Editorial Review

Surprisingly, this long essay about society and art and sexism is one of Woolf's most accessible works. Woolf, a major modernist writer and critic, takes us on an erudite yet conversational--and completely entertaining--walk around the history of women in writing, smoothly comparing the architecture of sentences by the likes of William Shakespeare and Jane Austen, all the while lampooning the chauvinistic state of university education in the England of her day. When she concluded that to achieve their full greatness as writers women will need a solid income and a privacy, Woolf pretty much invented modern feminist criticism. ... Read more

Reviews (35)

A woman's liberation classic
This is a beautifully written and highly enjoyable exploration of the history of women in writing. It is also a plea for the liberation of women, and their full entrance into the world of Literature. Woolf argues that a woman needs financial independence, a room , that is a space of her own, if she is to be able to truly create. She also needs the kind of access to everyday life that women confined to hearth and home were as she sees it, traditionally denied.
a room for what?
This essay reunites several works from Virginia Woolf about the right of women to possess a place - a room- to read, write and work, intended that not as domestic work as was usual for women during many times.
To get a room of one's own
Woolf's argument that "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction," holds true not just for fiction but for any activity a woman wants to pursue. The early 20th century essay is still widely relevant, and not just in developing countries.
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Subjects:  1. 1882-1941    2. Economic conditions    3. Essays    4. Feminism & Feminist Theory    5. Great Britain    6. History and criticism    7. Literary Criticism    8. Literature    9. Literature - Classics / Criticism    10. Theory, etc    11. Women Authors    12. Women and literature    13. Women's Studies - General    14. Woolf, Virginia,    15. Social Science / Feminism & Feminist Theory    16. Views on authorship    17. Woolf, Virginia   

Reviews (3)

A classic, ground-breaking feminist of color anthology!
This is such an important anthology of writings by radical women of color on the politics of race, gender, class and sexual orientation. Though it is more than two decades old, the essays and poetry are still ispirational and relevant. Indeed, I strongly feel that this is a book that every feminist should read. That said, I am utterly baffled by how difficult it is to obtain. Could it really be out of print? If so, I hope (hint, hint) that some progressive publishing company like AK Press, South End Press, or Seal re-prints it. I would hate to think of it disappearing into the dustbin of obscurity.

Should be On Every Feminist Bookshelf, in Every Library.
Count yourself lucky if you are able to find a copy of the 3rd Edition. It is extremely rare and very hard to find. If you can't find it though, buy the 1st or 2nd Editions.
Very important collection
Oh my goodness!! This is an incredible ground-breaking book of awareness and consciousness. It was a must-read for anyone coming of age in the 1980's and it is still relevant today. I came on line to purchase it for a friend who had never seen it, and I am in shock that it is out of print, or even just out of stock (it's unclear which). The paperback is selling on ZBooks for $45. I'm confounded. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American literature    2. Feminism    3. Literary collections    4. Literature - Classics / Criticism    5. Literature: Classics    6. Minority authors    7. United States    8. Women    9. Women Authors   

Reviews (17)

Author went through hell
I am not an abused wife or battered woman, but I can still appreciate what the author went through.She gives the reader a mostly detailed journey through her personal hell.Having said that I find it puzzling that she would choose to go to a costume party as Nicole Brown and OJ Simpson, complete with ketchup on her neck.It was in terrible taste and the author tries to explain it by saying "the reality behind the charade was too important for me to abandon".Then she goes to tell that others at the party thought it was in bad taste and her italicized comments are "that they missed the point."Not surprisingly they did, didn't they. Apparently, she thought they would immediately realize she was abused? She also admits her two youngest children were quite disturbed seeing her dressed like that and she told them it was a game and left it to the babysitter to explain.I, for one, don't look for hidden meanings in Halloween costumes and since Ms. Weldon stressed her love and devotion to her children and how she didn't want them affected by the abuse, I find her attitude about the costumes and her children very strange to say the least. The real deal
Michele Weldon does a magnificent job describing her harrowing journey through domestic violence, and she does so with clarity and unflinching honesty.Domestic violence crosses all socio-economic and cultural boundaries.Just as no two women are alike, no two violent marriages are identical; Ms. Weldon explains her own experience in such a way that anyone living through this hell will see some element of her own situation. Great for a woman who has left an abusive marriage
Thank you Michele Weldon for writing your journey through living and leaving an abusive husband. ---Read more

Subjects:  1. 1958-    2. Abuse - General    3. Abuse - Physical    4. Abused wives    5. Biography    6. Case studies    7. Literary Criticism    8. Literature: Classics    9. Self-Help    10. United States    11. Weldon, Michele,    12. Wife abuse    13. Women Authors    14. Women's Studies - General    15. Biography: general    16. Domestic violence    17. Self-Help / Substance Abuse    18. Women's studies   

Subjects:  1. 16th century    2. 17th century    3. Early modern, 1500-1700    4. English literature    5. English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    6. Feminist    7. Great Britain    8. History    9. History and criticism    10. Literary Criticism    11. Literature - Classics / Criticism    12. Women Authors    13. Women and literature    14. British Isles    15. English    16. Literary Criticism & Collections / Women Authors    17. Literary studies: 16th to 18th centuries    18. Women's studies   

Reviews (13)

Utterly fabulous fresco of a fascinating era
I loved this book. I don't usually like biographies (they're all the same--someone is born, becomes famous, dies, etc) but this group bio of Edna Ferber, Zelda Fitzgerald, Dorothy Parker, and Edna St. Vincent Millay totally captured my imagination. It's organized by year, and the storytelling jumps from woman to woman in a way that creates much suspense and anticipation. Meade makes each woman seem so three-dimensional, they don't just leap off the page--I could swear I even smelled Dotty Parker's Chypre perfume and taste Zelda's gin blossoms and highballs. This book would make a great gift for any one who loves biography, the Roaring 20s, or any of the writers in question. The large number of cameo appearances by other writers, bohemians, and Round Tablers give the book a wider appeal. As a recovering English major, I feel strongly that anyone who lists "The Great Gatsby" or "The Sun Also Rises" as his favorite book should get a copy as well, if only for medicinal purposes!

A Satisfying Read
This book was a valued companion during my commutes to and from work late this summer,and I enjoyed it immensely.Meade's Dorothy Parker biography, "What Fresh Hell Is This" is one of my all-time favorites, and while "Bobbed Hair..." is not nearly as indepth (and is not meant to be), it provides a very satisfying taste of each woman's life in the 1920's.The only flaw, for me, is that I found Edna St. Vincent Millay's behavior tremendously annoying and so did not enjoy sections of the book devoted to her as much as the rest.

A Tone Piece of the Time
The 1920's were a crazy time in between the horror or World War I and the tragedy of the depression. It was, of course, a time of prohibition and speakeasies.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Authors, American    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Historical - General    8. History    9. Literary    10. United States    11. Women    12. Women Authors    13. Women and literature    14. Women authors, American    15. Biography & Autobiography / Historical   

Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. Biography    3. Encyclopedias    4. England    5. English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    6. History    7. Literary Criticism    8. Literature - Classics / Criticism    9. Novelists, English    10. Social life and customs    11. Women Authors    12. Women and literature    13. British Isles    14. Literary Criticism & Collections / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    15. Literature: Texts   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. American - Hispanic American    3. Fiction    4. General    5. History    6. History and criticism    7. Literary Criticism    8. Literature - Classics / Criticism    9. Mexican fiction    10. Mexico    11. Spanish (Language) Contemporary Fiction    12. Women Authors    13. Women In Literature    14. Women and literature    15. Literary Criticism & Collections / General    16. Literary studies: from c 1900 -    17. Novels, other prose & writers: from c 1900 -    18. Spanish    19. Women's studies    20. c 1980 to c 1990    21. c 1990 to c 2000   

Reviews (16)

Teaching a Stone to Talk -Good Read
Annie Dillard's work is most certainly her best with the exception of her Thoreau-esque first work.Her writing style and personality are captivating as she engages with a myriad of environments, from local lakes to the Galopagos Islands.As a naturalist writer, she explores the interaction between environments and individuals--the ways in which humanity and ecology play off one another.Fans of Joan Didion will also enjoy the personal feel of Dillard's work as well as the playful use of time and metaphor to capture the dynamism and eccentricity of everyday life.This work is a must-have for any lover/enthusiast of nature and everyone who appreciates flowing prose and lyrical description.

Everyone knows that stones can't talk...
Poetry is poetry and prose is prose.In my opinion, the extent to which they are mixed is the extent to which the quality of each, with some exceptions, deteriorates.The problem I have with Dillard's writing is that she so freely mixes the two that one is left with either pretty, but obscure prose or overly structured narrative poetry.The problem isn't that Dillard is a poor writer, its rather that she doesn't have a clear vision of what her artful constructions mean.The book is all wings and no roots.It ends up being an excersise in sophistry that, one feels, sweeps the author along in its grand illusions as readily as it does the sensitive reader.I almost feel guilty pointing out the emptiness of it all.

From The Mundane To The Infinite ... And Back Again
This book truly is a well crafted and literary set of short stories; all or most of them being autobiographical.But the author does something special in this book.Her stories all center around the physical, mixed with the spiritual, mixed with the metaphysical, both alone and in concert, and finally, in the way they seem to co-exist, at least to her perception and observation.
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Subjects:  1. Essays    2. General    3. Life    4. Literary Collections    5. Literature: Classics    6. Natural history    7. Nature    8. Women Authors    9. Literary Criticism & Collections / General   

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Authorship    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Literary    7. Personal Memoirs    8. Women Authors    9. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Feminism and literature    3. History    4. History and criticism    5. Literature - Classics / Criticism    6. Literature, Modern    7. Sociology    8. Women Authors    9. Women and literature    10. Women's Studies - General    11. Feminism    12. Literary studies: general   

Reviews (72)

empty
Although the project that founds the book is very seducive (the reason why you might be convinced by friend's reviews and impressed by Pulitzer and other readers's ratings), this book is very disappointing. The lady is simply describing how she is pleased to see that cities can be beautiful; she makes friends by discussing paintings in a way that would send you to bed (to sleep), and simply describes the succession of her ordinary discoveries, whithout what was a awaited from such an endeavour: a specific vision of the world, be it simple, but at least original; a way to look at human beings. For example, a Parisian would tell you that her approach to Paris is that of any 1960's tourist guide, suprisingly obsolete; that may be nice... but does not deserve a book. Nicolas Bouvier, the Swiss writer, is immensely worthier.

everyone's dream
This book was wonderful, i read it as slow as possible, savoring every word. I likedhow down to earth Ms. Steinbach appeared, she never talked down to the reader. there were many times when the author made fun of herself and the situations she put herself in, just like any normal person would do. i have traveled to europe five times but have never gone with the intention to learn a new skill, take a class etc. This book was so inspiring to me to travel in a new way, to go with my mom or a friend instead of the whole family. I really loved this book and read the sequel too. I hope Ms. Steinbach continues to write about future adventures. The chapters flow from one adventure to the next and my only complaint were that I wanted even more details of everything, just couldn't get enough!

Carpe Diem
Who doesn't dream of quitting her job and traveling the world? Alice Steinbach wangles a leave of absence from her job and goes to Europe -- the dream with training wheels. Even though she has the security of knowing her home and job are waiting for her and she goes to countries that are comfortably strange, it is still a big leap for her. She makes the most of it and tells a great story.
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Subjects:  1. American Essays    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Description and travel    6. Essays    7. Essays & Travelogues    8. Europe    9. Literary Collections    10. Steinbach, Alice    11. Travel    12. Travelers    13. Women    14. Women Authors    15. Women journalists    16. Women travelers    17. Biography & Autobiography / Women    18. English    19. Journeys    20. Travel writing    21. USA    22. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (3)

another classic in women of color feminist theory
I have read & re-read essays in this volume over and over again. I think of this as among those texts that remind me there are those who went before me--and that the struggle for recognition is not over. Among the key texts here are Sandoval's essay on racism & feminism, a report based on a real conflict that took place in the NWSA and Alarc?n's pathbreaking essay on Chicana subjectivity. But there are so many others as well...my main critique is that the anthology is not as representative as it could be with a leaning towards the "Santa Cruz circle"--and yet the truth of the matter is that there was an incredible grouping of women of color studying & writing there in the mid to late 1980s!

another classic in women of color feminist theory
I have read & re-read essays in this volume over and over again. I think of this as among those texts that remind me there are those who went before me--and that the struggle for recognition is not over. Among the key texts here are Sandoval's essay on racism & feminism, a report based on a real conflict that took place in the NWSA and Alarc�n's pathbreaking essay on Chicana subjectivity. But there are so many others as well...my main critique is that the anthology is not as representative as it could be with a leaning towards the "Santa Cruz circle"--and yet the truth of the matter is that there was an incredible grouping of women of color studying & writing there in the mid to late 1980s!

A must have resource for women of color activists!
This collection of writings by women of color truely challenge and inspire the consciouness through essay and poetry.A reaffirming voice for women of color who are working on radical social change on on a personal to aglobal perspective. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Feminism    3. Literary collections    4. Literature - Classics / Criticism    5. Minority women    6. Sociology    7. United States    8. Women    9. Women Authors    10. Women's Studies - General    11. Education / Multicultural Education    12. Women's studies   

Reviews (28)

Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady is an awesome, unforgettable book expecially for those of us who are southern transplants.
King's book features a quirky mish mash of mismatched family members who, at first glance, seem not to belong together at all. This book examines the various relationships of those characters while simultaneously being a coming of age story regarding young Florence King as she ages throughout this books and faces the many trials and tribulations of her various ages. I've read this book several times and it never fails to get a laugh out of me as Florence moves through her childhood and young adulthood with her brash, tomboy mother who smokes and screams at baseball games on the radio, her father a proper British bartender who works nights and her granny who defines all Southern women as having either problems "down below" or else "in the head." This book will have you holding your side in stitches in places as you laugh yourself silly. A truly great reaad.

Confessions is eerily true!
I am truly a southerner, and Ms. King's irreverant approach to the traditions and ways of the south in the mid-twentieth century are so on target that it will startle the reader who is not from the south, and will sound all to familiar to the southern reader.
A Lesson in True Individuality
Every once in awhile I have to reread Florence King, beginning with this book. For all the talk about individuality, different drummers and 'being yourself' that we hear endlessly - I need her to remind me what real individuality looks like.Her books make me laugh and cry as hard the fifth time around as I did the first time.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Authors, American    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. General    8. Humor    9. King, Florence    10. Southern States    11. Women    12. Women's Studies - General    13. Biography: general    14. Literary Criticism & Collections / Women Authors    15. Novels, other prose & writers: from c 1900 -   

Reviews (6)

an excellent, if outdated, book
As a former student of Prof. Gubar, I can attest to the importance of this book within feminist literary circles: Gilbert and Gubar, Inc. created a piece of scholarship that transformed the way students of literature read literature.The book's place among feminist literary criticism today attests to the importance of their mission--were it not for Gilbert and Gubar, someone else, perhaps today, would be performing this kind of work.The fact remains, however, that the proliferation of feminist critique, whether from Robyn Wiegman or Lauren Berlant, makes this text an essential primer for feminist criticism, but not as compelling as the works it tacitly bore.

A Former Student's Opinion
As a former student of Susan Gubar, I would have to recommend this book to anyone interested in a deeper understading of the novels covered and also finding a different perspective to the traditional critical approaches.As a groundbreaking work, this collection critically looks at and analyzes many different aspects approaching the anxiety of female authorship.This work is truly interesting, and to all of the naysayers, I can vouch that the authors are have a very compelling and informed perspective.The second edition proves that it is a work that will be around for a very long time and that the work will not fall into obscurity, for it is a inspired work of literary criticism.I would recommend this to anyone who seeks a deeper look into the popular women novelists.

This is just icky
I apply a very simple standard to literary criticism:Read the critique then reread the original.If the critique improves my appreciation and understanding of the original, then I have spent my time wisely.This book fails that test.Read more

Subjects:  1. 19th Century English Literature    2. 19th century    3. English literature    4. English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    5. Great Britain    6. History    7. History and criticism    8. Literary Criticism    9. Literature - Classics / Criticism    10. Women As Authors (English Literature)    11. Women Authors    12. Women and literature    13. British Isles    14. English    15. Feminism    16. Literary Criticism & Collections / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    17. Literary studies: general    18. Novels, other prose & writers: 19th century   

Editorial Review

"What is it about interviews that attracts us?" Margaret Atwood asks inher introduction to this collection of 16 interviews from Read more

Reviews (1)

This is a first-rate book.
This book of interviews with women writers, originally done for the Paris Review, is the finest book I have ever encountered on women writing or doing any committed creative work. There's really nothing like it outthere. It is a prize in itself. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Authors    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. History and criticism    6. Interviews    7. Literature - Classics / Criticism    8. Literature, Modern    9. Reference    10. Women Authors    11. Women In Literature    12. Literary Criticism & Collections / Women Authors    13. Literary studies: from c 1900 -    14. Other prose: from c 1900 -    15. Women's studies   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. American - General    3. American poetry    4. General    5. History    6. History and criticism    7. Literary Criticism    8. Poetry    9. United States    10. Women Authors    11. Women and literature    12. American English    13. Anzaldúa, Gloria    14. Criticism and interpretation    15. English    16. Literary Criticism & Collections / General    17. Lorde, Audre    18. Poetry & poets: from c 1900 -    19. Sexton, Anne    20. Violence in society    21. Women's studies   

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Literary Criticism    3. Literature - Classics / Criticism    4. Women Authors    5. Literary Criticism & Collections / Women Authors   

Subjects:  1. American literature    2. Commonwealth literature (Engli    3. Commonwealth literature (English)    4. English literature    5. English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    6. Literary Criticism    7. Literature (Specific Aspects)    8. Literature - Classics / Criticism    9. Literature: Classics    10. Women    11. Women Authors    12. Women In Literature    13. Literary Criticism & Collections / General    14. Literary studies: general    15. Women's studies   

Editorial Review

In a new introduction to the 10th-anniversary edition of Read more

Reviews (20)

Quick and Clean
The seller shipped this book to me immediately and with the exception of a few notes in the margin (which they warned about) it is in remarkably good condition.Would reccomend.

Imagine Honduran Women makes Clothes in a Sweatshop...
ing clothes....think of the Butlerian strategy of it all!
Consider women working for slave wages in Honduras
making clothes....think of the Butlerian strategy of it all!
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Subjects:  1. Feminism & Feminist Theory    2. Feminist theory    3. Gender Studies    4. General    5. Philosophy    6. Sex differences (Psychology)    7. Sex role    8. Sociology    9. Women Authors    10. Philosophy / General   

Subjects:  1. 1882-1941    2. Authorship    3. Economic conditions    4. Fiction    5. Fiction - General    6. Great Britain    7. History and criticism    8. Literary    9. Literary Criticism    10. Literature    11. Theory, etc    12. Women Authors    13. Women and literature    14. Woolf, Virginia,    15. Fiction / Literary