Just before the First World War, the Ramsay family go to their holiday home in the Hebrides, taking several guests with them. While they are there, one of the children wants to visit a lighthouse. After a ten-year gap, during which the war wreaks its havoc on Europe, one of the guests returns to the house; and another trip to the lighthouse is proposed.

Told from multiple viewpoints, in language that is precise, delicate and allusive, To the Lighthouse gives unprecedented insight into the minds of the characters, as well as telling a broader story of personal and social change in the world after the war.

To the Lighthouse is a landmark work of English fiction. Virginia Woolf explores perception and meaning in some of the most beautiful prose ever written, minutely detailing the characters' thoughts and impressions.