The Years

The Years is a novel by Virginia Woolf, published in 1937. The last work during her lifetime, it follows the Pargiter family from the 1880s to the 'present day' of the mid-1930s. Concentrating on the intimate details of the characters' lives, each chapter is set on a single day within its respective year, with each year marked by a specific moment in the seasonal cycle.

Woolf begins each section, and sometimes transitions within them, by describing the changing weather across Britain. These descriptions sweep over both London and the countryside, offering a bird's-eye view before zooming in on her characters.

Though the narrative occasionally spans all of England in just a few paragraphs, Woolf seldom expands her focus beyond Britain.