for women have changed, expectations haven't: to be it all, whatever the costs. And that she shares much more with her mother than she ever knew.
350 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 14, 2023
33 people are currently reading
4307 people want to read
About the author
Emily France
5 books97 followersEmily France is a graduate of Brown University and is the critically acclaimed author of several books. Her young adult titles, Zen and Gone and Signs of You, were selected as a Washington Post Best Book of the Month and an Apple Books Best of the Month. She now writes historical fiction. Daughter Dalloway is her adult debut.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
March 8, 2023
Emily France cleverly uses characters from Virginia Woolf’s classic novel Mrs. Dalloway, as the inspiration to create her own novel, the main character is Elizabeth and she’s the only daughter of Clarissa and Richard Dalloway.
London, 1952, Elizabeth Dalloway is forty-six years old, she’s married to Theodore Titcomb and the couple are childless. Elizabeth feels like a failure, she’s nothing like her sophisticated mother, the popular socialite was organizing flowers for her party in 1923, when she disappeared and hasn’t been seen since. Elizabeth has always felt like she’s walked in her mother’s shadow, as a child, a teenager and now as a grown woman.
During the great London fog, Elizabeth isn’t expecting visitors, when Rose Purvis arrives and she gives her a small box that her mother misplaced. It contains a medal, engraved with inscription from Clarissa Dalloway and the recipients name is Septimus Warren Smith. Elizabeth wonders about his connection to her mother, would he have anything to do with her disappearance and she’s determined to find him.
London, 1923, Elizabeth Dalloway is seventeen, a bright young thing, the war is over and after surviving the Spanish flu epidemic and everyone wants to celebrate. Mrs. Dalloway hosts upper-crust parties, the Prince of Wales is a guest and Elizabeth would prefer to be with her bohemian friends. Her mother wants Elizabeth to make a suitable match, she already has a candidate, Elizabeth isn’t ready to get married and her wish is to have fun and she does.
Octavia Smith lives in Stroud, Gloucestershire, her father owns a farm and a brewery. Her eldest brother Septimus left home because of his mothers actions, five years later Octavia hasn’t heard from him and is he lying in France in an unmarked grave? Octavia travels to London to find information about Septimus, she’s an easy target for pickpockets and she doesn’t make it out of Paddington Rail Way Station without falling prey to one. When she meets Redvers Moore, Octavia is wary and he and his brother appear to be honest, they promise to help her find Septimus and is Octavia a magnet for criminals?
Fate works in mysterious ways and Elizabeth and Octavia are bound to cross paths. Both women are a similar age in the 1950’s, they discover the truth about Clarissa and Septimus, and it’s not what I was expecting at all.
I received a copy of Daughter Dalloway by Emily France from Edelweiss and Blackstone Publishing in exchange for an honest review. The story is told mainly from Elizabeth and Octavia’s points of view, and the two women have to deal with the consequences of their own impulsive behavior and decisions. The polished and thought provoking narrative cleverly explores the intricate workings of the human mind and how mental health problems were diagnosed at the time, including melancholy, postnatal blues, shell shock and four stars from me.
London, 1952, Elizabeth Dalloway is forty-six years old, she’s married to Theodore Titcomb and the couple are childless. Elizabeth feels like a failure, she’s nothing like her sophisticated mother, the popular socialite was organizing flowers for her party in 1923, when she disappeared and hasn’t been seen since. Elizabeth has always felt like she’s walked in her mother’s shadow, as a child, a teenager and now as a grown woman.
During the great London fog, Elizabeth isn’t expecting visitors, when Rose Purvis arrives and she gives her a small box that her mother misplaced. It contains a medal, engraved with inscription from Clarissa Dalloway and the recipients name is Septimus Warren Smith. Elizabeth wonders about his connection to her mother, would he have anything to do with her disappearance and she’s determined to find him.
London, 1923, Elizabeth Dalloway is seventeen, a bright young thing, the war is over and after surviving the Spanish flu epidemic and everyone wants to celebrate. Mrs. Dalloway hosts upper-crust parties, the Prince of Wales is a guest and Elizabeth would prefer to be with her bohemian friends. Her mother wants Elizabeth to make a suitable match, she already has a candidate, Elizabeth isn’t ready to get married and her wish is to have fun and she does.
Octavia Smith lives in Stroud, Gloucestershire, her father owns a farm and a brewery. Her eldest brother Septimus left home because of his mothers actions, five years later Octavia hasn’t heard from him and is he lying in France in an unmarked grave? Octavia travels to London to find information about Septimus, she’s an easy target for pickpockets and she doesn’t make it out of Paddington Rail Way Station without falling prey to one. When she meets Redvers Moore, Octavia is wary and he and his brother appear to be honest, they promise to help her find Septimus and is Octavia a magnet for criminals?
Fate works in mysterious ways and Elizabeth and Octavia are bound to cross paths. Both women are a similar age in the 1950’s, they discover the truth about Clarissa and Septimus, and it’s not what I was expecting at all.
I received a copy of Daughter Dalloway by Emily France from Edelweiss and Blackstone Publishing in exchange for an honest review. The story is told mainly from Elizabeth and Octavia’s points of view, and the two women have to deal with the consequences of their own impulsive behavior and decisions. The polished and thought provoking narrative cleverly explores the intricate workings of the human mind and how mental health problems were diagnosed at the time, including melancholy, postnatal blues, shell shock and four stars from me.
January 22, 2023
"Daughter Dalloway" by Emily France, is not so much a retelling of Virginia Woolf’s classic Mrs. Dalloway," but rather, in the manner of Woolf’s own stream-of-consciousness novel, follows two characters, Elizabeth Dalloway and Octavia Smith, tangential characters from the original.
In 1952, Elizabeth, now forty-six, is given a medal with an inscription from her mother to a soldier named Septimus Warren Smith, which sets her on the hunt for her mother, who has been missing since July 1923. At the same time, Septimus’ sister, Octavia, leaves her small village and travels to London to find her brother, who has not communicated since leaving to join the war.
At times "Daughter Dalloway" by Emily France seems contrived; it tries too hard to force the connection between this novel and the much-loved Woolf. From France’s first sentence, “Elizabeth said she would pick the flowers herself…” I knew I was in for a lot of "Mrs. Dalloway" references, but is that such a bad thing? Is there a way to write a retelling without a multitude of callbacks and cross-referencing? Frankly, if the reader isn’t familiar with, and more than a little in love with, the original, they probably won’t be picking up France’s novel. As a rabid Woolf fan, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed France’s revisit of the Dalloway world.
Thank you to City Book Review, Emily France, and Blackstone Publishing for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.
In 1952, Elizabeth, now forty-six, is given a medal with an inscription from her mother to a soldier named Septimus Warren Smith, which sets her on the hunt for her mother, who has been missing since July 1923. At the same time, Septimus’ sister, Octavia, leaves her small village and travels to London to find her brother, who has not communicated since leaving to join the war.
At times "Daughter Dalloway" by Emily France seems contrived; it tries too hard to force the connection between this novel and the much-loved Woolf. From France’s first sentence, “Elizabeth said she would pick the flowers herself…” I knew I was in for a lot of "Mrs. Dalloway" references, but is that such a bad thing? Is there a way to write a retelling without a multitude of callbacks and cross-referencing? Frankly, if the reader isn’t familiar with, and more than a little in love with, the original, they probably won’t be picking up France’s novel. As a rabid Woolf fan, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed France’s revisit of the Dalloway world.
Thank you to City Book Review, Emily France, and Blackstone Publishing for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 26, 2023
I was expecting a BIG mystery/reveal with this book. This is not what happened, but it still left me intrigued and wanting to get to the end!
The story follows two characters, one being Elizabeth Dalloway. Elizabeth lives in the shadow of her mother and doesn’t quite feel like she will ever live up to her mother’s expectations. The story follows Elizabeth in two timelines. One is when she is 17 and trying to figure out who she is. The other is when she is older and is still trying to solve the mystery of why her mother disappeared when she was 17. The other character that you follow closely is Octavia Smith. On a quest to find her brother, she travels to London from her remote village only to be hit with challenge after challenge as she travels through an unknown city.
Both women are on a quest to find someone they hold dear to their heart, and it’s interesting to see the contrast between rich and poor and how each woman’s upbringing shapes who they are in the present day. Both people they are trying to locate have dealt with mental health issues, and I found the way the author approached this topic was handled gracefully. I do wish the girl's stories had come together sooner than they had, but overall I thought this was a really good book!
The story follows two characters, one being Elizabeth Dalloway. Elizabeth lives in the shadow of her mother and doesn’t quite feel like she will ever live up to her mother’s expectations. The story follows Elizabeth in two timelines. One is when she is 17 and trying to figure out who she is. The other is when she is older and is still trying to solve the mystery of why her mother disappeared when she was 17. The other character that you follow closely is Octavia Smith. On a quest to find her brother, she travels to London from her remote village only to be hit with challenge after challenge as she travels through an unknown city.
Both women are on a quest to find someone they hold dear to their heart, and it’s interesting to see the contrast between rich and poor and how each woman’s upbringing shapes who they are in the present day. Both people they are trying to locate have dealt with mental health issues, and I found the way the author approached this topic was handled gracefully. I do wish the girl's stories had come together sooner than they had, but overall I thought this was a really good book!
April 16, 2023
I got this for a new bookclub I'm joining and I was kind of worried about it at first. It's no the typical book I go for and I was worried I wouldn't like it. But I really enjoyed this book! Even from the first couple of chapters, I found myself getting pulled right into the story. I loved the setting and the balance between the wealthy world of London and the lower class. The two separate mysteries really keeps your reading, especially since they trade off chapters. Each chapter adds a new piece of the story that doesn't get fully revealed right until the end. And the entire book, you're just waiting for the paths and the mysteries to converge. The two characters were so similar and yet so different from each other and I loved it. They also went through so much character development but in different times of their life. Their relationships in the book are also so great and I loved watching them develop through it. The most surprising aspect was how hard it hit on mental health. It's not a theme that seems obvious in the first half of the book, but it really became a major aspect and I loved how it was integrating.
March 17, 2023
Quick and Dirty
-a retelling of Virginia Wolff's classic
-dual timeline, dual POV historical fiction
-Bright Young Things subplot
-suicide trigger warnings
Swipe for the full synopsis!
Musings
Wonderfully transportive and entertaining, the book was easy to read and highly character driven. I loved following Elizabeth’s “summer” of adventure and awakening. The Bright Young Thing generation is a favorite era of mine to read about, and this did not disappoint in that arena. Her transformative summer reminded me of some of my own, which is never bad. The Octavia/Septimus storyline was a bit confusing at first leaving me wondering what it had to do with Elizabeth’s story, but in the end, things wrapped up neatly. Seeing 1920s London through the eyes of a country girl come down was fun, and the street urchins she meets certainly take her and the reader on a ride! But all that to say I wish I would have read Mrs. Dalloway first. This is supposed to be a stand-alone, a retelling of Mrs. Dalloway from the perspective of her daughter. Sadly, for me, not having read the Wolff classic I found the drama lacking at times. They really should accompany each other IMO. The combo would be great for anyone looking to add more classics to their repertoire! Overall, this is a well-written book with a powerful subplot about mental health, mothers & daughters, and a coming-of-age story. I just wish I would have read the original first!
-a retelling of Virginia Wolff's classic
-dual timeline, dual POV historical fiction
-Bright Young Things subplot
-suicide trigger warnings
Swipe for the full synopsis!
Musings
Wonderfully transportive and entertaining, the book was easy to read and highly character driven. I loved following Elizabeth’s “summer” of adventure and awakening. The Bright Young Thing generation is a favorite era of mine to read about, and this did not disappoint in that arena. Her transformative summer reminded me of some of my own, which is never bad. The Octavia/Septimus storyline was a bit confusing at first leaving me wondering what it had to do with Elizabeth’s story, but in the end, things wrapped up neatly. Seeing 1920s London through the eyes of a country girl come down was fun, and the street urchins she meets certainly take her and the reader on a ride! But all that to say I wish I would have read Mrs. Dalloway first. This is supposed to be a stand-alone, a retelling of Mrs. Dalloway from the perspective of her daughter. Sadly, for me, not having read the Wolff classic I found the drama lacking at times. They really should accompany each other IMO. The combo would be great for anyone looking to add more classics to their repertoire! Overall, this is a well-written book with a powerful subplot about mental health, mothers & daughters, and a coming-of-age story. I just wish I would have read the original first!
April 22, 2023
I am left utterly speechless after reading this book. Following Elizabeth Dalloway and Octavia Smith on their journeys of finding life, love, and people they are missing, the path is unpaved, unsure, and and unpredictable. Dual POV and alternating between 1923 and 1952 flawlessly, Elizabeth's and Octavia's stories will bring tears to your eyes and awareness to your mind. Emily France touches on the subject of mental health in a way that makes you think beyond what we know. In those time periods mental health was not a topic that was spoken about and you can feel that along with those suffering.
December 15, 2022
This novel is inspired by Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway," (a.k.a. Clarissa Parry) but focuses on her daughter Elizabeth. The story lines are split between Elizabeth as an adult in her 40s (discovering a mysterious medal belonging to her missing mother), Elizabeth as a teenager, Clarissa Dalloway as a teenager, and Octavia Smith, who seems to be the connection between them all.
I found the story and plot intriguing, and this type of historical fiction is just my cup of tea, but I found the all the chapters disjointed and difficult to follow. For some reason this particular novel was confusing for me, even though I frequently read books with alternating timelines/points of view. The author deals with important mental health topics which seem to tie some of the characters together, but this is not clear until the very end of the book.
I wanted to love this book, but it was just mediocre for me. Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an advance e-book copy!
I found the story and plot intriguing, and this type of historical fiction is just my cup of tea, but I found the all the chapters disjointed and difficult to follow. For some reason this particular novel was confusing for me, even though I frequently read books with alternating timelines/points of view. The author deals with important mental health topics which seem to tie some of the characters together, but this is not clear until the very end of the book.
I wanted to love this book, but it was just mediocre for me. Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an advance e-book copy!
March 18, 2025
The first half of the book was slow for me, but got better as it went on.
A great message at the end of the book.
TW: Suicide and Mental Health
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 16, 2023
Thank you NetGalley, Publishers and Emily France for gifting me a copy of Daughter Dalloway in return for my honest opinion.
3/5 stars
A retelling of Virginia Woolf's classic Mrs. Dalloway, from the point of view of the famous socialite's only child, Elizabeth
It is 1952 and forty-six-year-old Elizabeth Dalloway--arguably the most inept socialite in all of London--is fresh off yet another of her awkward parties. She feels she has failed at almost everything in life, especially living up to her perfect mother--the elegant Mrs. Dalloway, the woman who never made a misstep, the woman who never arrived for her very own party at the end of the 1923 Season. And hasn't been heard from since.
Elizabeth has given up ever finding out what really happened that summer until she comes across a WWI medal inscribed with a mysterious message from her mother to a soldier, Septimus Warren Smith. Elizabeth sets out to find a member of his family in the hopes she will finally learn her mother's fate. Her journey takes her across London as she pieces together that last summer of 1923 when Elizabeth was a seventeen-year-old girl who escaped her mother's watchful eye and rebelled against the staid social rules of prewar England. A girl who caroused with the Prince of Wales and sons of American iron barons, a girl determined to do it all differently than her mother. A girl who didn't yet feel like a failure.
Faithful to the original yet fully standing alone, Daughter, Dalloway follows Elizabeth as she discovers the truth: though decades have passed and opportunities for women have changed, expectations haven't: to be it all, whatever the costs. And that she shares much more with her mother than she ever knew.
This was a tough one for me. There were too many timelines and characters to keep up with so some chapters were disjointed and hard to follow. I wish she had either cut one of the timelines out or focused on one less character.
I did like how Emily France tied mental health into this novel. I wish it had come about a little quicker but I'm glad to see a book address it, especially from a book set in this time-frame.
All in all, other than touching on mental health issues there wasn't a lot that jumped out and grabbed me with this book. I think there is a lot of potential but it wasn't there for me yet.
3/5 stars
A retelling of Virginia Woolf's classic Mrs. Dalloway, from the point of view of the famous socialite's only child, Elizabeth
It is 1952 and forty-six-year-old Elizabeth Dalloway--arguably the most inept socialite in all of London--is fresh off yet another of her awkward parties. She feels she has failed at almost everything in life, especially living up to her perfect mother--the elegant Mrs. Dalloway, the woman who never made a misstep, the woman who never arrived for her very own party at the end of the 1923 Season. And hasn't been heard from since.
Elizabeth has given up ever finding out what really happened that summer until she comes across a WWI medal inscribed with a mysterious message from her mother to a soldier, Septimus Warren Smith. Elizabeth sets out to find a member of his family in the hopes she will finally learn her mother's fate. Her journey takes her across London as she pieces together that last summer of 1923 when Elizabeth was a seventeen-year-old girl who escaped her mother's watchful eye and rebelled against the staid social rules of prewar England. A girl who caroused with the Prince of Wales and sons of American iron barons, a girl determined to do it all differently than her mother. A girl who didn't yet feel like a failure.
Faithful to the original yet fully standing alone, Daughter, Dalloway follows Elizabeth as she discovers the truth: though decades have passed and opportunities for women have changed, expectations haven't: to be it all, whatever the costs. And that she shares much more with her mother than she ever knew.
This was a tough one for me. There were too many timelines and characters to keep up with so some chapters were disjointed and hard to follow. I wish she had either cut one of the timelines out or focused on one less character.
I did like how Emily France tied mental health into this novel. I wish it had come about a little quicker but I'm glad to see a book address it, especially from a book set in this time-frame.
All in all, other than touching on mental health issues there wasn't a lot that jumped out and grabbed me with this book. I think there is a lot of potential but it wasn't there for me yet.
January 30, 2023
Virginia Woolf’s novel, Mrs. Dalloway, is a genuine favorite of mine. I have read it twice and will be rereading it for a class this semester. I am excited about that. So, given my admiration for that novel, I was very curious to read Daughter Dalloway. I admire the audaciousness on the author’s part in taking on a modern classic but was not sure how I would feel about the book. So, I will just say upfront, that I enjoyed this title.
Many people and scenes from Mrs. Dalloway are in this book’s pages. Readers will undoubtedly remember Mrs. Dalloway going out to buy flowers, as she does here and may also recall her relationship with her husband, with Peter, and with others who are found here as well.
The story is told in differing time frames and perspectives. One focus is on Elizabeth who is the Daughter Dalloway. Readers get to know her in her contemporary time period and also as she was when younger. She is a complex character who has quite a mother with whom to contend. Elizabeth also wants to be her own person, not just a daughter.
Readers of Mrs. Dalloway also will remember Septimus. His sister is the other focus of the story. She bravely goes to London to try and find her brother and to understand the course that his life has taken. Will she find him and, if so, what will she find?
The lives of these two women intersect over the course of the novel. Each learns a lot about herself and those around her as a result.
I think that historical novel will be enjoyed by those with some connection to Mrs.Dalloway although there may be others who feel that they do not want anything to interfere with their love of the original titie. Those who have not read Mrs. Dalloway may find that they want to after spending time with Elizabeth and Octavia.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.
Many people and scenes from Mrs. Dalloway are in this book’s pages. Readers will undoubtedly remember Mrs. Dalloway going out to buy flowers, as she does here and may also recall her relationship with her husband, with Peter, and with others who are found here as well.
The story is told in differing time frames and perspectives. One focus is on Elizabeth who is the Daughter Dalloway. Readers get to know her in her contemporary time period and also as she was when younger. She is a complex character who has quite a mother with whom to contend. Elizabeth also wants to be her own person, not just a daughter.
Readers of Mrs. Dalloway also will remember Septimus. His sister is the other focus of the story. She bravely goes to London to try and find her brother and to understand the course that his life has taken. Will she find him and, if so, what will she find?
The lives of these two women intersect over the course of the novel. Each learns a lot about herself and those around her as a result.
I think that historical novel will be enjoyed by those with some connection to Mrs.Dalloway although there may be others who feel that they do not want anything to interfere with their love of the original titie. Those who have not read Mrs. Dalloway may find that they want to after spending time with Elizabeth and Octavia.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.
July 10, 2023
Emily France delivers a rich double portrait of two young women, very different in wealth and social class, each searching for a lost loved one - and in the process searching for herself - and both inspired by Virginia Woolf's classic novel MRS. DALLOWAY. Elizabeth is Mrs. Dalloway's daughter and only child, briefly mentioned in Woolf's text; Octavia is the sister France imagines for the returned World War I soldier who battles his own demons in the earlier book. I loved joining the journey toward self-discovery of both of these spirited, strong young women and vicariously experiencing London in the heady, giddy - but troubled - summer of 1923. It was deeply satisfying to reach the moment when Elizabeth and Octavia finally meet and learn painful but ultimately healing truths long hidden and - more importantly - learn how to silence the voice that so many women - then and now - hear: the voice that tells us the lie that we will never be enough. Because, this story proclaims, we ARE enough, right now, and always have been. France is a riveting storyteller, and this is a story eminently worthy of being told.
December 1, 2022
I absolutely loved this beautifully woven and imaginative coming of age story!
This book follows Elizabeth (daughter of Mrs. Dalloway) and Octavia (sister to Septimus) as they set out to find out what happened to their respective loved ones on that fateful night in 1923. And while it is clearly inspired by Mrs. Dalloway and references it with perfectly sprinkled in motifs and themes, it absolutely stands on its own and in my opinion, enriches the original and gives it even deeper meaning.
The beautiful writing set the scene and allowed me to really feel the highs and lows and growing pains of the main characters. I rooted for them hard as they faced their battles, and their journeys were so engrossing I could not put it down until I got to the very satisfying, full circle ending.
Highly recommend this inspired retelling of Virginia Wolf's classic!!
ARC received from the publisher
This book follows Elizabeth (daughter of Mrs. Dalloway) and Octavia (sister to Septimus) as they set out to find out what happened to their respective loved ones on that fateful night in 1923. And while it is clearly inspired by Mrs. Dalloway and references it with perfectly sprinkled in motifs and themes, it absolutely stands on its own and in my opinion, enriches the original and gives it even deeper meaning.
The beautiful writing set the scene and allowed me to really feel the highs and lows and growing pains of the main characters. I rooted for them hard as they faced their battles, and their journeys were so engrossing I could not put it down until I got to the very satisfying, full circle ending.
Highly recommend this inspired retelling of Virginia Wolf's classic!!
ARC received from the publisher
February 20, 2023
Daughter Dalloway, by Emily France, has its roots in Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. That being said, I have never read Mrs. Dalloway, and i believe that this book can be appreciated on its own (and, the author explains the most important connections to the book in her notes at the end of the book).
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Daughter Dalloway, Elizabeth Dalloway is the daughter of Mrs. Richard Dalloway, the wife of a British MP, renowned for her entertainment skills. It is also about Octavia Smith, the eighth daughter in a family, living in the English countryside (Gloucestershire). It is about the choices these 2 characters make as they come of age. What I found most fascinating was how the author connects these 2 women …
Thank you netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for my eARC of Daughter Dalloway in return for my honest review. 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Daughter Dalloway, Elizabeth Dalloway is the daughter of Mrs. Richard Dalloway, the wife of a British MP, renowned for her entertainment skills. It is also about Octavia Smith, the eighth daughter in a family, living in the English countryside (Gloucestershire). It is about the choices these 2 characters make as they come of age. What I found most fascinating was how the author connects these 2 women …
Thank you netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for my eARC of Daughter Dalloway in return for my honest review. 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!
April 28, 2023
I’m reading this for a local book club and 100% would not have finished it if not for the pressure of a book club. I hated the writing style so much, it was extremely repetitive. The characters weren’t relatable (not that main characters HAVE to be relatable, but it helps). This was the whitest book Ive read in a hot minute with an all white cast. It almost turned gay and then didn’t and that sucks. I had a hard time believing Octavia would survive city streets by herself for weeks?? Elizabeth was annoying and the storyline with Calvin made me feel so icky. The mental health hook, while surely important, was a little on the nose for me. Idk, this wasn’t for me and I feel I may not be the target audience for books like this.
July 7, 2023
I loved this beautifully written novel-- it was stunning in so many ways! Even though I haven't read the Virginia Woolf classic which inspired this book, I felt immediately drawn into the story. The settings are immersive and felt completely alive to me. And the mysteries in both timelines were captivating, creating an intricate puzzle that comes together at the end in a deeply satisfying way. I especially loved the main women characters, both wonderfully relatable, and I appreciated their meaningful and empowering emotional arcs. The theme of mental health issues was handled with sensitivity, shedding light on these struggles in a historically-specific yet timeless way. Highly recommended!
October 4, 2023
Emily France takes a minor character from Virginia Wolfe and creates a story of its own. The reader must pay attention to the speaker and time frame of each chapter as the author jumps back and forth between characters and years. This is a story of battles -- the effects of the PTSD from battles in WWI, young people who are battling with the expectations of parents and teachers, and battles of the voices in their minds telling them they are not enough. Even with those battles, there are people who love one another through out it all.
It was a very different type of book from what I usually read. I can't say I "enjoyed" it, but it was interesting.
It was a very different type of book from what I usually read. I can't say I "enjoyed" it, but it was interesting.
December 2, 2023
As a Virginia Woolf fan, and a reader who read Mrs Dalloway at least several times in my life, I was eager to read Emily France’s re-telling of Mrs Dalloway, written from the viewpoint of Mrs Dalloway’s daughter. Elizabeth. I was not disappointed. Though not literary fiction like the original, France’s historical fiction novel, was a good re-telling of the story, with some other plot points added in to make this a novel that would have rang true not only for the time period it was set, but also for modern day, when some of the key themes, mental health, Shell Shock / PTSD, family relationships and the filter of societal expectations of behaviour are still valid.
June 20, 2023
This book was recommended to me because I have read others in that time frame. It sounded very interesting and so I made the purchase. But in all honesty I wish I hadn’t because it was just ok. Lots of people rave about it and say it was great, it was part of their book club. The book covers several years in the past and the present and then there were multiple characters who each had their own chapters. This lumped together sometimes became confusing. Especially if you have not read Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, but then again even if you have you still might not like it.
March 12, 2023
One question hounded me while reading, what happened to Mrs. Dalloway??
France focuses on Dalloway’s daughter, Elizabeth. Flitting back and forth between the 1920s and 1940s, readers slowly gain more insight into just what actually occurred.
I liked how the author described why she was so inspired by the story, valuable information when it came to crafting the book.
I love the cover and enjoyed reading the book.
Thanks to Edelweiss, NetGalley, and Blackstone Publishing for the early read.
France focuses on Dalloway’s daughter, Elizabeth. Flitting back and forth between the 1920s and 1940s, readers slowly gain more insight into just what actually occurred.
I liked how the author described why she was so inspired by the story, valuable information when it came to crafting the book.
I love the cover and enjoyed reading the book.
Thanks to Edelweiss, NetGalley, and Blackstone Publishing for the early read.
July 23, 2023
I liked the second half of this book much better than the first (like literally from the middle). I have not read Mrs. Dalloway, so I don't know how much of the beginning of the plot I didn't understand. There was too much exposition and set up to get the action of the story going for me. The two main characters were written very similarly, and I didn't particularly like either of them. I did love the ending though.
November 3, 2023
Ooh, this book was sure to win me over and the ending did. I was reminded of an assignment in my college freshman english class when we got to rewrite a story from a different perspective. The two main stories were nicely brought together in an unexpected way.
Side note- I was a little surprised at the spelling/grammatical errors - do better editors.
Side note- I was a little surprised at the spelling/grammatical errors - do better editors.
May 15, 2023
An interesting coming of age book about the expectations we put on ourselves and how things we experience in our youth affect us throughout our life.
July 24, 2023
I reviewed this book on my blog.
August 26, 2023
wonderful read
Delightful characters. Vert accurate portrayal of the multiple ripples mental illness causes in the ponds of family life. Highly recommended.
Delightful characters. Vert accurate portrayal of the multiple ripples mental illness causes in the ponds of family life. Highly recommended.
October 9, 2023
Wow! Beautiful & thoughtful. I hope this author writes more adult books, this one being her first.
March 18, 2024
Audible listen.
December 10, 2024
Too disconnected and too depressing.
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