A Literature of Their Own: British Women Novelists from Brontë to Lessing

Front Cover
Princeton University Press, 1977 - Literary Criticism - 378 pages

When first published in 1977, A Literature of Their Own quickly set the stage for the creative explosion of feminist literary studies that transformed the field in the 1980s. Launching a major new area for literary investigation, the book uncovered the long but neglected tradition of women writers in England. A classic of feminist criticism, its impact continues to be felt today.


This revised and expanded edition contains a new introductory chapter surveying the book's reception and a new postscript chapter celebrating the legacy of feminism and feminist criticism in the efflorescence of contemporary British fiction by women.

About the author (1977)

In 1977, Showalter published A Literature of Their Own: British Women Novelists from Bronte to Lessing. It was one of the most influential works in feminist criticism, as it sought to establish a distinctive tradition for women writers. In later essays, Showalter helped to develop a clearly articulated feminist theory with two major branches: the special study of works by women and the study of all literature from a feminist perspective. In all of her recent writing, Showalter has sought to illuminate a "cultural model of female writing," distinguishable from male models and theories. Her role as editor bringing together key contemporary feminist criticism has been extremely influential on modern literary study.

Bibliographic information

TitleA Literature of Their Own: British Women Novelists from Brontë to Lessing
Volume 446 of Princeton paperbacks
AuthorElaine Showalter
Edition2, reprint
PublisherPrinceton University Press, 1977
ISBN0691063184, 9780691063188
Length378 pages
Subjects › 

Literary Criticism / Women Authors
  
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