Outwardly a novel about life in a country-house in whose grounds there is
to be a pageant, Between the Acts is also a striking evocation of English
experience in the months leading up to the Second World War. Through
dialogue, humour and the passionate musings of the characters, Virginia
Woolf explores how a community is formed (and scattered) over time. The
pageant, a series of scenes from English history, and the private dramas
that go on between the acts, are closely interlinked. Through the figure of
Miss La Trobe, and author of the pageant, Virginia Woolf questions
imperialist assumptions and, at the same time, re-creates the elusive role
of the artist.