Classics · Literary
To the Lighthouse
A family and their guests spend a summer holiday in a house by the sea, where a small trip to a lighthouse is promised and then put off. A decade later, changed by loss, some of them return.
Facts last checked 2026-10-16
- First published
- 1927
- Pace
- Slow
- Length
- Short
- Pages
- 260
- Format
- Standalone
Read this if you want a short, beautifully written study of family, memory and how time quietly rearranges people.
Skip this if you want chapters of action or dialogue, since much of it unfolds inside people's heads.
The feel
Content warnings
Also reported by Hardcover readers:
Quick answers about To the Lighthouse
- What is To the Lighthouse about?
- A family and their guests spend a summer holiday in a house by the sea, where a small trip to a lighthouse is promised and then put off. A decade later, changed by loss, some of them return.
- Who should read To the Lighthouse?
- Read it if you want a short, beautifully written study of family, memory and how time quietly rearranges people. Skip it if you want chapters of action or dialogue, since much of it unfolds inside people's heads.
- How long and how fast is To the Lighthouse?
- It is a slow-paced, short read of about 260 pages, first published in 1927.
- Does To the Lighthouse have content warnings?
- Content we flag: Death, War.
- Can I borrow To the Lighthouse for free?
- Often, yes. Check Libby (OverDrive) to see whether your library lends To the Lighthouse; the borrow button above searches it for you.
- What should I read after To the Lighthouse?
- Readers who liked it often move on to Mrs Dalloway, The Remains of the Day, The Hours.
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Where to get it
| Store | Price | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Borrow free | ||
| Libby / OverDrive | Free with a library card | Borrow free with Libby from Libby / OverDrive |
| Print, new | ||
| Amazon | Check price | Buy new from Amazon |
| Ebook | ||
| Kobo | Check price | Buy ebook from Kobo |
| Google Play Books | Check price | Buy ebook from Google Play Books |
| Audiobook | ||
| Audible | Check price | Buy audiobook from Audible |
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Because you might love it
If you loved To the Lighthouse
-
Mrs Dalloway
The same author's more accessible novel, with a similar fluid voice and a London setting instead of the sea.
-
The Remains of the Day
Reflective and elegiac, with a similar sense of lives measured by what was never said aloud.
-
The Hours
Continues the thread of Woolf-style interior writing in a modern, more structured novel.
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