First published in 1941, shortly after the author’s death, "Between the Acts" is the final novel written by British novelist Virginia Woolf.
Set on a June afternoon in 1939, as the Second World War ramps up on the European mainland, it takes place at a country estate called Pointz Hall and focuses on the production of an annual pageant and play that local villagers hold at the estate.
Exploring themes of fantasy, distraction, and triviality amid crisis, "Between the Acts" is not one of Woolf’s better-known works but is praised for her trademark strength with dialogue and characters, as well as for its examination of the tropes and styles of British theatre.
The novel is an example of late modernism, which is a slightly different beast from the modernism seen in Woolf’s earlier novels, such as "Mrs Dalloway" but also "To the Lighthouse".
