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Orlando is a semi-biographical text that features Woolf’s lover, Vita Sackville-West, as a young man named Orlando. Summary Of The Book Orlando is a semi-biographical novel that is based in-part on Vita Sackville-West. This novel’s protagonist is a young man, Orlando, who was born during Elizabeth I’s reign. For a short span of time, Orlando was the elderly queen’s lover, which is followed by an intense affair with Sasha, after the queen’s death. Sasha, a princess in the Russian embassy, suddenly decides to return back to Russia. This leaves Orlando in a state of despair, which prompts him to continue writing his poem, The Oak Tree, which he began in his youth, but abandoned it shortly after. He then meets Nicholas Greene, a famous poet. Orlando joyfully entertains the veteran poet, who also greatly criticized his writing. After a while, Orlando becomes aware of the fact that one of Greene’s subsequent literary works portrayed him foolish. This results in a time of contemplating love and life, which makes Orlando consider his ancestral stately home’s worth, which he furnishes lavishly. Orlando leaves the country, after being made an ambassador to Constantinople, by King Charles II. He executes his work well, but until one day, when he faces murderous riots and civil unrest. Orlando falls into a mysterious slumber, which makes him sleep for days. Even after repeated attempts, none were able to awaken the protagonist. One day, Orlando awakens to find that he’s metamorphosed into a woman, while retaining his intellect and personality. The now Lady Orlando deals with marriage proposals, and switching between gender roles. Orlando was adapted into a movie in 1992, featuring Tilda Swinton as Orlando. In 2010, a stage adaptation premiered in New York City, directed by Sarah Ruhl. About Virginia Woolf Virginia Woolf was an author. Apart from this book, Woolf wrote The Common Reader, The Platform of Time: Memoirs of Family and Friends, and A Haunted House and Other Short Stories. Woolf was born on 25th January, 1882, in Kensington, London. Her parents educated her at their home in Kensington. Woolf’s mother passed away, when she was 13 years old, which resulted in her suffering a nervous breakdown. However, Woolf was able to complete certain courses at degree level, in German, Greek, Latin, and History from King’s College London. She married Leonard Woolf on 10th August, 1912. Woolf was a renowned figure in the London literary society and the Bloomsbury Group of intellectuals, in the interwar period. Woolf passed away on 28th March, 1941, in Sussex, England.