The long-awaited statue of Virginia Woolf statue will finally be unveiled to the public on November 16.

The task of raising the £50,000 needed to fund the project took five long years and mainly relied on small donations from individuals.

Separately, the champions of the project had to overcome objections from The Richmond Society, who thought the siting of the statue on the riverside was 'insensitive and reckless'.

It argued that while the author was rightly celebrated, her death by drowning in the River Ouse, Sussex, meant putting a statue on the Richmond riverside was inappropriate.

These concerns were rejected by Richmond council planners a year ago and now the finishing touches have been put to the statue by sculptor Laury Dizengremel.

Virginia Woolf was named an icon of the 20th Century by the BBC.

A century after she lived and worked in Richmond with husband Leonard, this author and champion of women's rights is now being honoured with a public statue in the town where they lived from 1914 to 1924.

A recent audit of statues in London showed that there are more monuments depicting animals than there are in honour of named women. Aurora Metro Arts and Media Charity has dedicated five years to fundraising and campaigning for the funds to create a memorial.

Many famous names have supported the concept, including: Margaret Atwood, Caitlin Moran, Jodi Picoult, Deborah Frances-White, Elizabeth Day, Caroline Criado Perez, Mark Haddon, Sarah Gristwood, James O'Brien, Phillip Pullman and Neil Gaiman.

Richmond MP Sarah Olney, Lord Zac Goldsmith, and many Richmond Councillors have all endorsed the project.

The public have expressed overwhelming support for the project with over 250 individual donations and thousands of likes and positive engagement on social media so far.

Richmond Council held two public consultations, which showed support for the project, with 83% and 92% in favour of the project.

The striking bronze artwork features a smiling Woolf sitting on a bench, where people can sit next to her while enjoying the Thames. It was initially thought the statue would be placed on the riverside walk, however it appears it will sit on the upper terrace.

Aurora Metro Arts and Media is a registered charity led by Cheryl Robson, based in Richmond-upon-Thames, championing diversity and equality through arts and educational projects both locally and globally.

She said: ""Women are completely under-represented in public sculptures in Britain. You had to be a queen or a naked muse to merit being depicted. We see our Virginia artwork as an attempt to begin redressing this imbalance."

The charity is sister company to Aurora Metro Publications, a local publisher with three decades of publishing original voices, championing diversity and equality, and promoting work in translation.

The charity is located in a new local bookshop, Books on the Rise, where all things related to Virginia Woolf will be available, including books, maquettes, and merchandise.