The books celebrated stream of consciousness is one of the few genuine innovations in the history of the novel. -- New Yorker Clarissa Dalloway, elegant and vivacious, is preparing for a party and remembering those she once loved. In another part of London, Septimus Warren Smith is shell-shock and on the brink of madness. Smiths day interweaves with that of Clarissa and The books celebrated stream of consciousness is one of the few genuine innovations in the history of the novel. -- New Yorker Clarissa Dalloway, elegant and vivacious, is preparing for a party and remembering those she once loved. In another part of London, Septimus Warren Smith is shell-shock and on the brink of madness. Smiths day interweaves with that of Clarissa and her friends, their lives converge as the party reaches its glittering climax. Past, present and future are brought together one momentous June day in 1923.