( ENSPIRE Entertainment ) Daughter Dalloway Introduces New Themes and Message to Classic Novel and Character
ENSPIRE Contributor: Daniel Garritson
Set in interwar London, Daughter Dalloway follows Elizabeth Dalloway, the only child of a famous socialite who falls in with Bright Young People—a group of bohemians whose antics often land them in the tabloids, and Octavia Smith, a fearless woman from the countryside who came to London to investigate her brother’s disappearance. Elizabeth and Octavia are destined to cross paths, and when they do, the truths they uncover will shatter their understanding of the people they love most. Daughter Dalloway is a must-read for fans of classic literature and the glamor and grit of 1920s London.
Marie Benedict blurbed the book saying, “Beyond a compelling, imaginative retelling of the Virginia Woolf classic, Daughter Dalloway offers a unique take on what it means to sift through the remnants of the past,” while Juliet Grames wrote, “Daughter Dalloway blooms with joy and melancholy. A rich continuation of Virginia Woolf’s immortal intentions, and a tender evocation of the female battle for self.” Netgalley link HERE and expanded book description below.
London, 1952: Forty-six-year-old Elizabeth Dalloway feels she has failed at most everything in life, especially living up to her mother, the elegant Mrs. Dalloway, an ideal socialite and model of perfection until she disappeared in the summer of 1923—and hasn’t been heard from since.
When Elizabeth is handed a medal with a mysterious inscription from her mother to a soldier named Septimus Warren Smith; she’s certain it contains a clue from the past. As she sets out, determined to deliver the medal to its rightful owner, Elizabeth pieces together memories of that fateful summer.
London, 1923: At seventeen, Elizabeth carouses with the Prince of Wales and sons of American iron barons and joins the Bright Young People—a group of bohemians whose antics often land in the tabloids. She is a girl who rebels against the staid social rules of the time, a girl determined to do it all differently than her mother. A girl who doesn’t yet feel like a failure.
That summer, Octavia Smith braves the journey from the countryside to London, determined to track down her older brother Septimus who returned from the war but never came home. She falls in with a group of clever city boys who have learned to survive on the streets. When one steals her heart, she must discover whether he is a friend or foe—and whether she can make it in the city on her own.
Elizabeth and Octavia are destined to cross paths, and when they do, the truths they unearth will shatter their understanding of the people they love most.
This book is a brilliant reimagining of Virginia Woolf’s classic novel Mrs. Dalloway, told from the perspectives of two rebellious young women: Mrs. Dalloway’s daughter, Elizabeth Dalloway, and Septimus Warren Smith’s sister, Octavia Smith. It’s a powerful exploration of mental health—how do you help someone who hides their depression extraordinarily well?—and author Emily France argues that Mrs. Dalloway captures the very essence of dukkha, the Buddhist term for a dissatisfaction that permeates our lives (Read more about the concept HERE).
Emily 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. Daughter Dalloway is her adult debut. Learn more at www.EmilyFranceBooks.com.
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