Orlanda - by Jacqueline Harpman (Paperback)

About the Book

"One afternoon in a cafâe across the Gare du Nord train station in Paris, Aline Berger, a literature professor, struggles to re-read Virginia Woolf's Orlando, when an odd feeling comes over her. Suddenly, part of her consciousness splits off and finds itself in the body of an attractive young man named Lucien Láefrene, who works as a rock journalist. In this newfound body, Aline's splintered mind names themselves Orlanda in homage to Virginia Woolf as a woman who has now become a man. Orlanda begins to follow Aline. And when the two meet again in Belgium, Aline subconsciously sheds her prim tendencies for a more assertive presence, as she begins to understand that Orlanda was born from her own psyche. Orlanda is the assertive, confident, and amorous person, who loves men unabashedly, that Aline has always aspired to be but could never become. The more time the two spend together, the less time they can stand to be apart. This lyrical novel is a stunning portrait of a woman who is forced to confront every part of her soul and embrace herself fully"--

Book Synopsis

The groundbreaking novel about a woman whose subconscious mind splinters and finds itself in the body of a young man, from the author of I Who Have Never Known Men.

Now in paperback with a new foreword by Isle McElroy for the 30th anniversary of its original publication.

One afternoon in a café across the Gare du Nord train station in Paris, Aline Berger, a literature professor, struggles to re-read Virginia Woolf's Orlando, when an odd feeling comes over her. Suddenly, part of her consciousness splits off and finds itself in the body of an attractive young man named Lucien Lèfrene, who works as a rock journalist. In this newfound body, Aline's splintered mind names themselves Orlanda in homage to Virginia Woolf as a woman who has now become a man.

Orlanda begins to follow Aline. And when the two meet again in Belgium, Aline subconsciously sheds her prim tendencies for a more assertive presence, as she begins to understand that Orlanda was born from her own psyche. Orlanda is the assertive, confident, and amorous person, who loves men unabashedly, that Aline has always aspired to be but could never become. The more time the two spend together, the less time they can stand to be apart. This lyrical novel is a stunning portrait of a woman who is forced to confront every part of her soul and embrace herself fully.

Review Quotes

"Luckily for us, Seven Stories Press has just republished Orlanda, a gender-bending romp by the Belgian novelist Jacqueline Harpman that was originally published in 1996 in Belgium (and three years later in the United States, translated by Ros Schwartz). The reissue arrives like a bucket of ice water to the face--it's a clarifying shock to the system. The more dogmatic we become about gender, the novel reminds us, the more dangerous it becomes for everyone... The triumph of Orlanda, though, is that Harpman makes the lesson tremendously fun. That's because of her bright and jocular storytelling." --MJ Franklin, New York Times

"Well written, intriguing, and thoroughly engrossing... [A] most original novel." --Booklist

"Transit Books' reissue of 'I Who Have Never Known Men' turned into an unexpected hit this year thanks to BookTok and I cannot wait to see what all those readers make of another Harpman reissue, this one riffing on Virginia Woolf's 'Orlando' and the possibility of ever-shifting gender expression, the pains of repression and oppression, and the joys of a bit of queer chaos."
--Drew Broussard, LitHub, "Most Anticipated Books of 2025"

"Undoubtedly this is a novel to breathe life into characters through the unfettered use of the imagination. It offers a pretext for a great deal of humour and fantasy that stirs up the old myths."
--André Brincourt, Figaro

"As sophisticated, clear​, and witty as it is sexy, abstract​, and introspective. ​Absolutely original."
--Eliot Duncan, author of Ponyboy

"A twisting, teasing exploration of sexuality, inner motives and desires ... Harpman cleverly manipulates an elusive narrative 'I' and shifting perspectives in cool, insouciant, yet seductive style, to attack the well-worn existentialist query, 'Who am I?'" -Publishers Weekly

"Harpman artfully shapes this lighthearted gender confusion into a witty comment on the incompatibility--and interdependency--of the sexes." -Kirkus Reviews

"Imagination. Jacqueline Harpman certainly doesn't lack any. . . . With incredible mastery, she juggles with identities, intertwines desires and fears, fantasies and frustrations." -L'Express

"Orlanda shows Harpman at her wittiest and most delightful."--Asymptote

About the Author

JACQUELINE HARPMAN (1929-2012) was a Belgian author of over fifteen novels. Born in Etterbeek, Belgium, she fled to Casablanca with her family during the Second World War. She studied French literature and trained to become a doctor but was unable to continue her medical studies after contracting tuberculosis. Harpman began writing in 1954, and wrote over fifteen novels, winning numerous prizes, including the Prix Médicis (Orlanda), the Prix Victor-Rossel (Brève Arcadie), among others. I Who Have Never Known Men, originally published in French in 1995, was the first of her books to be translated into English. Orlanda was first published in 1996.

ROS SCHWARTZ has translated numerous works of fiction and non-fiction from French, including several Georges Simenon titles for Penguin Classics, a new translation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince and, most recently, Mireille Gansel's Translation as Transhumance. The recipient of a number of awards, she was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2009 and received the Institute of Translation and Interpreting's John Sykes Memorial Prize for Excellence in 2017.

ISLE McELROY is a writer based in Brooklyn. Their debut novel, The Atmospherians, was named a New York Times Editors' Choice; and their second novel, People Collide, was named a best book of 2023 by Vulture and the New York Times Critics' Pick. Their writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Vulture, GQ, Vogue, and The Atlantic, among other publications.