A Literature of Their Own

An exquisite volume of essays about some of the most prominent, and also, some of the most obscure, British women writers. What makes this work so special is the way Elaine Showalter presents her chosen writers. Many times, we see them through the eyes of a fellow writer. It was refreshing to see the views other women writers had for Charlotte Brontë or Virginia Woolf for example, and it was eye-opening to dive into the criticism these gifted women faced because they ‘‘dared'' to break the chains of conformity.

The only element I would classify as ‘‘negative'' is the language Showalter uses. It is beautiful and fascinating for scholars and for us who are accustomed to essays about Literature and Female Studies, but I think it would be slightly difficult for the casual reader to really absorb it or even understand it at some point.

The work continues in a second volume by Elaine Showalter called A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx , where we are able to look upon American women writers.