Amazon.com description: Product Description: It is hard to believe that "The Voyage Out" was Virginia Woolf's first novel, begun in the early 1900s but not published until 1915, having been rewritten several times. It is a grand story, almost epic in scope, of a young woman's inner voyage of discovery. In "The Voyage Out" are all the trademarks of Woolf's writing that were to come - her poetic lyricism, her social satire, and her experimentation with point of view and character. "The Voyage Out" follows the inexperienced Rachel Vinrace as she travels from England to South America on her father's ship with her aunt and uncle. Instead of traveling on with her father, Rachel chooses to reside with Helen, her aunt, in the fictional town of Santa Marina so that her aunt can teach her about life. Once there, their lives become entwined with the residents of the local hotel, a random assortment of scholars and wealthy vacationers. With these newly found friendships Rachel is finally able to explore feelings she has never experienced and try to discover who she is and who she wants to be. Woolf's writing in "The Voyage Out" is much more mature and established than one would expect for a first novel, but it is not without fault. the central story, that of the blossoming relationship between Rachel and Terence Hewet, offers a classic modern depiction of two souls struggling to find their place in this world and to discover what it truly means to love. Woolf's portrait of Rachel is not a self-portrait, although the character does share some of the same life experiences. Woolf shines through her writing in the satirical elements and in the beautiful way that she can explore some of the hardest to capture feelings of love and loss. "The Voyage Out" is a truly remarkable achievement as a first novel and one that definitely reaffirms Woolf's reputation as one of the finest writers of the modern era, or perhaps of any era.